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Congratulations to our 6 TAU Organizing Fellows! This semester we are participating in a partnership program through the AFT Michigan to reinvigorate organizing efforts on campus. Our fellows participated in a 2 day intensive organizing training and have been out on campus having conversations with potential members of the union! 

Welcome to the TAU team! 

• Kyra Bebus (PhD- Psychology) 
• Kevin Haynes (MS- Geography) 
• Zach Nicely (MFA- Music) 
• Lauren Weiss (PhD- Math Education) 
• Marty Malfroid (MFA- Music) 
• Ronnie Miller (PhD- Sociology) 

If you are interested in learning how to have organizing

Department Stewards are integral to having a strong and healthy union. Our stewards organize, engage & inform members and potential members in their departments. They act as a liaison between the department and the union, We currently have TAU members in every department on campus. Below is a list of our current TAU stewards & how to contact them! 

Have a question about the contract? Looking to join? Want more information on how to get involved? Reach out to our staff, donaldpasmore@aol.com to become a steward for your department! 

The Republican plan for Education Reform has reformed you into earning less money, paying more for healthcare, putting more children in classrooms, and limiting your collective bargaining rights.  And, while the current attacks are aimed at K-12, higher education employees are not far behind.  There are bills being acted upon now that will end payroll deduction for union dues/fair share just for school employees, prohibit the use of public facilities for union meetings and other purposes, and a so called “Right to Work” just for teachers bill is being proposed.  Send your legislators an email to let them know you do have a voice!

A four-bill package (HB4625-4628) expected to be voted on in the Michigan House on Wednesday, would revise Michigan's Teacher Tenure Law, the Revised School Code, and the Public Employment Relations Act. These bills will effectively gut collective bargaining and teacher tenure. These bills are tie-barred together so all must be enacted for any one to take effect.  Please call your Representative today and ask them to vote NO on HB4625, 4626, 4627, and HB4628.  Or send an email.  You can find more information on page 2 of the May AFT Michigan Capitol Report.

The Senate Reforms Committee took substantial testimony today (5/10) on HB 4361, the tax bill that includes taxation of pensions on an age-related sliding scale.  The committee is slated to meet again tomorrow morning and take a little more testimony before reporting the bill to the floor.  We have been told that the Senate plans to vote on it on the Senate floor on Thursday, telling members to be prepared to stay all night.

The Governor and the legislature are taxing the pensions of retirees, raising the taxes on low-income working families and cutting education in order to fund a tax cut for large corporations!  This is not shared sacrifice!

Please call your state senator today or tomorrow to urge a “NO” vote on this unfair shift of taxes to retirees.  Click here to find your Senator’s phone number.  A phone call is better, but you may also send an email by clicking here.  Do it today!

Thousands of citizens are participating at a rally in front of the State Capitol today, if you can't join in person you can join in the effort by sending an email to the Governor and your State Senator and State Representative.  At the rally we will be sending people to go visit their legislators in person, please join with them by paying a "visit" by email.  Let they know you are in Lansing in spirit.  We ARE the People!

Today, March 15, the House passed the last two bills required to finish the Emergency Financial Manager legislation.  It now goes to the Governor and he has said he will sign the bills.  The way to keep EFMs away from our school districts and local communities is to keep them out of financial trouble.  We can’t do that given Governor Snyder’s proposed budget which includes cuts to schools, universities and local community Revenue Sharing.  If you are able, we hope to see you in Lansing tomorrow for a budget protest rally at the State Capitol.  If you can’t make it to Lansing, please call your State Representative or Senator, find out when they are having local events – coffee hours, town halls, etc. – and then attend with a few friends, or lots of friends.  Local action, in person, with your Representatives and Senators is very effective.