Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) union president calls gang crimes police against his own union members as members demand his recall
[Editor's note: Some of the members of the Substance staff have been following events in Detroit for many years. The most recent events, where a sellout contract was endorsed by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, seem to have brought matters to a crisis point in the Motor City. While we wait for a more complete analysis of what is going on in Detroit, our readers may find the following update of interest. A large number of members of the DFT (Detroit Federation of Teachers) have tried to petition for a recall of the local's President. The response of the local's leaders is shown in the videos linked in the following article. Watching some of these I was reminded of the problems CTU delegates have been having since CTU President Marilyn Stewart refused to call for the "No" votes at the end of the House of Delegates meeting on August 31, 2007, when the current union contract was being discussed. The following material was sent to us by a Detroit colleague. Comments anyone? George N. Schmidt, Editor, Substance].
Detroit teachers!
One of the leaders of the campaign to recall DFT President is Steve Conn (above), long a leader of the opposition in the Detroit Federation of Teachers. Above, Conn spoke to the Peace and Justice Caucus of the American Federation of Teachers in Chicago on July 12, 2008, about what had been happening in Detroit. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt. Links below will take you to videos of the February 11 DFT General Membership meeting. Watch as Johnson illegally rules all members' motions out of order to avoid the Recall Vote against him, and orders the Detroit Gang Squad to attack female teachers:
http://www.youtube.com/user/DFTmembers
Also listen to a Michigan Public Radio report about the meeting that has been broadcast across the country:
1,300 DFT members signed the recall petitions The members alone have the right to decide whether the charges are valid
From the DFT Constitution & By-Laws:
Article VIII Recall of Officers
(a) Petition for the recall of any officer for violation of his obligation of office shall be initiated by a recall petition clearly stating the specific charges and signed by not fewer than one thousand (1000) members in good standing from not fewer than twenty percent (20%) of the schools or work locations.
(b) No officer shall be subjected to recall proceedings without being given at least 30 days written notice of the charges preferred against him and an opportunity to appear before the membership at a regular or special meeting. Two-thirds of those present and voting at the meeting shall be required to recall the officer.
Comments:
By: Kenzo
CONTACT CORE
Tiger-
CORE, the Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (www.coreteachers.com) is a part of a network of teachers union activists from NYC, DC, LA, and San Francisco. We had a summit over the summer in LA where we discussed strategies for opposing Race to the Top and how to make our Unions fighting bastions of hope.
Recently, we met with a group of teachers union activists from Milwaukee who needed help in fighting the proposal for mayoral control of their schools.
We can suffer in silence alone, or we can form partnerships against the corporate enemies of public education.
If you are interested in working with CORE in some capacity, contact coreteachers@gmail.com
In Solidarity
By: Tiger of Detroit
How can Chicago help?
It looks like Detroit holds its union meetings so that all union members can attend. When was the last time that was done in Chicago? Detroit is Chicago, in a more advanced state of capitalist decay. Much of Chicago's south and west sides are now the same as Detroit, but because Chicago is so much larger — and because of the "global city" along Lake Michigan — Chicago can hide the fact that it has more children in poverty than Detroit and more segregated schools than Detroit has schools. What are Chicago teacher union activists doing to help their brothers and sisters in Detroit?