Detroit: Randi Sends in the Troops to Back Puppet DFT Leaders

Randi sends in AFT organizers with meds to heal the sick teachers.


From the DFT website:

Organizers Hitting Detroit Schools [1.5.16]

Twenty organizers from AFT affiliates across the country are in Detroit and will be coming to your school over the next nine days. They will be there to talk with members at various times throughout the day and during any free periods. DFT leadership and organizers also are making home visits. Our goal is to talk to every member. Please reach out to them for discussion on your concerns.

As we thought in our earlier post (The Wrath of Steve Conn: Wildcat Sickout in Detroit After Randi Weingarten Undermines Union - Will Detroit Influence Friedrichs Decision?), Ivy Bailey, Randi's hand-picked interim president to replace Steve Conn says:

While we don’t condone the action taken by a small number of our members, we understand the utter frustration underlying it. 

To counter Steve Conn's call for a Sunday meeting:

No Strike Vote Sunday [1.10.16]

The DFT is not holding a membership or mass meeting on Sunday and there is no strike vote to be called. We will have a full update and plan to discuss at the Jan. 14 membership meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the IBEW hall.

 STOP THIS NONSENSE OF RESISTANCE. SUBMIT!
Don't you love this one:

DFT has ramped up its efforts to address the many urgent concerns that educators and members of our community have about the deplorable conditions in schools around this city. 

Exactly what does "ramping up efforts" mean? Certainly sickouts or strikes are not on the table.

Ivy Bailey Phone Call to Members

Good evening, sisters and brothers. This is Ivy Bailey, interim president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers.

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DFT Statement on School Closings

Detroit Federation of Teachers Interim President Ivy Bailey on the sporadic closing of schools, and on statements made by Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Darnell Earley: “Really, blaming the teachers—the glue that holds this system together? While we don’t condone the action taken by a small number of our members, we understand the utter frustration underlying it. It’s the frustration of educators who are trying to teach children in schools where black mold is spreading, in classrooms crammed with twice the number of students they should have, in schools where special needs students lack learning materials, and in high schools that no longer offer art, music or other electives. This is an emergency. And the emergency manager has failed to act. Pointing fingers at educators rather than acting to help them help kids is enough to make anyone sick.” DFT Administrator Ann Mitchell added, ”Perhaps the emergency manager is engaged in this deflection because he knows that the DFT has ramped up its efforts to address the many urgent concerns that educators and members of our community have about the deplorable conditions in schools around this city. Detroit’s public schools bear the scars of the city’s struggles and challenges. We can’t do this job alone, and we urge all Detroiters to call on officials to make high-quality public education a top priority.”