Collective Bargaining - Teachers - Michigan

Michigan Federation of Teachers Records

dgolodner — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 14:23:35 -0400

Parts 1 and 2 consist of correspondence, minutes, and reports. Subjects include Administrative Board meetings; American Federation of Teachers; conventions; Detroit Federation of Teachers; Executive Council meetings; Haven Hill conferences; legislative lobbying activities; membership campaigns; metropolitan teachers' institutes; Michigan AFL-CIO Council; Michigan Constitutional Convention (1961); teachers' salary and fringe benefits surveys; treasurer reports; White House Conference on Children and Youth (1960). Correspondents include Detroit city officials, Michigan congressmen and state officials, and national congressmen and officials including John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Most of the letters are answers to invitations for speaking engagements.
Part III deals mostly with the efforts to organize teachers during the 1960s and 1970s and dealing with the strikes that accompany labor disputes which is represented in the series Locals. There is ample amount of information about the American Federation of Teachers growth and inner workings during the 1960s and 1970s in the convention files; within these files there are not only basic convention materials but also notes from committee work and flyers from various factions within the AFT. MFT was a part of policy in education finances, assessments of teachers and teacher centers and is reflected in files dealing with the department of education and the like. Part III covers a broad range of topics with specific details on education reform in the 1970s, collective bargaining issues for teachers, political structures in Michigan and various issues on civil rights in Michigan, particularly the bussing of students. Series five contains photographs and audio recordings.

Mary Ellen Riordan Papers

scaloia — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 11:32:42 -0500

Mary Ellen Riordan (1920-2010) was president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers from 1960-1981. In 1965, teachers and the school board signed their first contract, only the third teacher contract in the country. Riordan also guided the Detroit Federation of Teachers
through three strikes, the Detroit Public Schools desegregation case Bradley v. Milliken, and agency fee case Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. In addition to her work with DFT, she served on the AFT Executive Council as Vice-President, the AFT Executive Committee, and on the boards of many state and local organizations. The Mary Ellen Riordan Papers contain correspondence, meeting minutes, notes, reports, newsletters, clippings, court documents and legal briefs, contracts, pamphlets, lesson plans, reference material, and ephemera. Topics of note include collective bargaining and strikes; desegregation in the Detroit Public Schools, race relations generally, and especially surrounding the 1967 unrest in Detroit; fair share and agency fees and related court cases; teaching materials from the 1930s through post-World War II in the subjects of math, science, and home economics; and teacher retirement.

Ray Howe Papers

dgolodner — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:14:03 -0400

Ray Howe was born 30 July 1921. After serving in the Korean conflict, Howe married and began teaching at Lowrey Junior High School in Dearborn Michigan and from 1955-1959 he taught at Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn. In 1959 Howe was elected president of the Dearborn Federation of Teachers, Local 681, American Federation of Teachers and served till 1961. Howe began working for the Dearborn Public Schools in the late 1960s in various positions, from principal to deputy superintendent. He took positions also at Henry Ford Community College (HFCC) – ranging from executive dean of the college to division head of Social Sciences. He remained close to labor issues by negotiating for Dearborn public schools and for HFCC.

Dr. Howe’s papers contain information on various aspects of collective bargaining with a focus on higher education. His papers and speeches reflect his knowledge of both sides of the table with negotiations and the process of mediation and arbitration in the area of higher education with a focus on community colleges.

Sachs Waldman: Detroit Federation of Teachers Records

dgolodner — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 12:05:16 -0400

The law firm Sachs Waldman, Professional Corporation started in
October 13, 1922 by Nicholas J. Rothe, considered by many as the first
union labor lawyer in Michigan grew to represent the best interest of
unions and workers. In 1951 Theodore Sachs joined the firm and was
considered one of the best appellate attorneys in the country, under his
leadership the firm grew in clientele and personnel. In 1965, the law
firm began to specialize in public sector labor and began to represent
those unions that had just gained the right to bargain collectively,
notably with the Detroit Federation of Teachers and the Detroit
Fire Fighters Association. The Detroit Federation of Teachers was
founded in February 24, 1931 and remained a small but determined
organization that fought basic bread and butter issues for teachers in
Detroit. In 1964, the DFT became sole bargaining agent for Detroit
classroom teachers and by 1965 the DFT secured a comprehensive
contract. The DFT has remained the sole bargaining agent for Detroit
teachers since then and expanded their bargaining power to incorporate
various education reform issues. These records document the various
stages of collective bargaining for teachers in the 1970s-1990s in
Detroit that mirrors those issues faced by other teacher unions in large
cities.

Utica Federation of Teachers, Local 1448 Records

dgolodner — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 14:50:23 -0400

The Utica Federation of Teachers Local 1448 records consist of materials that describe beginning stages of this local in Southeast Michigan in the early 1960s and trying to gain a presence in the Utica school district to challenge the Utica Education Association to represent teachers.

How Mary Ellen Riordan Lead the Detroit Federation of Teachers' Fight for Collective Bargaining

scaloia — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 16:55:17 -0500

The Detroit Federation of Teachers has seen a number of challenges and triumphs since its founding in 1931 – a significant number of which occurred during the 21-year tenure of president Mary Ellen Riordan. Riordan guided the union through many transformative events, including the introduction of collective bargaining for teachers and the first teacher strike in Detroit, and was involved with various court cases that transformed education policy and public employee unions. read more »

Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT), collective barganing, Detroit, Michigan

dgolodner — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:23:46 -0400

The reaction of Detroit Federation of Teachers’ (DFT) members when they found out they won the collective bargaining election over the Detroit Education Association.

(34034) Detroit Federation of Teachers Collective Bargaining Pamphlet, 1964

scaloia — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 09:56:20 -0500

Cover of a pamplet titled “Collective Bargaining: Democracy for Teachers” produced by the Detroit Federation of Teachers, Local 231, during a campaign for collective bargaining rights, Detroit, Michigan, 1964.

(34035) Detroit Public Schools Newsletter, Collective Bargaining Election, 1964

scaloia — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 09:54:24 -0500

Cover of a newsletter produced by the Detroit Public Schools announcing the first collective bargaining election for Detroit teachers between the Detroit Federation of Teachers, local 231, and the Detroit Education Association, to be held May 11, 1964.