Detroit Federation of Teachers

AFT Inventory Part II Records

dgolodner — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:06:07 -0400

Contains Series VIII-XIII. read more »

Series VIII State publications, 1950s-1963
Series IX, miscellaneous materials 1935-1964
Series X communications to locals, 1934-1963
Series XI memos and mimeographed materials, 1921-1964
Series XII Locals, 1914-1960s 4W-B-5 (1-3) 4W-B-4(5-9)
Series XIII AFT conventions, 1916-1967

AFT Local 231: Detroit Federation of Teachers Records

dgolodner — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:06:08 -0400

This collection has union newspapers, correspondence, reports, convention material, proceedings, minutes, flyers, brochures and other materials related to the growth of the DFT. Issues in these papers are Bradly v. Milliken, class size, desegregation, collective bargaining, strikes and salaries

Detroit Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors Records

aorchard — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 09:30:22 -0400

The Detroit Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors was formed in 1966 and received sole collective bargaining rights with the Detroit Board of Education in 1967. The union had between 1,300 and 1,400 members at its creation, and it continues to represent administrators and supervisors in Detroit Public Schools in regards to salaries and working conditions.

In the early 1980s, the administrators were working without a contract for a brief time and they conducted a sick-out, where principals and assistant principals used their sick days in order to protest labor without contract. Their main concerns wages and job security.

The Detroit Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors Records contains correspondence, newsletters, and newspaper clippings about the sick-out, as well as documents explaining their ultimate collective bargaining goals. Additionally, this collection contains some newspaper clippings related to controversial administrative transfers and a case of an inappropriate relationship between two administrators and former students. Finally, this collection holds some materials from related organizations such as the American Federation of School Administrators and information about the NAACP Overground Railroad March in 1983.

Arthur Elder Papers

drice — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:23:45 -0500

Correspondence, reports, and a scrapbook relating to the AFL and education (1941–49); correspondence, reports, resolutions, studies, hearings, and clippings pertaining to the American Federation of Teachers (1934–50), the Michigan Federation of Teachers (1937–49), and the Detroit Federation of Teachers (1921–51); correspondence relating to the organizing efforts of the MFT (1939–53), and to the dismissal of teachers in the Flint area (1937–49); correspondence, clippings, and documents pertain- ing to the Workers Education Service (1936–48); and miscellaneous off ice files. The materials were collected by Mr. Elder, who served as vice-president of the AFT, president and secretary of the Michigan and Detroit federations, and director of the University of Michigan Workers Education Service. Subjects include AFT and the communist issue, history of the AFT, federal aid to education, New York City teachers' dispute, tenure for teachers, and the termination of the U of M Workers Education Service. Among the correspondents are Frank Martel, Frank Murphy, Mark Starr, Norman Thomas, and Arthur Vandenberg.

Helen Bowers Papers

dgolodner — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:56:31 -0400

Helen Marie Newman Bowers was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin on May 16, 1908. After graduating from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, she began teaching art in Detroit, Michigan in 1933 and quickly got involved with the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT), Local 231. She left the teaching profession in 1958 to become the executive secretary of the DFT. Together with DFT President Mary Ellen Riordan, Detroit teachers won collective bargaining in 1964. Helen Bowers won duty-free lunch hours for elementary teachers, and conceived of “demonstration picketing” before schools opened in the morning to raise awareness to the community about why teachers were demanding collective bargaining. Ms. Bowers served on the Executive Board and became editor of the DFT newspaper, The Detroit Teacher.

The papers of Helen Bowers reflect her work with the DFT and education reform initiatives. This involves pre-collective bargaining rights in dealing with academic freedom, civil liberties as well as a living wage for teachers. Communism files contain a thorough documentation of the Maki Case trial from clippings from the three Detroit newspapers. The collection also contains very useful information about how the union gained power after collective bargaining was won. Their influence in education issues is seen in issues about accountability, decentralization and student rights.

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.

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.

(24949) Detroit Federation of Teachers, Local 231, AFT

jhelpap — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:44:36 -0400

Detroit Federation of Teachers, Local 231, AFT, (L to R)
Governor G. Mennen Williams (Mich), Mrs. Betty Baxter, President, Detroit Board of Education, Mrs. Jessie Baxter, President of the Michigan Federation of Teachers, Dr. Cylvia A. Sorkin, John Schrier, Mrs. Antonia Kolar, President, Detroit Federation of Teachers

(31281) John Elliot at a Detroit Federation of Teachers Rally

jhelpap — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 13:13:11 -0500

John Elliot stands with other picketers at a Detroit Federation of Teachers Rally in Detroit, MI

(34033) Mary Ellen Riordan, Detroit Federation of Teachers, Detroit, Michigan, 1960s

scaloia — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 15:19:59 -0500

Detroit, Michigan. Mary Ellen Riordan, president of AFT local 231 Detroit Federation of Teachers, smiles and holds up two fingers, with a crowd of people standing behind her.

(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.