The Detroit Federation of Teachers has a new contract that’s drawing praise from both educators and district leaders.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District board unanimously approved the two-year deal this week. It contains across-the-board pay raises for teachers, with veteran teachers eligible for a 43% increase. It also includes a $15,000 bonus for most employees who work with special education students.
The union calls the contract an across-the-board win for improving the district’s culture and climate–a central theme for Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. It also won back some bargaining rights it had long sought, such the right to negotiate seniority issues and teacher discipline.
DFT president Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins told the school board after the vote earlier this week that this contract “sets the tenor and tone” for districts statewide.
“School districts and other union leaders are waiting to meet with us to find out, how did we do it?” Wilson-Lumpkins said.
She added: “Working conditions matter. Yes, compensation matters. However, all of the rights that were restored in this contract, they matter.”
Both the union and the district had aimed to get a contract bargained and signed before the start of the upcoming school year. District officials say the pay raises make Detroit teachers among the best-paid in the state–something they hope will help recruit staff at a time when educators are in constant demand.
