Michigan teachers union promotes Democratic Socialist event

The American Federation of Teachers-Michigan recently promoted a union event featuring the Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America, a group whose ideology includes voting rights for illegal immigrants, rent control, and abolition of police departments.

The political education event “Lessons From Minneapolis” is scheduled for May 16 and involves labor/community organizers.

A flier advertising the event features photos of George Floyd as well as the January 2026 demonstrations in Minnesota against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge enforcement campaign. The goal of the May 16 event is to build “people power towards a May Day 2028 general strike,” according to the event page listed on Facebook.

The Detroit branch of Democratic Socialists of America refers to members as “comrades” in its bylaws and seems to encourage Cultural Revolution-era struggle sessions.

“Comrades should be comfortable asking for resolution through apology, and comrades should freely offer apologies with the understanding that cooperation is built through mutual understanding and trust,” the bylaws state.

The Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America website says members are fighting for a Green New Deal, a legislative proposal to remake the U.S. economy. The group’s platform includes “universal suffrage,” which it says means extending full voting rights to all adult residents “regardless of citizenship status or criminal convictions.” It also favors rent control and public transportation offered at no fee to riders. The national umbrella organization supports defunding police departments.

“We fight for a Green New Deal because it’s the only plan that meets the scale of the crisis, one that puts people and planet over profit to build a more just and sustainable economy,” according to the website. “We are Socialists because we reject an economic order based on private profit, alienated labor, gross inequalities of wealth and power, discrimination based on race, sex or any other factor, and brutality and violence in defense of the status quo. ... We are Democratic Socialists because we believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for the few.”

Metro Detroit DSA and AFT-Michigan did not respond to requests for comment.

American Federation of Teachers-Michigan represents, among others, employees of the Detroit Public Schools Community District and Dearborn Public Schools. Its membership has been falling in recent years. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 2018 case Janus v. AFSCME that public sector union members are not compelled to pay agency fees as a condition of employment, and many unions have seen declining membership since then. AFT-Michigan had 24,976 total members in 2011 and 18,452 total members in 2025.

“It’s no surprise that AFT-Michigan and the Democratic Socialists of America are working together in their effort to be completely out-of-touch with the needs of Michiganders,” said Gabe Butzke, press secretary for Michigan Forward, a political nonprofit that supports conservative policies. “Once again, unions are showing that they don’t have any interest in actually protecting workers; all they care about is their far-left, anti-police agenda.”