 YOUR VOTE MATTERS! We don’t need to be reminded how critical this election is. The mid term election is very important this year! Keep this basic information about voting handy and share it with friends and family who are less engaged than yourself. PLEASE ENCOURAGE THEM TO VOTE!
1. Double check and make sure you and your whole family are registered to vote. www.mi.gov/vote Go to Your Voter Information and click on “am I registered to vote?” Do this even if you think you are all set. 2. You have 3 voting options: 1. Absentee Voting. 2. Early Voting (9 days) 3. Election Day voting on November 3rd at your polling location. NOTE: Many election locations have changed. Double check your polling location! 3. If you are NOT on the permanent ballot voting list, because you travel a lot or your adult child's address changes frequently, while attending college, then you need to go to the Secretary of State's website and request an absentee ballot for each election ASAP. You can apply early now, or check on your voter information here: https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/AVApplication/Index The careful, the USPS mail will NOT forward a ballot. You can enter a temporary address to have your absentee ballot sent to. 4. If your adult children have not registered to vote, they can register to vote online up until 15 days before the election. After that they will have to go in person to their clerk's office. www.mi.gov/vote Absentee ballots should be available approximately 45 days ahead of the primary election. WE RECOMMEND YOU HAND DELIVER YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT TO YOUR CLERK'S OFFICE OR BALLOT BOX! DO NOT MAIL IT IN IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. Vote in person if at all possible. We NEED everyone's vote in this election. Remember some races were won or lost last election by less than 1%. Your Vote matters! To update your voter registration, find your polling place, locate your clerk's office, request an absentee ballot visit www.mi.gov/vote.
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 Dear Colleagues,
We are writing at a moment that demands our collective courage and action. What is unfolding in Minnesota and other states is disgusting, sad and scary...but it is not isolated. Masked federal agents operating in and around schools. Students and educators are traumatized, and communities everywhere are living under fear. This is a dangerous escalation of authoritarian tactics that threaten student and educator safety, civil liberties, and the democratic values we teach every day in our classrooms. Let us be clear: ICE does not belong in schools or communities. This is more than an immigration issue. This is a human rights issue, a civil rights issue, and a democracy issue. Educators across the country are watching this unfold in real time. They are seeing the impact in their classrooms: empty seats, disrupted learning, rising fear, and growing demand for mental health support. Students cannot learn when they are afraid for their safety or the safety of their families. NEA stands in full solidarity with Education Minnesota and its 84,000 members, as well as the students, families, and communities they serve. We stand with all of you who are feeling the impact of this moment. We demand that ICE immediately end its occupation and withdraw from schools, hospitals, places of worship, and other sensitive locations. This is a pushback moment. We must marshal the strength of our members’ values, passion for students, and commitment to creating safe schools and safe communities and take collective action. We are asking state affiliates and all leaders to take the following actions: · Communicate: Help us drive a unified narrative by reinforcing NEA’s messaging and talking points with members, families, elected officials, and local media. NEA’s statement is here. · Organize and Mobilize: Help prepare members to mobilize and advocate for safe schools (share with members): · Educators should know their rights and carry a rights card. Rights cards can be printed in multiple languages. · Advocate for and pass safe school zones resolutions in school districts · Find movement marches and actions · Legislate: Share with Members — Urge Congress to protect sensitive locations and keep ICE out of schools · Litigate: Share with Members — Ask members to share how the loss of sensitive locations protections has affected them, their students, and their schools, to support NEA’s litigation to restore those protections. NEA will continue coordinating national communications, media engagement, and organizing support. We will be sharing additional guidance and resources for affiliates. If you or your staff have questions or need support, please reach out to May Malik, Senior Director, NEA Center for Communications ([email protected]), or Rocio Inclan, Senior Director, NEA Center for Racial and Social Justice ([email protected]). This is about whether the promise of justice and liberty applies to everyone equally. It is about whether the values we teach our students hold up in the world they are growing up in. Thank you for your leadership and your resolve in this moment. In solidarity, Becky and Kim NEA  At our recent September meeting, Sara Ston from HowtoHelpMom.com discussed some of the challenges facing seniors and their families. This organization is akin to the Angie’s List for aging. Their goals is to help provide resources so seniors can remain as independent as possible such as:
- Body health and care services (traveling doctors, nurses, and mobile care, senior centers with workout facilities, pools, etc.) - Home and safety modifications (retrofitting your home to keep you safe, fall prevention, grabbers, ramps, stair lifts, walk-in showers, etc. One company they work with is CAPS Remodeling) - Housing and transitioning (finding the best way to live safely and independently as long as possible, then what are the next steps) - Downsizing and estate transfers (what to do with the equity in your home, dealing with the disbursement of treasured items, donations, estate sales, working with organizers) - Financial and legal services (recommendations for elder care attorneys, long term health insurance, review wills, medical directives, financial power of attorney, etc.) - Review Health Care plans (Midwest Health Care Solutions - is your plan right for you?) - Aging at home safely - Travel challenges (senior transportation networks, share rides, public transportation) - Exercise and work out facilities (senior centers, Silver Sneakers and other free workout options) How to Help Mom is a free, one stop shop that works with everyone from the Area Council on Aging to many other organizations and companies to help seniors age with grace, health and safety. Sara suggested you start by visiting their website: https://howtohelpmom.com/ Next, she shared the importance of having conversations with your loved ones about your desires and needs. Then organize your important documents, put your wishes down in writing, complete a will/trust, financial and medical power of attorney, and legal documents, list your bank accounts and bills and organize these all into a folder and get copies to your loved ones. Sara Ston is open to all questions and available for a consultation at: 248-710-0143.  Do you know a teacher who made a significant difference in your life, your
community, or the teaching profession? Recognizing career teachers motivates other teachers to remain in the classroom, inspires young adults to consider a career in teaching, and honors those who have positively influenced the lives of their students. Nominate a special teacher today! For detailed information about and process visit: https://nthf.org/nominate-a-teacher/ (Nominations due by November 1st.) These are troubling times for our country and the world. We face cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security (closing satellite offices, cutting staff, etc.) and Public Education under the guise of trimming the budget and removing waste, fraud and abuse. Sadly, we’ve already seen the firing of Inspectors General whose jobs were to do just that! Federal agencies and departments are being systematically dismantled. Nearly half the workforce at the Dept. of Education were given their walking papers. Also under attack are the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) that strives to keep our land, waters and air clean; and USAID that provides food and medicine to needy families and people around the world. All these and many more governmental agencies are being slashed. The laws and protections of our Constitution are being ignored or challenged, especially with regard to the right of every person to Due Process. The rulings being made by our courts are being flaunted. The guard rails for our democracy are steadily being removed.
It's time to do our part to protect our democracy. Here are some things each of us can and must do:
 Attacks on our democracy are going on daily. The latest call from our President and DOGE is to abolish or "trim down" the Department of Education. Our president has been appointing individuals who lack the qualifications for their posts and has called for shutting down many Federal agencies under the guise of slashing excess government spending. Numerous employees have been fired or encouraged to take buyouts. It is important that each of us responds with action! Indivisible is asking each of us to call our Senators and representatives. FiftyFiftyOne (50501) and other organizers are calling for protests in all fifty states, with the next one taking place on Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 at the Capitol building in Lansing at noon (bring your sign/flag and dress for the cold). Below are links for further information: https://www.fiftyfifty.one/ https://www.indivisiblehv.com/ https://www.statewideindivisiblemi.com/ Also visit Blue Sky, Reddit, and other social media and search for 50501 and Protests   Since January 6, 2025 we have launched into a rough ride for our Democracy. The changes being wrought by the new administration are drastically affecting everything from the environment to the safety of students in our schools. In response to potential raids by ICE in churches and schools nationwide, NEA has issued a new guideline to immigration. Click here to read it: https://www.nea.org/resource-library/guidance-immigration-issues.
It's time to stand up for our democracy and fight against all attacks against it. One way is to educate yourself and be involved. Indivisible is an excellent grassroots organization dedicated to being a watchdog locally and nationwide. Visit our local Huron Valley chapter for information on what each of us can do in these troubling times: https://www.indivisiblehv.com/  Zach Crim, MEA political organizer, presented election information for 2024 at our chapter's September meeting. He shared that in Michigan, the focus is on the Presidential race, the open Senate seat, open positions in the Michigan Supreme Court and holding onto the slim Democratic majority we currently have in the House and Senate.
Celebrating Historic Victories: What gains have we made? Democrats have established free breakfast and lunches in our public schools, funding has been increased for education, laws were passed allowing for student loan forgiveness for educators and education workers, and also that restored union subjects for bargaining. The broken teacher evaluation law was fixed, and new gun safety laws were passed. Finally, the student retention requirement in third grade reading was removed. Next, Zach reviewed the MEA recommendations for statewide races and shared what key counties the MEA is focusing on in Michigan. These include: the Tri County and Detroit area, Marquette, Grand Traverse, Muskegon, Kent, Ottawa, Calhoun, Jackson, Saginaw, and Genesee counties. MI Congress – We need to protect and grow our Democratic majority. Zach listed battleground seats, especially Michigan's 27th and 58th districts. Also, local school board elections are becoming increasingly volatile. We continue to fight Betsy Devos and conservative activists as well as parent’s rights groups in these elections. Locally, MEA is focusing on school board elections in: Walled Lake, Rochester, Troy, Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills. Zach shared that polling has shown voters prefer pro-education and teacher-endorsed candidates. Finally, in the 2022 elections, MEA endorsed candidates won 260 out of 353 local school board elections, a 74% win rate! Clearly union member recommendations are important in local school board elections. Absentee and early voting begins Sept. 26th. How to Help? Go to www.mobilize.us/mea/ to find volunteer opportunities. Join the Michigan Post Card Project. For info email: [email protected]. To donate to PAC, visit: www.meavotes.org and click on "Give to MEA -PAC. To find the MEA recommended candidates for your area, go to: https://meavotes.org/ This is a very important election year, PLEASE VOTE!  The MEA held it's Spring Representative Assembly in Lansing on April 19-20, 2024. There were 38 retired delegates present making up about 10% of the RA Delegates which was acknowledged by MEA Leadership.
Among other business, a new business item (NBI) was introduced that called for the ban on sales of assault weapons to those under 21. After much discussion the NBI was passed as amended. While the amendment did not call for the ban for those over 21, it did express the disapproval of ownership of assault weapons by anyone. Additionally, MEA dues will remain at current levels for the next school year, under a new one-year budget approved at the meeting. RA delegates gave generously to MEA PAC, raising $15,000 to help elect friends of public education up and down the ballot in November. The MEA-Retired new and improved website is up and running! Thus, PAC Contributions can now be made online. Check it out at www.mea-retired.org The NEA-Retired Annual Meeting and NEA Representative Assembly will be in Philadelphia June 30-July 8, 2024. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 22! Join the Coalition for a Secure Retirement (CSR) for a lobby day at the Capitol! CSR helps provide a unified force of active and retired school and state employees to Lobby with state lawmakers. Coalition partners include AFSCME Council 25, AFT-MI, MEA and SEIU, as well as other smaller retiree groups. When: Wednesday, May 22, 2024 from 9-3 p.m. Where to Meet: Central United Methodist Church 215 N. Capitol Ave. Lansing, MI Join us for this event! https://mobilize.us/s/QGSpUb MEA President Madaferi stated: It’s important to remember that others would like to take away all of our hard-fought victories. Every seat in the House is up for re-election this fall. “There are people right now that want to move us backwards. They want to defund public education. They want to take away people’s rights, “We have got to get people to vote...for a philosophy, a team, our country, our values.” For a complete report out on the RA, visit: https://mea.org/meas-ra-approves-budget-resolutions-and-more/  Our annual luncheon will take place on Monday, May 13 at 11:00 at Highland House Restaurant, 2630 Highland Road, Highland, Michigan 48356, There will be updates on the March MEA Retired annual meeting and the Spring R.A. RSVP to [email protected]. Note: You will need to purchase your own meal. Please join us!
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AuthorWest Oakland County Ed. Association Retired Region 7 is a community of retired educators, para-educators, and school personnel who support and advocate for public education. Archives
September 2026
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