UAW President Bob King, Diane Ravitch to speak at American Federation of Teachers convention in Detroit
Published: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 5:59 PM Updated: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 6:00 PM
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- UAW President Bob King and historian-advocate Diane Ravitch are slated to be among the speakers at the American Federation of Teachers 2012 convention set for later this month in Detroit, union leaders said Thursday.
The AFT is the nation’s second-largest teachers union with about 1.5 million members, in Michigan representingDetroit Public Schools about 90 other locals in school districts, universities and municipalities.
About 3,000 delegates are expected to attend the annual convention July 26-30 at Cobo Center.
The convention comes as the host city’s schools are increasingly under fire, with an achievement authority taking over some of the district’s lowest-performing schools.
An emergency financial manager earlier this month imposed a contract on teachers, a move the union called "farce."
The convention’s agenda includes challenges facing members as “corporate and special interests invest millions of dollars in anti-worker attacks, and as budget cuts have left hundreds of