250 Join in Union Rally at West Bloomfield High School

About 250 teachers and other union workers from around Metro Detroit stood arm-in-arm Monday during a candlelight vigil at in remembrance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and to support collective bargaining in good faith.

"We Are One" was the title of the vigil, which was hosted by the Michigan AFL-CIO.

“I hope everyone here comes away tonight aware of what Martin Luther King died for," said Deborah Lotan, president of the Waterford Michigan Educational Support Personnel Association (MESPA) III. "I believe that the people here tonight are a tribute to that … and that’s why I’m optimistic, because every time I go to one of these events, I see more and more new faces.” 

King was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968, after addressing a rally for union sanitation workers. Kim Pilarski, president of the West Bloomfield Education Association (WBEA), said that King’s work as a civil rights and union group leader was the inspiration for her standing in near-freezing temperatures on Orchard Lake Road.

“Martin Luther King Jr., was proud to stand up for the rights that were under fire, including the middle class. If things happen in Lansing, which could happen, the middle class could be eliminated," Pilarski said. "We hope that people are aware of what’s happening in Lansing and do something to state their opinion.”

She was referring to Gov. Rick Snyder’s 2011 budget proposal, which calls for massive cuts to public services across the board.

Last week at WBHS, the West Bloomfield School District Board of Education on the WBEA.

However, Lotan, who helped organize the event, said that state Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) was the inspiration for her to select WBHS to hold the event. On Brown’s website, she speaks of the proposed cuts to education funding that will “devastate” schools.

“(Brown) is a strong advocate for workers rights and K-16 public education, so we thought that holding it here in West Bloomfield was fitting, because much like King, she’s an advocate for our students and us on a whole,” Lotan said.

The rally brought together teachers unions, including those from Grosse Pointe schools, Waterford, Royal Oak, Warren Woods and Flint. The teachers were joined by other unions, including members from the United Auto Workers and United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, according to Lotan.

“I feel optimistic in that teachers from a broad range of districts and communities are supporting each other. I think you need to rally each other from a spirit and a practical standpoint in terms of who you elect and what you do,” said Joanna Porvin, a teacher at Brownell Middle School in Grosse Pointe.

“It’s been nice to hear all the horns honking,” said Diane Alberts, a Troy resident who teaches kindergarten at Northwood Elementary School in Royal Oak. “I’ve been at other rallies in West Bloomfield in the past few weeks and I haven’t heard as much as I’ve heard tonight. It’d be nice to get more public support because the teachers are getting bashed a lot lately.”

A rally is planned Tuesday at the state Capitol, led by the Michigan AFL-CIO, to specifically target the emergency financial manager legislation that the Senate could vote on this week.

West Bloomfield students are on spring vacation until April 11.