Teachers, parents and community members in Ann Arbor gathered this week at city-wide meeting speaking out against layoffs and attacks on public education.
The CDC guidelines were adjusted in mid-July to suit the demands of the Trump administration that schools reopen, as part the broader campaign to reopen the economy.
The WSWS spoke with two teachers about the dangerous push by the Trump administration to reopen schools in the fall as the COVID-19 pandemic spirals out of control.
Last week, Whitmer released dangerous and unfunded mandates on schools reopening, making it clear that she is determined to push ahead even as cases spike across the state.
Both Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican-controlled legislature have fully committed to the reopening of in-person schooling, in line with the demands of automakers and other big businesses.
Eastern Michigan University issued layoff notices to ten of its eleven full-time non-tenured faculty in the College of Education, some of whom have been with the university for decades.
About 30 students and faculty attended EMU’s Board of Regents meeting to speak against and protest EMU’s partnership with the state Education Achievement Authority.
Nearly one in five in Michigan, the 1.8 million people currently on food assistance, will see a substantial cut in their food stamp benefit this month.
Last week the Michigan state legislature passed a bill that strips retirement health care from all newly hired teachers and greatly increases the cost of their pensions while setting in motion plans to altogether eliminate them.
Last week, a WSWS team visited Camp Take Notice, a homeless encampment in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to speak with residents and document conditions. The tent camp is home to about 35 people.