AFSCME Maryland Launches State-Wide Legislative & Political Action Committees

AFSCME Maryland Launches State-Wide Legislative & Political Action Committees

This past legislative session, by organizing and educating our legislators about the struggles of Maryland public employees, our union was able to win an additional 3% COLA and make laws better for working people. Over the course of the 90-day legislative session, AFSCME members visited or attempted to meet all 188 Senators and Delegates. Thousands of phone calls and letters were sent and hundreds of members stormed Annapolis. We made our voices heard and through coming together we won:

• A 3% Cost of Living Adjustment contingent on revenue coming in two parts (1% January 2020, 2% July 2020).
• Job Protection for USM Exempt Employees who are covered by collective bargaining will only be able to be terminated with “cause” effective October 1, 2019. Previously, USM Exempt Employees were the ONLY public employees that are covered by collective bargaining in Maryland without this critical protection.
• Expands access to all state employees for free ridership services in the Baltimore Metro Area. This bill requires that the Maryland Transit Administration provide FREE ridership ser­vices on transit vehicles to any permanent employee working for the State of Maryland
•  The Payroll Recovery Act extends the ability of state employees to receive damages if an inaccurate pay check is not corrected in a timely fashion. We have won over $100,000 in damages so far- check your paystubs especially on Holidays or if you work a non-Daylight shift.  

We fought for and won these changes because active members used their voices and fought to protect the quality of Maryland’s public services. AFSCME Maryland members make the state run every day and in order to continue retaining AND recruiting quality state workers we need to continue expanding our power. That’s why this week, we held inaugural Regional Political Action Committee meetings to start building our State-Wide Political Action Committee.

Each of the 47 Maryland legislative districts have been divided into one of 8 Regional Political Action Committees who will report to a Statewide Political Action Committee. Click here to review them and find your region! Each Regional Political Action Committee will meet regularly to prepare for the 2020 Legislative Session and educate elected officials about the critical work we do before session even begins. To win the fight for our rights, we need enthusiastic volunteers who will be key contacts with Legislators in Your region and are willing to:

• Educate co-workers and legislators about the AFSCME agenda
• Meet with legislators and their staff
• Attend regional political events, rallies or other public events
• Speak and Write confidently about the AFSCME Agenda
• Training and guidance is provided!

During the inaugural meetings, Legislative and Political Director Lance Kilpatrick reviewed the past legislative session; the importance of personal relationships with legislators; the structure of the Regional Legislative and Political Action Committees; the types of members who should get involved; the formal roles of Political Action Captain (PAC) and Political Action Liaisons (PALs) and their duties and responsibilities; and next steps for recruiting members to join, meeting with Senators and Delegates, and further trainings later in the year. 

This Summer, stay tuned for more information about how to get involved with the Legislative Political Action Committee. Email our Legislative and Political Director, Lance Kilpatrick, at [email protected] or call 410-547-1515 to get more involved!