Stand up for the 1% COLA on January 14th!

Fight for Your 1% COLA on January 14th

AFSCME Maryland is the largest union for state employees. Our union is fighting for better public services that are fully funded, resourced and staffed. Over the course of his time as Governor, Hogan and his management team have tried to balance their budget on the backs of state employees. Whether it was cutting the 2% COLA increase in 2014, a complete lack of action at the outbreak of violence in facilities across agencies or systematically underfunding the pension fund, Governor Hogan has proven his commitment to gutting public services in our state.

Stand up for Public Services on January 14th in Annapolis! 

Last year, Governor Hogan tried to pass ground rules limiting how the union communicated with its members and elected officials. Our union refused to accept these rules and filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against Governor Hogan. Despite that, we won the 3% Governor Hogan budgeted as well as an additional 2% for July 2020. The Governor also budgeted a 1% COLA (for January 2020) contingent on revenue projections. The General Assembly approved this budget including increases for all state employees and so far all revenue projections have been met securing the 1% increase.

This year, as negotiations began, our union and the Hogan administration were still involved in the judicial proceedings over the Unfair Labor Practice charges. On November 7th, a judge found in our favor, declared the Hogan administration had attempted to illegally limit our rights and ordered the Governor back to the table to immediately negotiate. After months of back and forth, we secured a 2% COLA and a revenue contingent $500 bonus for January 2021. These increases will be included his budget for the next fiscal year and must be approved by the General Assembly during the upcoming Legislative Session.

Want to be more involved in the Legislative Program? Get more information now!

 Days after announcing this agreement, Governor Hogan’s administration announced they would be excluding all AFSCME bargaining units in the 1% COLA for this month funded under last year’s budget. This means any state employee in Bargaining Unit A, B, C, D, F and H regardless of membership is being singled out. His administration is choosing to give this to your management but not front-line state employees.  This is clear retaliation for our union winning a challenge of his illegal ground rules. AFSCME is pursuing every form of recourse available to us but we know the first step is clear: Stand with your union and demand all AFSCME units get the 1%. Read the Baltimore Sun’s recap of the situation

Together, we must stand strong. Our strength comes from our numbers. With the Legislative Session ahead and a new budget for the next fiscal year comes big opportunities for AFSCME members to secure funding and support for public services. By being in Annapolis and actively lobbying, we can win back this money.

Join us on January 14th from 4-8pm when we fill the streets of Annapolis with state workers demanding their pay back. We have transportation leaving from Baltimore, Salisbury, Hagerstown, Landover, Cheltenham and Glen Burnie.

RSVP for the 14th here

This is a critical time to get more involved in our political program. Want more information about becoming a Political Action Liaison? Click here for more information: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/join-the-political-action-liaison-program