This is an exciting time to be an AFSCME member in Maryland! Starting April 2023, AFSCME Council 3 and AFSCME Council 67 will begin the unification process to form a united AFSCME Maryland.
This comes after the executive boards of AFSCME Council 67, AFSCME Council 3, and the AFSCME International Union all voted in favor of unification.
The unification of our two powerful unions representing thousands of public service workers across Maryland is a new chapter of organizing, building power, and ensuring strong public services in our cities, counties, higher education campuses, and at the state level.
AFSCME Council 3 currently represents nearly 30,000 workers in Maryland’s state agencies and public universities. AFSCME Council 67 represents nearly 15,000 workers at cities, counties, and school boards throughout Maryland. Through this unification, AFSCME will represent nearly 45,000 public employees across Maryland.
We are stronger when we stand united, and we are committed to ensuring that every AFSCME member gets the resources, pay, and benefits you need to provide for your communities and families. By joining forces, we will be one united and strong membership with the resources to not only continue fighting for our current members but to also organize more public service workers across the state that want to form a union in their workplaces.
By unifying together, we are combining the extensive knowledge, resources, and power the two councils have. We are committed to winning the pay, respect, and workplace changes that AFSCME members deserve, and we strongly believe that aligning our resources together will make our union a force to be reckoned with at the state level, and now, at the city and county levels as well.
Whether it’s in our state capitol building, at the bargaining table, or at our worksites, we are excited about the possibilities that this unification will bring. Similar unification efforts have happened successfully in other states like New Jersey. With our combined resources, we will be able to take advantage of new organizing opportunities and demand better outcomes for ourselves, our coworkers, and our workplaces.
In the coming months, we will have more details about the unification process. Regardless, your membership with AFSCME does not change, including the representation you receive from your local and our council. The benefits, resources, and support you currently receive will not be impacted.
Thank you for everything you do and your commitment to building the workplaces we all deserve.