Council 3 Updates

Monday, March 20 was "Crossover Day", the deadline for a bill to pass either the House or Senate to be considered by the other and have a chance of being signed into law.

After nearly 2 years, a long-delayed analysis of staffing issues at Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) institutions will be wrapping up at the end of January and results

It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Council 3’s first Secretary-Treasurer Flo Jones has passed away unexpectedly this past weekend.

If you signed on to the largest grievance filed in state history and have left state employment- please review this important update about the payment process. As you probably heard, the state and AFSCME have settled this grievance and as a result, the state owes you a $2500 bonus for the settlement.  

2022 is a big year in Maryland and we need all the help we can to make sure our AFSCME endorsed candidates win! Now is better than ever to get a head start on talking to our AFSCME members!

Together with our brothers and sisters at AFSCME Council 67 and AFSCME Local 2250, our union has endorsed Tom Perez for Governor and Brooke Lierman to be the next Comptroller of Maryland. 

At the end of the last pay period, on February 8th, COVID-19 response pay was terminated by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). We fought over the past two years for expanded response pay and other types of compensation for the risks frontline workers are taking during this pandemic. Despite our demands at bargaining for a clear process on response pay, DBM would not budge on anything but a pay-period by pay-period extension at their discretion.

This year, members of AFSCME Council 3 are pursuing a robust legislative agenda including strengthening and expanding collective bargaining. Check out the pieces of legislation we are following below. 

On Monday, January 31st, AFSCME Council 3’s bargaining team and a team of third-party observers completed the vote count to ratify AFSCME’s latest Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), including almost 12% in raises. Members of all six bargaining units (A, B, C, D, F and H) voted overwhelmingly to pass this agreement and secure our raises! This agreement will benefit our 20,000 plus bargaining unit members and thousands of other public employees in Maryland as well as their families.

AFSCME Council 3 recently announced we had reached a new tentative agreement with the Hogan Administration. In this agreement, our union secured almost 12% in increases for 2021-2023, you can read the breakdown on the agreement here. We urge all members to vote yes to secure these increases. All increases that will go into effect upon ratification.

Late on the evening of Friday, December 31st, 2021, AFSCME Council 3’s bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with the Hogan Administration for a new contract after months of difficult bargaining. This agreement provides for almost 12% in raises to the 20,000 members of AFSCME Council 3’s bargaining units.

After months of organizing and pushing through tough negotiations, we have secured almost 12% in raises between January 2022 and July 2023. AFSCME bargaining unit members will win:

​On Monday, January 3, 2022, State offices and facilities in the counties listed below will be closed from 6 a.m. to 6:00 pm.  Emergency Essential Employees should report as scheduled.  Non-emergency essential employees, who are required to report to the office or a worksite to work, should remain home.  Employees who are authorized and assigned to telework from home should work at home as scheduled unless leave is granted.  Home offices are unaffected by the closure.