For the first time, our contract covering 20,000 state employees in Units A, B, C, D, F, and H contains language allowing us to have five Chief Stewards!
We are less than a week from completing the General Assembly’s 2021 90-Day legislative session. Here are some of the latest actions taken by the legislature that AFSCME Council 3 has been advocating:
On Thursday, March 4th, HB73 Telework Policy Reform passed the Maryland House of Delegates by a vote of 100-22. It will now crossover to the Maryland Senate, so we’re one chamber down, one to go.
Last Friday, two members of AFSCME Local 112, the Maryland Department of Social Services, testified at a budget hearing held virtually. Each department or state agency has an annual budget hearing in front of elected officials who sit on the committees overseeing their agency's budget. This year because of the pandemic these hearings are being conducted virtually.
After years of organizing and lobbying, AFSMCE has helped secure forensic pay increases starting July 1st, 2021. AFSCME members have been fighting for years to fix the pay disparities and lack of security in the State Hospitals and Residential Centers, which are now predominantly Forensic. We are happy to report that their relentless efforts have paid off!
Governor Hogan’s FY22 budget includes funding for these increases starting on July 1st, 2021. This increased funding will allow:
Amidst ongoing news of Maryland’s low uptake of the vaccine, AFSCME is continuing to urge management to remove as many barriers as possible to frontline workers who wish to access the vaccine. Our union urges management to facilitate access to vaccination for frontline workers by establishing worksite-based clinics at congregate care facilities and other large office complexes.
