Council 3 Updates

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!

For 36 years, Stephanie has worked for the State of Maryland — 10 years at the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and 26 years at the University of Baltimore (UB). In her current role at UB, she ensures the law school’s clinic runs smoothly to help the law professors and students serve the community. 

"On Friday, September 22, over 50 local presidents came together from across Maryland for our first ever biannual presidents’ meeting as a united AFSCME Maryland. During our meeting, I had a great time sharing ideas and goals, learning how we can work together, and discussing what resources are needed from our Council to help all of you build power in workplaces across Maryland.

For nearly 14 years, Delonya Akindoyo worked as the Chief Custodian at Rolling Knolls Elementary School in Anne Arundel County. For her, the best part of the job was working with the students, seeing their smiling faces, and being in a workplace that felt like family.

"Since the unification of our two AFSCME councils in Maryland into one strong AFSCME Council 3, we have had a constant wave of organizing and action. Members are engaged at every level — from the city to the county to the state as well as in our school districts and on our higher education campuses. From negotiating contracts to organizing new members into our union, we are a united AFSCME!

As a child, Rayneika Robinson remembers going to family cookouts and spending time with her grandfather. "My grandfather would always tell me that his union is what gave him a voice. He would tell me how his union helped put safety protocols and fair practices in place for him and his fellow truck drivers," says Rayneika, a parole and probation agent and the president of AFSCME Local 3661.

This year’s 445th Maryland Legislative Session welcomed a new administration, over 40 new legislators, and new committee chairs. In Annapolis, many said this session was unusual especially after the virtual sessions of the pandemic and the previous Governor’s anti-worker administration.

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.

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.