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!
Members on the frontline continue to risk exposure to COVID-19 simply by reporting to work. As the pandemic began and using federal funding, all employees were granted access to Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) to be used when exposed and prevent employees from depleting their own leave because of the risk assumed simply by reporting to work. AFSCME fought for a continuation of this policy and won an extension until June this year.
Late last week it was announced that the Maryland General Assembly will go into special session from December 6 through December 15. For AFSCME, important legislation impacting our members that was vetoed by Governor Hogan will have the opportunity to become law through the General Assembly overriding the Governor’s veto. In addition, maps that have drawn the boundaries of Congressional districts will be redrawn.
Recently, it was announced that Maryland has a $2.5 billion dollar surplus this fiscal year. I want to make it clear where that surplus came from. By undercutting, underfunding, and understaffing vital public services at the State and county level, Governor Hogan can now claim Maryland has a surplus in the budget. This surplus came on the backs of depriving the employees here who keep Maryland’s safety net functioning from being able to do their job. This surplus came by spending as little federal aid as he could and quite frankly putting money in the wrong places.
AFSCME Council 3 and AFSCME Council 67 jointly announced their endorsement of candidate and former Maryland and U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez to be our next Governor.
AFSCME members invited all major candidates, Republicans, and Democrats, to meet with our board. After we conducted candidate interviews our board unanimously voted to endorse Tom Perez.
Maryland has a $2.5 Billion Dollar Surplus! Join us in the fight to demand Governor Hogan use the surplus to invest in public services and the employees who provide them.
As you may have heard, recently AFSCME’s lawyers at the law firm of Kahn, Smith, and Collins (KSC) prevented the state from getting the statewide emergency pay grievance dismissed. Recently, you may have received an email from them gathering information for our case. These are our attorneys working on our behalf to win our statewide emergency pay grievance.
Earlier this month, AFSCME Council 3’s Executive Board invited the leading republican and democratic candidates for Governor to meet and interview about their plan for Maryland. As public employees, our members have a unique power to elect the boss who sits across from us at the negotiation table. Elections have consequences and there is no clearer example than the damage Governor Hogan has done to state services over the last 7 years of his term.
Last June, Governor Hogan, and his administration allowed the Emergency Paid Sick Leave program to expire, taking away vital protection from frontline workers exposed to COVID-19. Without EPSL, frontline workers must use their own time to quarantine after a workplace exposure instead of the emergency leave. Sometimes this means that they must use Leave Without Pay and stay out of work with no pay. Not only is this a burden to frontline workers and their families, but it also ultimately puts workers in the position to choose between their paycheck and their health and safety.
