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Union representing over 20,000 state employees rallies in Baltimore as part of a statewide tour to draw attention to critical staffing shortages and outdated state facilities

After months of stalled wage negotiations, library workers demanded contract provisions that guarantee fair and comparable wages.

Union representing over 20,000 state employees holding statewide tour to draw attention to critical staffing shortages and outdated state facilities

AFSCME Maryland Statement on December 3rd Indictment Baltimore, Maryland- AFSCME Maryland learned today of the indictment and arrest of 25 correctional officers and employees. The correctional officers charged today should receive the process and rights that they are due under Maryland law and the US Constitution. They are innocent until proven guilty.
WASHINGTON—Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, which demands the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issue a workplace violence prevention standard requiring employers within the health care and social service sectors to develop and implement a plan to protect their employees from workplace violence.
BALTIMORE, MD – The Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings delivered a significant victory to AFSCME in ruling on competing unfair labor practice complaints filed by the union and the Hogan Administration in in relation to negotiations in 2018. Administrative Law Judge Brian P. Weeks dismissed the Hogan Administration’s complaint as baseless and upheld AFSCME’s complaints that the Administration interfered with constitutional rights and violated the law by attempting to force the union to forgo its rights to communicate with the General Assembly and to undermine the union’s ability to communicate the employees it represents.
Annapolis, Md. (October 29, 2019) – Today, the Senate Budget & Taxation and House Appropriations Committees held an emergency joint hearing to demand answers on the chronic staffing shortage within state agencies. Lawmakers were briefed by the Department of Legislative Services, community leaders and state workers, as well as the Hogan administration.
Media Advisory: August 7th, 2019 AFSCME Maryland is standing with legislators and community partners to demand immediate action from the Hogan Administration to address how short staffing damages and undercuts the quality of our public services This year, Governor Hogan chose not to release over $245 million in funding already approved by the Maryland Legislature including but not limited to the testing of rape kids, funding for school construction and funds for retention and raises for Correctional Officers. Instead of funding these critical projects to protect Marylanders, the Governor is silently and chronically underfunding state services, taking away middle-class jobs and effectively gutting our safety net. Our union will continue to fight for a better Maryland and highlight the impact of the Governor’s underfunding.
On May 1st, Delegate Adrienne Jones was elected Speaker of the Maryland House. AFSCME Maryland Council congratulates Delegate Jones on her historic election to the position of Speaker of the House and applauds the election of the first African-American and first woman Speaker in the history of Maryland. As the Speaker Pro Tem, Delegate Jones was a champion for union members and working people across the state.
AFSCME Maryland Organizing Director Sam Luebke appeared on WOLB Talk 1010's Lunch With Labor to discuss the Council's fight at the bargaIning table, the wins during negotiations with management and the Council's plan to fight for more when we return to the bargaining table in September.
On Monday Jan. 15, 2018, a holiday celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a coalition of union and non-union workers, activists, elected officials, and small business owners gathered in Annapolis to kick off the “Fight For $15” statewide campaign, calling on elected officials in Annapolis to raise the minimum wage during the Maryland Legislative Session, which began on Jan. 10 and will end in April.