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The Maryland General Assembly is again is session and AFT-Maryland is in the state capital, monitoring the actions of legislators and preparing to defend the interests of working families. On January 16th, Martin Luther King Jr., Day, we joined representatives from other AFL-CIO unions from around the state to honor Dr. King and to remind Maryland legislators that the struggle for jobs and justice continues today.
Dr. King fought not only for equality but for economic justice and today, with high levels of unemployment, the loss of homes through foreclosure, and healthcare still unavailable to all, the demands made by Dr. King are being heard again throughout the country.
In Maryland, we will add our voices to that chorus.
In Solidarity,
Marietta English |
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After nearly 10 months of negotiations, the members of the Backus Federation of Nurses at William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn., have secured their first collective bargaining contract. The three-year contract, which covers 400 registered nurses at the hospital, was reached just more than one year after the Backus nurses voted to unionize.
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The Maryland Senate has voted to shift of some of the cost of teacher pensions to Baltimore City and the state’s counties as part of an efforts to avoid more than $500 million in so-called Doomsday budget cuts originally scheduled to take effect on July 1.
The House voted 86-51 for the that will begin splitting teacher pension costs between the state and local jurisdictions over the next four years. In the Senate, the vote on the measure that included the teacher pension shift was 33-13.
AFT-Maryland and its affiliate, the Baltimore Teachers Union, have long opposed shifting the cost of pensions to local governments. Many local jurisdictions, such as the City of Baltimore, already suffer from budget deficits.
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The AFL-CIO has launched its 2012 AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch site—now called CEO Pay and the 99%—which includes the most comprehensive data available on 2011 executive pay. All the data available is searchable by industry, by state and by the top 100 highest-paid CEOs.
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To Innovate, Look to Those Who Educate
 In her latest column appearing in the New York Times, AFT president Randi Weingarten describes how the AFT Innovation Fund is providing an alternative to school reform efforts that ignore the expertise of educators and their unions. The fund supports AFT affiliates that engaged in collaborative efforts that focus on promising ideas and proven programs that can be scaled up. Read the full column. |
An open letter to Maryland State Governor Martin O'Malley from AFT-Maryland President, Marietta English.
The letter expresses concern and disappointment with the inability of our political leaders to reach agreement over our state budget. 23 counties and the city of Baltimore will lose over $260 million, with the impact hitting hardest in areas that are most reliant on state revenues and that can least afford the reductions.
Everyday people will be affected in every way. |
Voting is a big topic this year, but here’s one vote you don’t have to wait until November to cast—vote now for your favorite AFT Everyday Hero for 2012!
One of our own (BCFPE, AFT-Maryland, AFL-CIO and a Baltimore County Government Employee/Volunteer) HAS MADE IT TO THE SEMI-FINALISTS ROUND!
VOTE FOR MICHAEL MORRIS – 2012 AFT PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DIVISION EVERYDAY HERO
YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
Everyday Heroes: AFT Public Employees Semifinalists
http://www.aft.org/everydayheroes/pubemps2012.cfm |
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Job Opening: Director of Organizing, AFT-Maryland
Full listing at: Union Jobs Clearinghouse
We have a unique, exciting and immediate opportunity for an individual with considerable experience in directing successful organizing campaigns and building an effective and sustainable statewide organizing program to become the Director of Organizing, AFT-Maryland. This individual will direct a team of field representatives and organizer in achieving goals. The individual reports to the President, AFT-Maryland and who provides executive leadership and to the Executive Director, AFT-Maryland who directs day-to-day operations. |
Last night the latest local of AFT-Maryland voted to approve their constitution. The process of electing an executive board will now begin. To read the whole constitution, click on title. |
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Many studies over the years have documented the need for smoother transitions from prekindergarten to the elementary level. A new AFT report reinforces that conclusion—and does it in a manner that puts frontline voices at the heart of the dialogue.
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Got a question for AFT-Maryland? Click here to gain access to some of the questions that are most asked of our staffers. |
The citizens of Ohio took back their state with a historic vote on Nov. 8 to repeal Senate Bill 5. The vote, which marks the first time that the collective bargaining rights of public employees have been upheld on a statewide ballot, sends a clear signal that Ohioans will not sit idly by while politicians scapegoat hard-working public employees for an economic crisis they did not create.
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Drive wants to collect 1,000 books!
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Despite the passage of Question A, Binding Arbitration, on last November's ballot, some Baltimore County councilmen want to block the enactment of this legislation. Click here to see why county residents are supporting its passage and why the Baltimore Sun newspaper agrees!
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The Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees held officer elections Tuesday, September 27th. Click here to see the official election results! |
President Obama's bold plan— the American Jobs Act—is the right antidote to help solve our persistent economic problems, AFT president Randi Weingarten says. |
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Two longtime union activists and education reformers are assuming new roles in AFT's leadership, AFT president Randi Weingarten announced on Sept. 9.
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Seniors and concerned citizens will rally in Baltimore July 25th to oppose cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
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Every day, educators and other public employees, and the services they provide our communities, are being attacked. From challenging collective bargaining rights, to undermining the quality of public education and higher education, to decimating pensions and trying to put healthcare coverage further out of reach, working men and women across the country are under assault. And if this has taught us one thing, it's that Elections Matter.
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Calling Young Teachers
The AFT is looking for young teachers to join our Generation Y online community. This supportive network of young professionals is a place to discuss issues that affect you and your work. You can interact with other members through the forums and member pages, learn more about what is going on in schools across the nation, and find out about upcoming events and activities you can attend. |
In a March 28 speech sponsored by the Commonwealth Club, AFT president Randi Weingarten challenged those who have blamed public employees and their right to collectively bargain as a cause of their states' fiscal problems. |
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Generation Y teachers—those in their mid-30s or younger—say that to keep them in teaching, schools should be transformed into workplaces that support high-quality teaching and learning, so eager but nearly overwhelmed novices will stay in the profession and can become highly effective, according to a new report by the AFT and the American Institutes for Research.
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AFT Members Will Stand Together for 'We Are One' Week of Action
Workers' fundamental rights are under attack in a growing number of states. But as we have seen in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere, those attacks have inspired and motivated tens of thousands of union members to stand together for their rights. The challenge now, as AFT president Randi Weingarten put it in a recent e-mail to more than 1.5 million AFT members and allies, is to take this moment and turn it into a movement. One step in that direction is a "We Are One" Week of Action, starting April 4, that will bring together members from the AFT and other unions, along with our allies, to participate in events around the country. First, take the pledge to help make a difference. Once you take the pledge, you'll see lots of ideas for how to join in the week of action. |
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AFT president Randi Weingarten on Feb. 24 proposed a new way to align teacher development and evaluation to due process for tenured teachers. Weingarten laid out a three-step process consisting of clear standards for what teachers should know and be able to do, a time-limited improvement and support plan for teachers deemed to be unsatisfactory according to the evaluation standards, and a hearing process that can take no longer than 100 days, which in many cases would be even more expedient.
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SUPPORT WISCONSIN'S WORKERS
Read about the Governor’s attack on workers bargaining rights and what you can do to stop it. More |
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