The Maryland Classified Employees Council (MCEA), an AFT-Maryland affiliate, will hold its Statewide Advisory Council meeting April 26, 2014. The Advisory Council meeting hosts representatives of all MCEA chapters and regions for an evaluation and assessment of the Association’s activities and a strategic planning session for future operatio
Ernie Grecco, President of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council, AFL-CIO Unions has called for a boycott of Staples office supply stores. In calling the boycott, Grecco and the Council join the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) in an attempt to stop the privatization of post office services.
The Baltimore Teachers Union Public Outreach Committee announces their PROM DRIVE, and they are collecting formalwear and donations to benefit young teens who may otherwise be unable to attend their proms due to financial hardship.
Drop off donations between April 1 thru April 28, from 9am-5pm at the BTU, 5800 Metro Drive, 2nd floor.
AFT-Maryland staff and affiliate members journeyed to Wichita, Kansas, March 9-14 for a week of intensive training in the AFT organizing model and to help the Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSE) identify potential activists and recruit new union members. The AFT-Maryland volunteers joined union members from Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, and Kansas in the joint organizing effort, which was launched as a part of the “Reclaiming the Promise of High Quality Public Services for Strong Communities,” an AFT national initiative."
The bill that would increase Maryland’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour has been stalled in the Senate Finance Committee. Senator Thomas Middleton (D-Charles), chair of that committee says that he will not move on the minimum wage proposal until an agreement to raise the wages of workers who care for the developmentally disabled has been reached. Middleton wants to raise the hourly wage for workers who care for the developmentally disabled to a level that is higher than the proposed minimum wage increase.
The nine-inch snow storm that hit the city of Annapolis Monday, March 17th, delayed the schedule to which legislators are expected to adhere. Monday, March 17th, officially was “Crossover Day,” the last day when bills passed in the House or Senate can be sent to the corresponding subcommittee in the opposite chamber for consideration. Bills that fail to “crossover” are sent to the Rules Committee for review and a decision. Generally, legislation sent to the Rules Committee is considered more difficult to get passed.