“It was like waking up and learning you won the lottery.” That’s just one of the comments flooding the AFT offices from members who are elated to be free of student debt at last. After relentless advocacy, including an AFT lawsuit against former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that was so broken is finally doing what it is supposed to do: delivering relief from student debt for thousands of borrowers. So far, $6.2 billion in student debt has been forgiven for 100,000 public service workers like teachers, nurses and professors.

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Class sizes make a huge difference in an educator’s ability to reach and connect with their students. Unfortunately for Maryland educators however, class sizes are non-negotiable and cannot be collectively bargained. House Bill 890 (HB890) seeks to change that. While a number of education professionals and advocates from across the state offered testimony detailing how necessary this legislation is for classroom instructors, the most visually compelling testimony came from AFT-Maryland members in the Baltimore Teachers Union (Local 340). 

March has been a busy month for AFT affiliates in Annapolis. With the 90-day legislative session going strong, many of our unions have appeared virtually or headed to Annapolis to testify on bills that could meaningfully change working conditions and benefits for our public employees. Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees (BCFPE Local 4883) President John Ripley and Area Vice President Kasia Gatchalian testified on two bills that would affect 911 operators in Baltimore county. 

The first is