After being snowed out in early February, leaders and selected members of AFT-Maryland locals gathered in Annapolis for their annual legislative reception. At this event, members and leaders interact with Delegates and state Senators in a light-hearted social affair. While the mood is light-hearted, business is always on the menu. Each year, union leaders discuss the bills and issues important to their membership and get caught up on the progress of legislation that will affect their union.

This year, the reception was rescheduled for a Monday in mid-March. Unfortunately it was also the day

Come join with your sisters and brothers in labor for

Union Night in Annapolis
Monday, March 25th, 2019
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Meet on the Southeast Lawn
at the corner of Bladen & Calvert Streets
Annapolis MD 21401

Limited bus seating is available, leaving from AFT-Maryland/BTU at 5:15 p.m. (5800 Metro Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215).

RSVP to hold your seat by FRIDAY, 3/22:
Todd Reynolds, treynolds@aftmd.org, (443) 320-4719. Food and soft drinks will be provided on the bus.

Be sure to wear your union shirts, jackets, hats, etc.!

Sponsored by the Metro Baltimore Council AFL-CIO

On a March Friday, a collection of state workers who decided they no longer wanted to be just employees, but that they wanted to be leaders in their workplace, convened at the AFT-Maryland office for a steward training. This training equipped members with skills on how to engage fellow workers and managing a range of worker related issues. A common misconception about state employees, particularly in the health sector, is that they don’t face similar worker issues as other employees, namely private ones.

AFT-Healthcare Maryland is responsible for facilitating labor-management committees (LMCs)

When federal legislators wanted to protect public water, they knew they could call on President Antoinette Ryan-Johnson of the City Union of Baltimore. They knew she’d be the perfect ally for this fight to protect public water. Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence of Michigan along with Congressman Ro Khanna of California have re-introduced the WATER Act of 2019. This legislation would provide federal funding for water infrastructure improvements all across the nation.

In her remarks at the press conference introducing the legislation, President Ryan-Johnson spoke on behalf of the 600 City Union of

The union’s work ensuring funding for students often takes members, leadership, and staff to Annapolis to make the case before Maryland legislators. However, a special assignment to secure federal funding brought BTU PSRP Chapter Chair and AFT-Maryland Executive Board member Sandra Davis to Washington, D.C. to lobby for more funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Currently the act is only funded federally at about 15%. Davis and other AFT members from across the nation met with Congressional leaders to get that funding to 40%. States are responsible for providing