MPEC Member Testifies at State Parks Investment Commission

“Every day, you don’t know what you’re going to be dealing with and your plans are always being upended by circumstances in the park.” That’s how MPEC Local 6197 member Chris Czarra described his experience working as a park ranger in Maryland state parks. Czarra’s testimony to the Maryland State Parks Investment Commission dramatized what a day in the life of Maryland park rangers looks like. Czarra’s testimony continues the union’s efforts for fair wages, greater working conditions, and overall better treatment for Maryland park rangers. 

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Workers Rally at Merriweather Lakehouse in Columbia

A hallmark of union activism is persistence. That’s why AFT-Maryland continues to join with our union family to support members from UNITE HERE Local 7 in their fight against the Merriweather Lakehouse Hotel, formerly the Sheraton Columbia. Union activists again protested outside the hotel demanding hospitality workers get their jobs back - jobs they lost through no fault of their own but because of pandemic-related shutdowns. 

Much of Maryland is returning to business and workers who had jobs before the pandemic should be given the option to work at those jobs when businesses fully reopen.

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Union Night at Camden Yards 2021

Unions make everything in Baltimore better, including the struggling baseball team. During another rebuilding season with lots of losing, the Orioles pulled out a win on Union Night defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3. AFT-Maryland was in attendance with family from the Metro Baltimore AFL-CIO to cheer on the birds.

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Maryland 2021 Special Session

On December 6th, the Maryland State Legislature will convene a special session to redraw our state’s congressional boundaries based on the 2020 U.S. Census data. They will also consider overriding the vetoes on a number of important bills, as well as elect a new State Treasurer.

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Redistricting: Redrawing Congressional and Legislative Districts

Beginning on Dec 6th,the Maryland State Legislature will convene a special session to redraw our state’s congressional boundaries. The special session is different from the January-to-April regular legislative session: the state legislature will not hear testimony on the budget, but will instead only take up legislation to redraw congressional districts based on the 2020 U.S. Census data, consider overriding more than 20 bills vetoed by the Governor last Spring, and elect a new State Treasurer. 

Click through for info on how you can have your voice heard in how these districts should be drawn:

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AFT-Maryland Supports Worker Rallies

Despite the presence of the Delta and Delta+ variants of the COVID-19 virus, most reopening plans are underway. The return to normalcy hasn’t been completely smooth, especially for hospitality workers. Workers from Unite Here Local 7 at Merriweather Lakehouse, the hotel formerly known as Sheraton Columbia, held a rally demanding their jobs be reinstated when the hotel reopens. During the pandemic-related shutdown, the hotel came under new management.

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