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Happy Thanksgiving!

This year has been challenging in ways that make it feel like an entire decade has passed by. That's why now, more than ever, it's important to pause to take inventory of the things we are thankful for. With so much hurt and pain socially, politically, and with health, now is the time to look toward the positive things that bring us joy. The quarantine has allowed us to spend more time at home with family. While that has meant shouldering a bigger load at home, it also means reconnecting with the most important people in our lives. The many donations made to food banks, shelters, and various

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Statement on the passing of Nat LaCour

It is with deep sorrow AFT-Maryland shares the passing of Nat LaCour. Nat was a high school teacher in New Orleans and got his start as a union leader who was at the forefront of school integration in New Orleans. Additionally, Nat was the first Executive Vice President AFT and Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus of the national federation. His fingerprints are all over the public sector labor movement as he was a pioneering giant on issues of workers' rights as well as racial justice. Nat continued to push AFT to lead on racial equality in school districts across the country, in public health care

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Statement on the Passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

AFT-Maryland joins a grateful and sad nation in mourning the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Affectionately known as "Notorious RBG" by supporters, Justice Ginsburg was a passionate advocate for working people and was most well known for her work to ensure gender equality. Her poignant and insightful opinions modeled to young girls and women everywhere that they do not have to dim their lights so male lights can shine brighter.

Justice Ginsburg was a proud Jewish woman and her passing during Rosh Hashanah is a devastating blow to our Jewish sisters and brothers. She did not hide her

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Message from the President: Independence Day 2020

This year Independence Day takes on a special meaning. Symbols can elicit complicated and nuanced feelings for different people. The “united” in the United States of America has been stressed in ways many of us are not used to. Our nation has been challenged on a number of fronts. This year, the two most visible fronts have been racism and public health. 

The global pandemic brought on by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) changed the way we interact with one another, and changed the way many of us perform our job duties. We may have been accustomed to weekly staff meetings; now we’ve adapted to

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AFT-Maryland at Workers First Caravan

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"68852","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 100%; margin: 5px 2px;"}}]]The challenges of COVID-19 have altered a number of normal routines and activities. The need to alter isn’t the same as canceling however, and unions have demonstrated that better than perhaps anyone. Ordinarily, if there was important legislation that affected union households, union activists would flood Capitol Hill to agitate for their issues. The mandates for social distancing created by the ongoing global pandemic meant that labor had to be creative in how they lobbied; and creative labor was with a mass worker caravan circling through downtown Washington, DC and the U.S. Capitol complex.

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Statement on the Deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"68666","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 100%; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;"}}]]The past week and a half has been perhaps the most challenging time for the United States in the 21st century. The high profile deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd (two of which we witnessed the heartbreaking video) has awakened a deep sense of unequal treatment of Black Americans by police and white vigilantes. This has led to protests and rebellions across the country where a number of police departments have responded brutally to journalists and protesters ironically protesting police brutality.

The wake of this has brought on rebellions and uprisings reminiscent of the long hot summer of 1968. Many historians direct our attention to the race riots of 1919 as a more apt comparison. Locally, we don't even have to go that far back. We vividly remember the 2015 uprisings in response to the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Unequal treatment of Black people by law enforcement is abhorrent and must end if this nation is to live up to the full promise of its words. Dr. King reminds us that "a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?"

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Maryland Unsung Heroes On The Front Line

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"68269","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 100%; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;"}}]]Last week the nation celebrated public employees. Locally, AFT-Maryland is shining the spotlight on members just like yourself, that are making sacrifices to ensure everything from public health care, to education, to state services continue with some semblance of normalcy. Take a moment and learn about members from across the state federation.

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AFT-Maryland Stepping Up for Members

Union support is important for every worker on any job. During this global pandemic, that support becomes even more important. Locals from across the state federation, with support and guidance from AFT-Maryland, are working hard to meet the needs of members. While unions are still responding to grievances, organizing new members, negotiating contracts, conducting labor-management meetings, and everything else that our organizations typically do, we have also tried to fill the gaps on what members need to know during this unique and uncertain time. 

AFT-Maryland has information on our website

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AFL-CIO Union Night Rally in Annapolis

AFT-Maryland was out with sisters and brothers in labor at the Metro-Baltimore AFL-CIO Union night in Annapolis. The night was highlighted by the words of the Maryland and DC AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Gerald Jackson’s words that it doesn’t matter if you’re a D or R as long as you support labor issues. Most of the speakers that evening didn’t speak on partisan policies but rather on ensuring that working women and men of Maryland and their families would not be harmed by any legislation before the General Assembly.

Among the state federation there was a strong contingent from our local

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Solidarity with BWI Worker

AFT-Maryland stood in solidarity with our brother from SEIU32BJ as he faces discipline for testifying in Annapolis for higher wages. Berhanu Yiferu testified in Annapolis for a bill that would raise the wages of transportation employees. The next day he found out his services were no longer needed at his job. His employer, airline subcontractor Prospect, claims he was let go because he missed assisting a passenger but Yiferu, colleagues, and his union maintain this was retribution for his testimony in Annapolis.

AFT-Maryland joined with other labor activists, religious leaders, and Baltimore

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