AFT-Maryland staffer, Janell Edmonds (below, center), joined hundreds of other AFT members and thousands of trade unionists at the People's Climate March in New York City on Sunday, September 21st. The AFT members wore blue shirts that said, "Climate Justice", and held signs and distributed materials that read "Climate change is real. TEACH SCIENCE."
AFT Maryland affiliates including members of the Baltimore Teachers Union and the City Union of Baltimore joined with AFT National and other labor unions and progressive organizations at a Sept. 18 rally on Capitol Hill to protect seniors' hard earned benefits. Speakers included Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Keith Ellison (D-MN).
Here's some of what we're reading this week. More below the jump...
For more news clips, visit md.aft.org/news.
It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to a long time friend and colleague. AFT-Maryland retiree, Betty Pitt, passed away on September 6, 2014. She will be greatly missed.
In a strong bi-partisan showing, the US Senate on Monday voted to consider a constitutional amendment that would allow congress to regulate political contributions for an election. The proposed amendment would overturn the controversial 2010 Supreme Court ruling, commonly known as “Citizens United,” which granted corporations first amendment rights in contributing to campaigns.
At its executive board meeting on August 28th, the Maryland State AFL-CIO announced its endorsed candidates for statewide office for the 2014 general election. The announcement of these endorsements follows a relatively successful primary election season for labor in the state, in which nearly 90% of the AFL-CIO’s endorsed candidates won their party’s primary.
Welcome to the Labor Day weekend!
All of us at AFT-Maryland and our Local affiliates wish you a happy and healthy holiday. We hope you'll join us in taking the day to recognize the hard work and dedication of Maryland's workers.
We also hope you'll take a moment to visit the AFL-CIO's Labor Day 2014 web page. They remind us that "despite our sweat, sacrifice and innovations, too many families are struggling to make ends meet.
This is not an accident. The rise in political and corporate attacks on working people has meant that wages have declined or remained stagnant. Good jobs are scarce, unemployment still is unacceptably high and the greedy few have rigged the game to reap the gains in productivity at the expense of the working people who made those gains possible."
The 2014 Conference of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) was held this year at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City Maryland. MCEA was well represented at this annual event with President Linda Day, Executive Director Jack Nelson, and Salisbury staff liaison Karen Coulbourne.
AFT-Maryland staff representative, Michael Spiller, conducted a steward training held on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 for AFT Healthcare-Maryland. Click here to visit AFT Healthcare-Maryland's site.
On Thursday, August 21, 2014, AFT-Maryland partnered with the Family League of Baltimore and the Y of Central Maryland to put 1,200 books in the hands of students at Moravia Park Elementary School, through AFT-Maryland's partnership with First Book.