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Come join with your sisters and brothers in labor: MONDAY, March 21st at 6:00 p.m. for UNION NIGHT IN ANNAPOLIS at Lawyer's Mall.

After the mass labor rally, we will lobby our legislators on important issues facing public employees in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and across the State of Maryland.

Some of our issues include:

• Fighting against the privatization of vital state and city services
• Lobbying legislators to pressure Gov. Hogan to stop the abolishment of PINs
• Expanding the Community School Strategy in Maryland
• Restoring $24 million cut to Baltimore City Schools
• Ending workplace bullying

A coalition of organizations and interested parties that make up the Baltimore Education Roundtable were in Annapolis to urge legislators to support House Bill 1139, the Maryland Community School Strategy for Excellence in Public Education Act.

The bill seeks to expand the community school strategy to every school in the state of Maryland where 40% or more of the student population are eligible for free and reduced meals, through incremental phasing-in of the strategy. The House Ways and Means Committee heard from principals of Baltimore City Public Schools that are currently community schools

On Monday March 7, 2016 current and retired members of the Baltimore Teachers Union made their way to Annapolis to let legislators know vouchers were bad for Baltimore City. Three current BTU members (Brendan McFadden, Morgan Showalter, and Harry Preston V) all testified to the House Ways and Means Committee about the effects a voucher bill would have on students in Baltimore City.

Along with the teachers' testimony AFT-Maryland's Legislative and Policy Director Terence Cooper highlighted the $24 million dollar reduction in state aid to Baltimore, and noted the troubling aspect of in turn

Come join with your sisters and brothers in labor for

Union Night in Annapolis

March 21, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. at Lawyer’s Mall.

After the mass labor rally, we will lobby our legislators on important issues facing public employees in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and across the State of Maryland.

Some of our issues include:

• Fighting against the privatization of vital state and city services
• Ending workplace bullying and intimidation in state agencies
• Obtaining due process rights for Maryland State employees at the Maryland School for the Deaf

Buses will be leaving from AFT-Maryland (5800 Metro Dr

Members of CUB's Retiree Chapter recently attended AFT's annual New Retiree Leader Seminar. (Pictured are CUB Retiree Chapter President Laverne Foster and member Donald Morris, with Ruby Strickland from Orange County Florida CTA.)

The annual seminar is an opportunity for leaders of newer chapters to talk about how to engage members so that they will be more active in their chapters, and to learn how to build connections with both active members and the community. The goal is to help retirees to continue their support and work with their local union, says Lauren Luchi, manager of the AFT's

On Monday February 29, members of AFT Healthcare-Maryland went to Annapolis to fight back against threats to privatize the Western Maryland Hospital Center. For union member employed at WMHC, this would mean a loss of hard-fought rights and protections for workers.

Members argued the quality of care for residents of western Maryland was too important to be decided just by cost-cutting measures. Also of concern is that if one state hospital can be privatized, undoubtedly other state facilities and services will also be privatized at great harm to the citizens of Maryland and the state workers

Over a hundred members of the unions that make up AFT-Maryland took to Annapolis to engage their elected representatives. Lobby Night as it is called gave members and activists an opportunity to extend their voices directly to the people that they elected. Nearly all of the locals that make up AFT-Maryland were represented and union members did not hesitate to ask Delegates and State Senators tough questions. 

 

Members were there to press elected officials on state budget priorities, school vouchers, education assessments, community schools, due process for state employees at the Maryland

The 2016 Maryland State Legislative Session is full of challenges for public employees. Help us move our agenda for working families as we call for:

• better funding for Baltimore City Public Schools,
• safe work and learning environments for all state workers, educational professionals, and students,
• due process rights for Maryland School for the Deaf teachers,
• eliminating bullying from management in the workplace,
• and much more!

Read about our positions on the issues by clicking the following links:

• State Budget
• Education Assessments
• Community Schools
• School for the Deaf
• Workplace Bullying
• Partially Elected