Press

Baltimore, MD - On Tuesday October 21, 2014, AFT-Maryland in conjunction with the Baltimore Teachers Union, Maryland Communities United, the Center for Popular Democracy, and the Central Labor Council will rally outside City Hall for community schools. The organizations will join with hundreds of parents, students and community members to call for support from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the Baltimore City Council on the school initiative that has been improving Baltimore schools and communities.  The groups are looking for a resolution from the City Council and a financial commitment from the mayor's office of $2.2 million in this academic year and $10 million next year to fully fund exciting and emerging community schools.

The AFT National Convention continues in the city of Detroit with AFT members discussing new ways of maintaining quality education and essential public services in the face of threats presented by corporate and special interests. Across the nation, those interests have sponsored anti-union attacks and have promoted budget cuts that require the elimination of jobs for teachers and public workers. The more than 3,000 delegates attending the 82nd AFT National Convention, however, have been inspired by the remarks of President Randi Weingarten, who told convention attendees that AFT would pursue a new vision of unionism. Weingarten told convention delegates that AFT must pursue “solution driven unionism,” an approach that focuses on uniting union members and creating solutions to the problems that plague working people and their communities.

The Maryland Senate has voted to shift of some of the cost of teacher pensions to Baltimore City and the state’s counties as part of an efforts to avoid more than $500 million in so-called Doomsday budget cuts originally scheduled to take effect on  July 1.

The House voted 86-51 for the that will begin splitting teacher pension costs between the state and local jurisdictions over the next four years. In the Senate, the vote on the measure that included the teacher pension shift was 33-13.

AFT-Maryland and its affiliate, the Baltimore Teachers Union, have long opposed shifting the cost of pensions to local governments.  Many local jurisdictions, such as the City of Baltimore, already suffer from budget deficits.

AFT-Maryland President says "attitudes" indicate cooperation is possible between school administrations and educators.

The AFT-Maryland President joins national education experts at a conference on innovative labor-management strategies that can enhance student learning.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"73719","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-right","style":"width: 30%; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;"}}]]AFT-Maryland Statement on Guilty Verdict
in Murder Trial of Derek Chauvin

The verdict convicting Derek Chauvin was a glimmer of hope reminding us that when law enforcement officers go beyond the scope of their duty and kill citizens, they will be held accountable for their actions. It remains impossible for me to believe that anyone could have looked at the video where Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck and return a not-guilty verdict. However, history of police violence in the United States tells us the possibility of Chauvin being acquitted was a real one. That's why so many watched with anticipation, anxiety and bated breath as the verdict was announced. ...

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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"73113","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-right","style":"width: 33%; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;"}}]]The recent racist attacks on members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community are deplorable. The murder of eight people, six of them Asian women, in Georgia on Tuesday night dramatized the increasing violence and agression against our fellow AAPI residents. AFT-Maryland denounces this deplorable violence and demands that we as a country commit to eradicating racist violence once and for all.

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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"72168","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-right","style":"width: 30%; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;"}}]]Every year we undertake the solemn task of honoring and remembering the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year feels like there’s an urgency to his words and memory. The spirit of national unity has been stretched thin by those seeking to support white supremacy.

Thankfully there are many more of us who heed and believe the words of Dr. King than there are of those who would divide us and promote racist, sexist fascism. The challenge for us is to not only remember Dr. King’s words, but to practice them. ...

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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"72161","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-right","style":"width: 30%; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px; float: right;"}}]]Thomas V. "Mike" Miller's passing deeply saddened all of us at AFT-Maryland. His contributions to Maryland politics over the last 33 years are well documented but what we remember most about him was the ways he continued to push Maryland forward with a personal touch that each person he encountered felt.

Senate President Emeritus Miller, as his colleagues named him, was a steadfast leader who was a friend to working people and particularly public employees, seeing they got their fair share. In particular, he worked with the state federation to advance education, and protections for the public employees that make Maryland the state that it is. He was a lion of the state senate and will be sorely missed.

AFT-Maryland extends our deepest condolences to his wife Patti, their five children, 15 grandchildren, and the countless people across Maryland he's touched and will feel his loss.