News

Join with AFT Maryland members 
for a No Kings Rally in Columbia, MD
Saturday, March 28th
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

What began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy.

When our families are under attack and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. Marylanders will defend our communities against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts that harm working people.

On March 28th, rise up, take to the streets, and say it loud: No Thrones, No Crowns, No Kings!
Not here. Not anywhere. We’re not watching history happen, we’re making it.

Click through for more details...

On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, we’re launching a statewide show of solidarity, online and in our communities, for the Day of Action to Protect Our Kids, Our Families and Our Communities.

Life is getting harder—not easier. Instead of helping kids and families get ahead, this administration is making life harder with:

• Cuts to schools and child care
• Attacks on student borrowers
• Muzzling academic freedom
• Cuts to healthcare and public services
• Immigration raids that make communities less safe

READ ON for some simple things you can do to take action on March 4th.

After 20 months of negotiations, faculty approved a union contract that includes a groundbreaking service pathway to promotion, wage increases, and critical protections for academic freedom and shared governance.

AFT Maryland President, Kenya Campbell said, "It's long overdue for Chesapeake faculty to receive this contract. They've given years of service to their students and institution, and now they finally have the fair wages, benefits, and protections that reflect their dedication. This win delivers for them and the entire Chesapeake community."

READ THE FULL STORY...

When the president of Colorado WINS learned that the president of the United States might be targeting Denver next in his anti-immigration campaign of terror, she knew how she’d begin to mobilize. One simple thing Diane Byrne does is deck out her activists in matching T-shirts. Wearing union colors promotes team spirit and builds confidence, she says. The AFT Public Employees program and policy council, meeting in New York City Feb. 5-6, abounded with tips to help locals mobilize. PPC chair Gary Feist, president of North Dakota Public Employees, recommended finding members who can tell a personal story to draw media attention. With more media on the issue, he said, legislators will become more motivated to fix the problem.

Federal immigration actions are rapidly expanding, with deadly consequences. The killings of poet Renee Nicole Good and nurse Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis have brought intense focus on the use of excessive force. An AFT webinar, co-hosted by AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang on Jan. 28, featured experts on immigration and the law. It highlighted AFT resources and showcased how our locals are showing up to minimize fear and trauma.

Attack what binds us together, and you'll find out why it holds.

Our union took the fight to the federal government – and we won. On Wednesday, the Trump administration withdrew their appeal in the lawsuit we filed against the Department of Education's "Dear Colleague Letter," which attempted to seize educators’ freedom of speech, rewrite what can be taught, and control what students can learn. You can read more about the win in The New York Times.

Read on for more information, including the NYT link.

“The labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who today attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, we honor one of the forefathers of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who fought tirelessly against racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in this country. Dr. King dedicated his life to advancing racial and economic justice and was a steadfast supporter of the labor movement. He understood that the struggle for civil rights and workers' rights are one and the same. In 1968, Dr. King was sadly felled by an assassin’s bullet while standing in solidarity with sanitation workers on strike in Memphis, Tennessee.

The principles Dr. King fought and died for guide our union and the entire labor movement to this day... 

Read On for More...

Join AFT Maryland and your union colleagues for Lobby Night in Annapolis

Monday, February 9, 2026 (New Date!)

The bus from Baltimore will leave at 5:00 p.m. sharp from AFT Maryland offices.

Click through to RSVP & for more details.

Our AFT Maryland family has been hit hard. Since Thanksgiving, we have been mourning the tragic loss of our brother Gregory Turnipseed, a 14-year Baltimore City Department of Transportation employee and proud member of the City Union of Baltimore who lost his life after being assaulted on the job. Mr. Turnipseed represented the best of us. A dedicated public servant who showed up every day to help others. His life and service exemplified the very best of our city workforce.

As we remember Mr. Turnipseed, we also remind all our members of our steadfast commitment to worker safety and to the fight ahead. No one should ever go to work with the fear of losing their life.

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