2020 promises to be an important year for AFT-Maryland locals, politically. The most noteworthy election will be for President of the United States, however there are a number of other elections that will be on the radar for Maryland public sector unions. In anticipation of the upcoming elections, AFT-Maryland’s political committee gathered for their December monthly meeting. The meeting was attended by members from the Baltimore Teachers Union and the City Union of Baltimore.

AFT-Maryland’s Political Coordinator Todd Reynolds gave an overview of Baltimore City Council races and explained the

Members from the unions that make up AFT-Maryland joined with sisters and brothers of the AFL-CIO to pack boxes for union and community families in need this holiday season. The Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO annually packs boxes of food and provides toys for families of union members and to the greater Baltimore community. AFT-Maryland members worked side by side with members from across the region and in partnership with the United Way of Baltimore to help ensure that families would not go without this holiday season.

Over two days, members packed groceries in boxes and wrapped toys for

​​More than 45 million US workers owe $1.6 trillion dollars in student loans, with ~93% of it owed to the US Department of Education. Workers are going into more debt to finance their education, and more workers are defaulting on those loans because wages aren’t rising to keep up with the costs. The system is broken!

There’s good news. AFT, our National union, has developed Student Debt Clinics that will:

• Educate you on the national student debt crisis.
• Show you how to lower your payments, sometimes to $0, through enrolling in income-driven repayment programs.
• Teach you how to meet the

As the 2020 Maryland Legislative Session approaches, the unions of AFT-Maryland are working to ensure their agendas are front and center on the minds of legislators. The Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association (MSD) is one of the unions who have been active lately to ensure their members concerns are addressed by the General Assembly. The union is working on ensuring that its members are included on the career teacher career ladder that will be a part of the Blueprint for Maryland Schools (Kirwan Commission) legislation. MSD VP Jackie Gruers and a delegation of AFT-Maryland

The locals that serve members in Baltimore county were out and about engaging public employees. Union Day was a success as the Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees and the Baltimore County Federation of Public Health Nurses met members and prospective members at their worksite to have conversation around the benefits of joining the union and recent updates to union contracts. Organizers Frank Pratka and Janell Edmonds manned tables in a 3rd floor break room on Friday November 22nd at the Drumcastle County Government Office. 

Pratka said the union day was an opportunity to get out and

State retirees have been searching for clarity on the question of prescription drugs benefit plan changes since the changes were scheduled to go into effect in 2018. Following delays and in the midst of a court case the Maryland Department of Budget and Management (DBM) testified at a hearing to explain the implementation of the new plan following legislation from the 2019 Maryland Legislative Session. Unfortunately for members and retirees, the hearing brought about just as many, or perhaps more questions than answers.

The hearing on Tuesday, October 29, in the joint committee hearing room in