AFT-Maryland and the Baltimore Teachers Union participated in Baltimore City Public Schools' 2023 New Teacher Summer Institute. Take a look at Baltimore city's newest teachers, new members to the AFT-Maryland labor family, and how the union makes the transition to the district a little easier.

Click through to see photos and video from the event, and to read more about it.

Have you heard of Maryland's FAMLI act? The Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program is a new program created by the state legislature in 2022 and updated in the 2023 legislative session that grants eligible employees in Maryland the right to 12 weeks paid leave to care for a family member, or for that employee to take leave for their own serious medical condition. Maryland joins 10 other states—California, New York, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia—that offer some sort of paid, long-term family leave to workers to help care for a worker’s family member. 

Read on to learn more about Maryland's FAMLI Act and for answers to some frequently asked questions.

The Baltimore metropolitan area’s water governance may take on a new form. What that means for City Union of Baltimore, Local 800 (CUB) members who work diligently to service the water and wastewater infrastructure is yet to be determined. However, CUB joined forces with a coalition of advocacy groups to hold a press conference demanding greater transparency of the Baltimore Regional Water Task Force, a body that was authorized by state elected officials during the 2023 legislative session. The coalition featured environmental, racial, and economic justice advocates including representatives from Food and Water Watch, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Services.

Labor unions are a team, just like the Baltimore Orioles, and on a humid Friday night in July Baltimore’s team of working people, the Metro Baltimore AFL-CIO, went to Camden Yards to cheer on Baltimore’s baseball team.

Collective bargaining is the lifeblood of labor unions. Bargaining is where negotiators are able to win concessions for the collective that makes up the body of the union. AFT-Maryland consistently supports local unions in their efforts to grow and deliver material benefits for members. With that, a delegation of union members from across the federation went to Washington, DC for AFT’s 2023 Collective Bargaining Conference. 

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The AFT has always been a solutions-driven union, and our new campaign, launched during TEACH on July 21, proves it once again with a fresh, practical approach to strengthening public education. As AFT President Randi Weingarten pointed out during her keynote speech, the $5 million, yearlong campaign, “Real Solutions for Kids and Communities,” stands up against attacks on public schools and offers real-world solutions to build up, rather than break down, our communities.