Crabs were the order of the day at the City Union of Baltimore’s Crabfeast Saturday afternoon. President Antoinette Ryan-Johnson and the union welcomed more than one hundred members, family, and friends to the event which was held at Martin’s East in Middle River. Although crabs were the highlight of the gathering the event had a full menu. Attendees could have eaten fish, chicken, macaroni & cheese, string beans, mashed potatoes with gravy and a host of other delicious options.

Those who came not only ate well, but they partied hard. The dancefloor was packed every time there was a chance to

The AFT-Maryland teamed up with the Baltimore Teachers Union, DTLR, and a number of other community groups to send children back to school the right way. The state federation spent Saturday afternoon in East Baltimore grilling hot dogs, shooting hoops, painting faces, passing out book bags and a doing a number of other exciting activities.

Partners from First Book passed out books to both children and parents to encourage literacy among all citizens. Employees from MTA were on hand to explain the new BaltimoreLink systems to children and parents who may be relying on it for transportation this

The AFT-Maryland, in conjunction with Federation members BTU, CUB, and a host of community and municipal partners, kicked off the Bringing Back Baltimore campaign at Margaret Brent Elementary School in Central Baltimore. The campaign is an effort to bring students back into Baltimore City Public Schools. State funding is tied to enrollment, and the decline in enrollment in Baltimore City Public Schools has led to drastic budget cuts across the school system. This program trains teachers and paraprofessionals to go into the community canvassing and door-knocking to encourage families to bring

The locals of AFT-Maryland came together for a financial services workshop that was attended by many of the treasurers and leadership of the various locals of the state federation. The workshop was led by Kay Neipert, CPA, CFE, CICA from the AFT. During her presentation she advised those in attendance on best practices on everything from record keeping to internal controls and even communication of board minutes and duties of the officers.

There were many lessons those in attendance took away. Some information was familiar and well known such as having two signatures on the local bank accounts

The AFT-Maryland testified before the Senate Health, Education & Environmental Affairs Committee in support of the Protect Our Schools Act 2017.  Baltimore Teachers Union member and Waverly Elementary/Middle School 5th grade teacher Lisa Harrison and AFT-Maryland Political Coordinator Todd Reynolds testified in support of the bill. Reynolds called for further examination of various assessments beyond simply standardized testing because students in Baltimore City face a myriad of challenges that need to be considered when assessing the quality and effectiveness of a school. Reynolds