FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Feldman Strategies, team@feldmanstrategies.com
October 3, 2025
Hagerstown Community College Faculty Secure Tentative Agreement for First-Ever Union Contract
After over a year of bargaining, faculty have secured a tentative agreement addressing the critical issues that drove organizing over a year and a half ago.
HAGERSTOWN, MD – In a major victory for higher education workers, faculty at Hagerstown Community College – represented by United Academics of Maryland (UAMD), an affiliate of AFT Maryland – have reached a tentative agreement on their first-ever union contract. This victory continues a positive streak, marking the third UAMD-represented institution to reach a tentative agreement this year and since the State Legislature expanded collective bargaining rights to community college faculty in 2021.
“In higher education, administrations should be steadfast in serving their students and faculty, providing them with excellence and the best learning and teaching environment – and that is no different here at Hagerstown Community College,” said UAMD President Angelique Cook-Hayes. “After tough but productive negotiations, the faculty stayed the course and worked with the College to produce a fair and equitable collective bargaining agreement that invests in the future of our students and our community here in Hagerstown.”
This milestone follows a year of determined negotiations by the bargaining team and strong organizing by faculty to demand the fair contract, equitable pay, and benefits they deserve. The agreement delivers improved job security and working conditions,an increase of over 20% in salary over the next three years, and binding arbitration to protect faculty rights.
“This important achievement marks a significant milestone in our journey towards excellence, equity, and collaboration within our academic community,” said UAMD Hagerstown Chapter Chair Daniel Ryan. “After months of hard work, negotiations, and discussions, we have successfully established a framework that recognizes and values the contributions of every faculty member.”
“When educators unite, progress follows,” said AFT Maryland President Kenya Campbell. “This agreement is a testament to the strength of collective action, delivering meaningful gains for faculty, advancing the quality of public education in Hagerstown and continuing to establish the standard for faculty power in Maryland.”
The tentative agreement strengthens shared governance by ensuring greater faculty involvement in decision-making, improves faculty workloads by capping the overload credits they can teach, increases promotional opportunities for faculty, and protects faculty’s right to due process on the job.
“Together, the Hagerstown faculty achieved far more than they ever could alone,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Faculty stood up for their students’ futures and their right to fair wages, conditions and a real say over the work they do. Across Maryland, and around the country, higher education workers are not only fighting back against funding cuts and political attacks, they are advancing a positive vision of higher education as a democratic, accessible and transformative public good that powers the economy, builds futures and saves lives.”
“Through collective action and solidarity, faculty at Hagerstown Community College are helping to build a high-quality, equitable, and just public education for all Maryland students,” said AAUP President Todd Wolfson. “We salute their leadership and welcome them to the AAUP-AFT higher ed labor movement.”
The tentative agreement will be presented to the faculty, and a vote will take place to finalize ratification. UAMD is excited to mark the start of a new chapter for educators at Hagerstown Community College.
###
United Academics of Maryland is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which joined forces in 2022 to strengthen the voice of academic workers nationwide. AFT is the largest higher education union in the country, representing over 400,000 faculty and staff nationwide. Over 70% of all unionized faculty are AFT members.
In Maryland, AFT Maryland represents faculty and staff on more than seven community college campuses and remains a leading advocate in Annapolis for higher education rights and protections.