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

AFT-MARYLAND PRAISES SEN. THOMAS V. MIKE MILLER ON HIS TENURE AS SENATE PRESIDENT AND WELCOMES SEN. BILL FERGUSON TO LEADERSHIP

Thomas V. “Mike” Miller has led the upper chamber of the General Assembly for many years and his invaluable leadership has allowed the state to prioritize public employees and their families. His leadership on key educational and labor issues will be remembered by generations to come. AFT-Maryland wishes Sen. Miller a full and speedy recovery. His tireless efforts to preside over such an important body as he battled his illness showed the commitment to the people of

Unions and social justice have gone hand-in-hand for decades. Any organization that’s committed to democracy and fairness in the workplace would logically work to ensure that the rights of all people are upheld. AFT is no different, and the Civil, Human, and Women’s Rights Committee is the arm of the union that works on these issues specifically. It’s with this that a contingency from AFT-Maryland made their way to Montgomery, Alabama for the 2019 AFT Civil, Human, and Women’s Rights Conference.

Led by AFT-Maryland President Marietta English, members from the Baltimore Teachers Union Local 340

It is with a heavy heart that AFT-Maryland joins Baltimore and the world in mourning the passing of Thomas D'Alesandro III. Mayor D'Alesandro's contributions to the city are immeasurable but he'll be most remembered for his efforts to attack racial discrimination head on. His work as both City Council President and later as Mayor to end discrimination in this city took political courage unique to the time he served.

Mayor D'Alesandro expended political capital to build new schools and to appoint African-Americans to important, high-ranking city positions. While most remembered as a part of a