AFT-Maryland represents more than 20,000 state and municipal workers, including 9,000 educational workers in the City of Baltimore. During this legislative session, there are issues that are of particular concern to our members:
Job Protections for Maryland’s Educators: Higher Education Collective Bargaining
Just as Maryland state workers have job security, fair hours, wages, and working conditions, so should our families, friends, and neighbors who educate our future workforce. AFT-Maryland supports the introduction and passage of legislation that allows educators to have a voice in their workplaces. As such, we believe that collective bargaining rights should be extended to graduate employees, adjunct professors, and full-time faculty members who work for the university system in Maryland.
The Correctional Officers Bill of Rights
AFT-Maryland supports the passage of legislation that will provide a fairer administrative process for the investigation and imposition of disciplinary and appeals procedures for the correctional officers of Baltimore County. Correctional officers in four other Maryland counties already benefit from the implementation of these “Bill of Rights” procedures. AFT-Maryland supports the passage of legislation that extends to the correctional officers of Baltimore County the same administrative procedures in use in Cecil, Garrett, Harford, and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland.
Workplace Violence Prevention
Workers in Maryland institutions have long been subjected to incidents of violence that have resulted in employee injuries and, in some cases, even death. AFT-Maryland believes that it is time for the state to take a comprehensive approach to violence in state agencies, schools, hospitals, and mental health facilities. AFT-Maryland supports the creation of legislation that calls for a center for the study of workplace violence and the implementation of the best practices that minimize opportunities for violence against workers.
Full Pension Funding
AFT-Maryland advocates that legislation be drafted and adopted that calls for full funding of the pension plan for state employees. In his latest budget proposal, Governor Martin O’Malley advocates reducing the state’s contribution to the employee pension fund by $100 million. The governor’s proposal reflects a pattern of deficit reduction that always seeks to balance the budget on the backs of state workers. AFT-Maryland supports the passage of legislation that full funds the state’s pension plan.
