News

When the president of Colorado WINS learned that the president of the United States might be targeting Denver next in his anti-immigration campaign of terror, she knew how she’d begin to mobilize. One simple thing Diane Byrne does is deck out her activists in matching T-shirts. Wearing union colors promotes team spirit and builds confidence, she says. The AFT Public Employees program and policy council, meeting in New York City Feb. 5-6, abounded with tips to help locals mobilize. PPC chair Gary Feist, president of North Dakota Public Employees, recommended finding members who can tell a personal story to draw media attention. With more media on the issue, he said, legislators will become more motivated to fix the problem.

Federal immigration actions are rapidly expanding, with deadly consequences. The killings of poet Renee Nicole Good and nurse Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis have brought intense focus on the use of excessive force. An AFT webinar, co-hosted by AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang on Jan. 28, featured experts on immigration and the law. It highlighted AFT resources and showcased how our locals are showing up to minimize fear and trauma.

Attack what binds us together, and you'll find out why it holds.

Our union took the fight to the federal government – and we won. On Wednesday, the Trump administration withdrew their appeal in the lawsuit we filed against the Department of Education's "Dear Colleague Letter," which attempted to seize educators’ freedom of speech, rewrite what can be taught, and control what students can learn. You can read more about the win in The New York Times.

Read on for more information, including the NYT link.

“The labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who today attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, we honor one of the forefathers of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who fought tirelessly against racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in this country. Dr. King dedicated his life to advancing racial and economic justice and was a steadfast supporter of the labor movement. He understood that the struggle for civil rights and workers' rights are one and the same. In 1968, Dr. King was sadly felled by an assassin’s bullet while standing in solidarity with sanitation workers on strike in Memphis, Tennessee.

The principles Dr. King fought and died for guide our union and the entire labor movement to this day... 

Read On for More...

Join AFT Maryland and your union colleagues for Lobby Night in Annapolis

Monday, February 9, 2026 (New Date!)

The bus from Baltimore will leave at 5:00 p.m. sharp from AFT Maryland offices.

Click through to RSVP & for more details.

Our AFT Maryland family has been hit hard. Since Thanksgiving, we have been mourning the tragic loss of our brother Gregory Turnipseed, a 14-year Baltimore City Department of Transportation employee and proud member of the City Union of Baltimore who lost his life after being assaulted on the job. Mr. Turnipseed represented the best of us. A dedicated public servant who showed up every day to help others. His life and service exemplified the very best of our city workforce.

As we remember Mr. Turnipseed, we also remind all our members of our steadfast commitment to worker safety and to the fight ahead. No one should ever go to work with the fear of losing their life.

READ MORE:

Dear members,

The wintertime and holiday season are a time for us to slow down, be close with our family and friends, and take a moment to reflect on the year that has passed.

As 2025 comes to a close and the holiday season continues, we are celebrating the amazing accomplishments of this year, honoring the hard work of all our members, and remembering those we have lost.

In a year filled with uncertainty and chaos, our AFT Maryland family has never stopped standing up, fighting, growing, and supporting one another. 

READ ON FOR MORE from AFT Maryland President Kenya Campbell...
 

AFT Maryland and many of our local affiliates once again participated in the AFL-CIO Community Services of Central Maryland's annual Holiday Basket and Toy Drive for union families in need. AFT Maryland staff, Kolade Balogun and Jeffery Johnson helped to coordinate with the AFL-CIO and our affiliates to set up donation boxes, collect non perishable food items and toys for families. 

On her very first day of student teaching at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, N.Y., Martha Strever pushed, pulled and pounded on the school’s door, which was locked. No one came. Where was everybody? It was, after all, the first day of school.

It turned out everybody was exactly where they were supposed to be: inside, having entered through the school’s front entrance. Strever had been knocking on a side door. Flustered but undeterred, she not only found her way inside, she also found her life’s calling.