AFT-Maryland Field Representative Todd Reynolds told committee members that fair share—the contributions of non-union members to union activities—should be expanded to include those members of institutions of higher learning who benefit from the contract negotiations, education, and trainings that unions provide.
Presenting testimony on behalf of AFT-Maryland/Baltimore Teachers Union President Marietta English, AFT Director of Communications, Terence Cooper, explained the need for new school construction in Baltimore. Speaking in support of House Bills 194, 860, and 1249, Cooper cited the fact that 70 percent of Baltimore’s schools suffer from conditions that are hazardous. He detailed the deteriorating physical plant that exists in 70 percent of the city’s schools and cited studies that document the effect of such conditions on student learning and an educator’s ability to teach effectively.
The AFT-Maryland representatives urged passage of the bills on which they testified.