News

This year for Public Service Recognition Week the state federation shines a light on one of our members who works day in and day out serving Maryland public transit riders. Get to know Maryland Classified Employees Association (MCEA) Local 1935 member Donald Maynard. 

Read on for more!

State employees unionized with the Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) Local 6197 met at the AFT Maryland for a steward training in April. The event was well attended by members representing a wide diversity of agencies across the state. Among the attendees were a number of first time stewards as well as a host of veteran stewards. The varied experience of the attendees allowed for a great deal of peer-to-peer learning that supplemented the instruction from Samaria Sullivan of AFT and la’Rufus Mitchell of the AFT’s Union Leadership Institute. 

Read on for photos and more from the event.
 

For National Nurses Week the state federation shines a light on one of our members who has made a career of giving herself to her community to ensure the health and welfare of the public. Get to know Baltimore County Federation of Public Health Nurses Local 5102 member, Lateshia Scott.

Read on for the interview and more photos.

For Teacher Appreciation Week, the state federation shines a light on one of our members who shapes the minds of future generations. Get to know a little more about one of Baltimore city’s most outstanding teachers, Baltimore Teachers Union (BTU) member Mr. Chris Poknis.

Read on for more on this interview.

AFT Maryland is happy to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The term encapsulates a wide array of different cultures, ethnicities, and regional dialects. Each bubbling with unique customs and traditions that offer valuable ways of knowing that contribute to the larger American community. The Asian/Pacific diaspora stretches across vast territories giving us Americans with ancestral roots from Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and the Marshall Islands, to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines just to name a few.
 

Read more - - - 

The labor movement uses April 28th as a day for annual reflection in honor of workers who have been hurt or fatally injured on the job. This year, the annual commemoration held a particularly bitter sting as the labor movement mourned six workers killed when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore in March.

Read on for photos and more from the event.
 

We pause today to reflect on those workers who have lost their lives on the job.

Workers Memorial Day is sacred to our labor family because we are all in proximity to someone who has been made ill, hurt, or lost their lives on the job. This is a day where workers across a range of industries and professions have been affected. Worker harm does not discriminate nor is it discerning of class and title. 

Read on for more.

First contracts are often the most difficult to negotiate; however for bargaining team members they are also very exciting. United Academics of Maryland - Prince George’s rallied on Thursday April 18, 2024 ahead of their first bargaining session. Faculty gathered at the Center for Performing Arts building, dressed in red to support those who would go in to negotiate with the College. The excitement was palpable as faculty greeted each other who arrived with smiles and salutations. 

Click through for photos from the rally and more!
 

Convention 2024:
Real Solutions for Maryland Labor and Communities

The AFT Maryland Triennial Convention for 2024 will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2024, beginning at 8:30 a.m.

See below for important information about the event and check back regularly for updates. Click through for more.
 

The thaw of spring is promising to all of us who found ourselves hibernating during the shorter winter days. Plenty of work was done during the winter months, but the extra daylight and warmer temperatures invigorates us all with an added boost of energy. It is natural at this time of year to feel renewed. In just over a week, the legislative session in Annapolis will wrap up, and our members working in Baltimore city schools (as well as students and education professionals across the region) are currently on Spring Break...

Read on for more!