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Professional development is never a day off for the hardworking members of the Baltimore Teachers Union (BTU), Local 340. As is the annual fall custom of QuEST, the BTU put on a dynamic, engaging, and powerful professional development conference. The day-long event gave education professionals the opportunity to learn from fellow BTU members about strategies to be an effective educator inside and outside the classroom. 

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AFT-Maryland and the Baltimore Teachers Union participated in Baltimore City Public Schools' 2023 New Teacher Summer Institute. Take a look at Baltimore city's newest teachers, new members to the AFT-Maryland labor family, and how the union makes the transition to the district a little easier.

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AFT-Maryland stands in solidarity with Michigan State students, faculty and staff, and the entire East Lansing community. Once again our nation is left with the scars of a mass shooting killing three and injuring others at Michigan State University. Sadly, some Michigan State students who survived this tragedy are also survivors of other school shootings. It pains us to have to say other school shootings because some students survived the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, while others are survivors of the tragic school shooting at Oxford High School just outside of Detroit less than two years ago.   CLICK TO READ > > > MORE

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Collective bargaining is the lifeblood of labor unions. Bargaining is where negotiators are able to win concessions for the collective that makes up the body of the union. AFT-Maryland consistently supports local unions in their efforts to grow and deliver material benefits for members. With that, a delegation of union members from across the federation went to Washington, DC for AFT’s 2023 Collective Bargaining Conference. 

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The AFT has always been a solutions-driven union, and our new campaign, launched during TEACH on July 21, proves it once again with a fresh, practical approach to strengthening public education. As AFT President Randi Weingarten pointed out during her keynote speech, the $5 million, yearlong campaign, “Real Solutions for Kids and Communities,” stands up against attacks on public schools and offers real-world solutions to build up, rather than break down, our communities.

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Our annual celebration of Black History Month calls on us to not only remember, but revisit. In remembering the past, the heroic and courageous actions by those who came before us, we must also revisit the mindset that led people to make decisions to sacrifice for future generations – sacrifices to bring us all closer to a more perfect union. In revisiting the people of years past, we can find the strategies necessary to continue fighting battles today. One of the most valuable things about Black History Month is that it chronicles the fight for justice.  Click through to read > > > MORE

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It is rare to get 99% of people to do anything these days, unless it's unionization at the Maryland School for the Deaf. Last week, faculty and staff at the state facility voted 159-2 to unionize, authorizing the Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association, Local 4828 (MSDFSA) to serve as the exclusive bargaining agent for faculty and staff at the school. The huge and historic win comes after years of organizing. AFT-Maryland has supported the faculty and staff at the state institution for more than two decades. In the last few years however, efforts to codify collective bargaining have intensified, culminating in a collaborative effort between  AFT National, AFT-Maryland, and faculty and staff at the Maryland School for the Deaf that made up the organizing committee. 

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AFT-Maryland sent the attached letter to Governor Hogan, Baltimore City Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young, Baltimore County Executive John Olszeski Jr., and the Maryland General Assembly COVID-19 Workgroup, listing important needs for public worker safety as the state begins to reopen. Key points from the letter include:

• Gov. Hogan's COVID-19 Recovery Team must include voices from state and local public health workers, public school teachers and paraprofessionals, and non-healthcare related essential public employees. 
• The state, counties, and local municipalities must incorporate more aggressive benchmarks for testing and contact tracing.
• Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) must establish enforceable temporary emergency workplace infectious disease standards.

Click here or on the image to the right for a copy of the letter.

AFT-Maryland is a state federation of public employee labor unions representing more than 15,000 workers across the state of Maryland in a number of professions. Our members include education professionals and health care professionals in addition to as a host of state employees and public employees in Baltimore city and county.

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