News

Children in Baltimore city may not be excited about going back to school, but they were excited for a fun filled day in East Baltimore. The Baltimore City Council President’s Office hosted a back to school event that brought hundreds of families out to Eager Park in East Baltimore. The event was supported by a number of business and non-profit partners showing what public-private partnerships in Baltimore can produce. AFT-Maryland members and staff were on hand to provide school supplies and register Baltimoreans to vote. Click through to read MORE

Welcome Back, Education Professionals! I know so many of our education professionals have been busy preparing for the return of students. I share your excitement for the start of the new school year and all the promise it holds. As we begin this new year, your union and state federation have been working diligently on Blueprint implementation. This transformative legislation that was years in the making should crystallize your work as education professionals. At every step in the process of implementation, we want to hear from you. You are the ones on the front line and can see what’s most effective for education professionals on a day-to-day basis.  Click through for MORE

The state federation and local union team up to meet, welcome, and organize new first year teachers at the New Teacher Summer Institute put on by Baltimore city schools. Click for video, photos, and MORE

Democratic nominee for governor Wes Moore, along with Democratic nominee for Comptroller Brooke Lierman met with members & leaders of Maryland's AFL-CIO. AFT-Maryland was on hand to capture the event. Click through for video and MORE

The A. Philip Randolph Institute continues to shine as a guiding light in the labor community. It is the senior constituency group in the AFL-CIO. AFT-Maryland was heavily involved in the 2022 APRI Conference held in Baltimore, Md. Click through for video and MORE

AFT-Maryland members and staff spent the first half of the summer engaging fellow union members on the 2022 Maryland primary election. Labor endorsed a number of candidates for state and local offices. AFT-Maryland members volunteered their time and efforts leading up to election day to canvass fellow union members to inform them about the particulars of this year’s off-schedule primary and the new laws about voting in Maryland.  Members phone banked and participated in labor walks, supporting Get Out the Vote efforts (GOTV) for the union-endorsed candidates in collaboration with the Maryland and DC AFL-CIO. In addition to the work to enhance voter turnout, CLICK FOR MORE

Happy Independence Day! The best part of this holiday is the date we celebrate. This is because every great action is preceded by a declaration. In order for our country to be able to stand as an independent nation, the revolutionary war had to be fought; but before that came our declaration of independence. In each of our lives, before we undertake meaningful action, we first must declare our intention, then follow that declaration with action.  We would be wise to learn from ... CLICK FOR MORE

Labor solidarity and support for workers extends beyond the shores of the United States. International solidarity is a hallmark of AFT’s commitment to workers’ rights across the globe. AFT-Maryland and MCEA Local 1935 demonstrated that commitment by hosting a reception for labor activists touring the United States to promote workers’ rights, economic justice, and fair democracy in the Philippines.    The event began with opening remarks from AFT-Maryland President Kenya Campbell who stressed the importance of worker solidarity. She laid out the state federation’s commitment to ... CLICK TO READ MORE

Today’s decision by the Supreme Court to overturn the longstanding precedent in Roe v. Wade is disappointing on a number of levels. It pains me to think that between the celebration of Juneteenth and Independence Day, two holidays that celebrate American freedom, the freedom of women to have bodily autonomy is stripped from them by an unelected branch of government. The question of abortion is a difficult decision that is not undertaken lightly by those facing that choice. However, that question is a private one that The Court has held for nearly four decades as being the solemn province of a woman and those whom she consults regarding her welfare.  As labor activists, we’d be remiss to not see this decision in the same light as the Janus v. AFSCME decision in 2018.... CLICK FOR MORE

The Juneteenth holiday is one that should be celebrated by all Americans as evidence of the great potential of our nation. It would be dishonest and historically inaccurate to turn a blind eye to our nation’s greatest sin, slavery, but in shining a light on that dark point in history, we can find the redeeming values that each of us can aspire to in order to help make our country a more perfect union.  The holiday honors General Gordon Granger riding through Texas with federal troops, reading aloud General Order #3, which included the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln’s famous proclamation changed the relationship between master and slave to “employer and hired labor”. The holiday is important to us as union members because it magnifies the role of labor in our nation’s history... CLICK TO READ MORE