News

Leap year provided an extra day for Black History Month this year and AFT Maryland took advantage of it. Partnering with the Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys (BCSB), AFT Maryland once again celebrated Reading Opens the World Initiative with a Baltimore city school. The event featured remarks from principal Mr. Kelvin Bridgers who thanked AFT Maryland for facilitating the event and thanked Mr. Legaspi for attending the AFT Convention in Boston, Massachusetts where AFT kicked off the Reading Opens the World Initiative. 

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Union Night in Annapolis - March 11th

Join with AFT-Maryland as we attend the AFL-CIO Union Night Rally in Annapolis on Monday, March 11th! Let your voice be heard with hundreds of union siblings demanding collective bargaining, ending wage theft, creating high road jobs, and dignity for all workers! Be sure to wear your union gear!

AFT Maryland is providing a bus from Baltimore... read on to RSVP and more!

The state federation continues to grow with the recent addition of more classifications of state employees, education professionals at the Maryland School for the Deaf, and higher education professionals from community colleges across the state. The additional members give events such as our annual Lobby Night more people, demonstrating more power and better positioning public employees to have their voices heard. AFT Maryland took two full buses to Annapolis to meet with legislators to advocate for the state federation’s legislative priorities. More members drove themselves and met us there to display the full power of our collective unions. 

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Women are a mighty force in the American labor movement. We kick off Women’s History Month celebrating the amazing women who have helped shape the labor movement across the nation and here in Maryland. Our state federation is teeming with powerful women activists. There are currently nine women members of AFT-Maryland’s Executive Board, as well as four of our locals have women presidents. AFT-Maryland has been blessed with exceptional leadership from my predecessors Lorretta Johnson and Marietta English and we are grateful for the woman leading our national organization, Randi Weingarten. The power of women in the labor movement does not stop there. The Maryland-Washington D.C. AFL-CIO is led by President Donna Edwards.

Maryland’s rich history of women in prominent leadership positions is not limited to the labor movement. We are at a watershed moment for women political leaders across the state...

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The AFT Maryland Triennial State Convention will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2023.  The location is forthcoming. Members of AFT Maryland affiliates should check with their local president for information.

Thank you,

LaBrina K. Hopkins
AFT Maryland Triennial State Convention Chair

There is no stronger power than labor power and faculty at Howard Community College are flexing that muscle. Tuesday, January 30, 2024 kicked off the first day of bargaining for full time faculty with the institution. Prior to heading into the bargaining session, the bargaining team rallied with fellow full time faculty union members, AFT Maryland President, Kenya Campbell, and AFT Maryland staff. Faculty addressed the crowd and rallied in support of the team as they headed into the first negotiation session. The faculty in attendance were supportive and eager to let their voices be heard through collective bargaining.

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Unionization is on the rise at higher education campuses across Maryland. Following successful organizing drives at Howard and Frederick Community Colleges, AFT Maryland is working to successfully unionize full time faculty and information technology staff at Prince George’s Community College. A highlight of the organizing efforts was Union Authorization Card Day. This daylong event on Thursday January 18, 2024 (scheduled for two days, but inclement weather canceled the second day’s activities) featured workers at the college signing union authorization cards indicating their desire to form a union and collectively bargain. 

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Baltimore City Public School System is taking action to address the climate crisis. The system is among the first in the state unveiling their new fleet of electric school buses in a press conference and ribbon cutting ceremony on January 30, 2024. The event featured BCPSS CEO Dr. Sonia Santelises and federal officials from the EPA and Vice-President Harris’s office discussing the impact this fleet will have on students, families, and communities. AFT-Maryland President Kenya Campbell and City Union of Baltimore (CUB) local 800 President Antoinette Ryan-Johnson were also on hand as the new fleet of buses will involve federation members from the Baltimore Teachers Union local 340, and from CUB. 

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Happy Lunar New Year! The Lunar New Year gives us an opportunity to highlight the rich cultural heritage of many of our members. Historically, these foundations are celebrated largely in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and other Asian cultures. There are many overlapping ideals and values of the Lunar New Year celebration that are bedrocks of the labor movement. It is for that reason we pause to reflect, acknowledge, and celebrate the Year of the Dragon, the 2024 Lunar New Year.

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“An injury to one, is an injury to all.” This famous labor quote set the tone for a press conference in Annapolis where the Maryland/DC AFL-CIO called on the Maryland General Assembly to pass legislation that would enable public employees throughout the state to have collective bargaining rights. Of the three bills that were highlighted during the event, AFT-Maryland has members that will be affected by two. 

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