Legislative

As you may know, Maryland’s legislative session is now underway, and we have been on the frontlines in Annapolis advocating for high-quality public education, improving healthcare and public services, and shaping and advocating for policy that benefits Maryland state workers, students, and communities. We have a few ways you can TAKE ACTION, RIGHT NOW. 

Click through for the links!

AFT Maryland has focused their 2025 Legislative Priorities for this year's Maryland Legislative Session. We work with public employees from a number of sectors including K-12 education, higher education, healthcare, and state and municipal civil service to meet with elected officials to advocate for policy to improve their work experiences. 

Click through for more information about policies and bills of interest to our members in the 2025 Maryland Legislative Session.

Get On the Bus to Lobby Night with AFT Maryland!

Members! Meet the bus at AFT Maryland headquarters on Monday, January 27, 2025, or meet us in Annapolis! The bus will leave at 5:00 p.m. sharp, and you must RSVP to hold a seat on the bus. 

Click here for more information and to RSVP 

Join your fellow members for a Political Education Night with AFT Maryland! As we enter the 2025 Maryland Legislative Session, this workshop will go over some critical skills to get involved and move legislation in the interest of all of our public employees. 

READ ON FOR MORE!

AFT Maryland Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Denise Riley, and Political Coordinator, Todd Reynolds, present important information about the 2024 Maryland Legislative Session, which closed on April 8, 2024. Many important pieces of legislation affecting our members are detailed below, including information on bills affecting education professionals, state employees, city and county employees, and employees at higher education institutions. 

Read on for more!

Have you heard of Maryland's FAMLI act? The Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program is a new program created by the state legislature in 2022 and updated in the 2023 legislative session that grants eligible employees in Maryland the right to 12 weeks paid leave to care for a family member, or for that employee to take leave for their own serious medical condition. Maryland joins 10 other states—California, New York, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia—that offer some sort of paid, long-term family leave to workers to help care for a worker’s family member. 

Read on to learn more about Maryland's FAMLI Act and for answers to some frequently asked questions.

Members! Take the 2024 Political Priorities Survey The 2024 election season will soon be upon us, and as public employees and education workers, we must be sure that our issues are understood by candidates who are running for various offices at both the local and federal level that are up for election. Click for the link and > > >

The 2023 Maryland legislative session held much promise following the tireless get out the vote efforts of AFT-Maryland and our AFL-CIO affiliates. Our dogged canvassing and all-hands-on-deck effort during the 2022 election bore fruit during the legislative session. Following the inauguration of the first African-American Governor in Maryland’s history and newly elected state Delegates and Senators taking their seats, AFT-Maryland got down to business. Despite the amount of turnover heading into the session, one thing remained true: AFT-Maryland would fight for our 18,000 members. And fight we did, racking up impressive wins and commanding the attention of political leaders across the state.  The following bills passed both houses and have been signed or are currently awaiting Gov. Moore’s signature: CLICK TO READ > > >

The pandemic caused a shift in the way quite a bit of legislative business was handled. Some of those changes have outlived the social distancing guidance that dictated how we did business. That includes virtual testimony, zoom meetings, and live streaming of in-person events. One event that returned with a force as strong as it was pre-pandemic was the Metro Baltimore Council AFL-CIO labor rally, held on Lawyers Mall in front of the Maryland State House in Annapolis.  The annual event is a show of solidarity among labor as unions collectively flex their strength and call on state legislators to pass bills that support working people and their families. As AFT-Maryland President Kenya Campbell reminded the audience “labor power definitely works.” Click for more photos and to read > > >