Legislative

Join with the Labor Community for a rally on Lawyer's Mall starting at 6:00 p.m. AFT-Maryland will sponsor buses for members from multiple locations. CLICK TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT AND > > >

For the first time since January 2020, AFT-Maryland resumed our annual in-person Lobby Night in Annapolis. The event is an opportunity for members to speak directly to legislators who make decisions about their work environments. The state federation displayed its diversity in the wide range of public employees addressing legislators. Public employees from a number of sectors including K-12 education, healthcare, state and municipal civil service, and higher education all met with elected officials to advocate for policy that would improve their work experiences. Among the public employees that were in attendance were... CLICK TO READ >>>

AFT-Maryland has announced their 2023 Legislative Priorities for the 2023 Maryland Legislative Session. We work with public employees from a number of sectors including K-12 education, healthcare, state and municipal civil service, and higher education to meet with elected officials to advocate for policy that would improve their work experiences. Click through for more information about policies and bills of interest to our members in the 2023 Maryland Legislative Session. CLICK TO READ >>>

MEMBERS! Join us for LOBBY NIGHT in ANNAPOLIS,  Monday, January 23rd, 2023 Join AFT-Maryland and our members from the BTU, CUB, MCEA, MPEC, MSDFSA, AFT Healthcare Maryland, MC-AAUP, United Academics Maryland, BCFPE, and BCFPHN as we travel to Annapolis to talk with our representatives about our issues in the 2023 Legislative Session. CLICK for RSVP INFO and >>>

AFT-Maryland had a tremendously successful 2022 legislative session. All our bills passed to the governor’s desk, one was signed into law, and one was vetoed by Gov. Hogan – but we were able to override it. AFT-MD and our affiliate unions supported several bills that also passed and worked within coalitions on legislation that is currently on the governor’s desk. AFT-MD, our affiliate unions’ leadership, their staff, and members testified in over 22 hearings. AFT-MD alone submitted over 65 pieces of written testimony, and this does not include all the written testimony from our affiliate unions and their members, which is difficult to keep track of and very much appreciated. And a very special thank you to the union members who used personal leave to testify on bills - you are our heroes! For more information, a Session Recap video, and details on specific bills, CLICK HERE TO READ

The 2022 legislative session posed challenges for legislators and advocates alike. During the session, responses to Covid-19 and its variants meant everyone had to adapt quickly. Thankfully, the state federation was prepared to do so and maintained our strong presence in Annapolis. On the whole, AFT-Maryland, our affiliate locals, and the Maryland labor movement had a solid session. State federation efforts were led by Denise Riley who served as the point person in Annapolis for AFT-Maryland. Members from across the federation volunteered their time and effort to draft written testimony, provide oral testimony in person and remotely, as well as participate in virtual and in-person press conferences, all in lobbying efforts to pass our bills.  Click to Read

Beginning on Dec 6th,the Maryland State Legislature will convene a special session to redraw our state’s congressional boundaries. The special session is different from the January-to-April regular legislative session: the state legislature will not hear testimony on the budget, but will instead only take up legislation to redraw congressional districts based on the 2020 U.S. Census data, consider overriding more than 20 bills vetoed by the Governor last Spring, and elect a new State Treasurer.  Click through for info on how you can have your voice heard in how these districts should be drawn:

On December 6th, the Maryland State Legislature will convene a special session to redraw our state’s congressional boundaries based on the 2020 U.S. Census data. They will also consider overriding the vetoes on a number of important bills, as well as elect a new State Treasurer. CLICK THROUGH TO READ