In response to reports that some supervisors are denying employees proper representation, Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees (BCFPE) president John Ripley wants members to know that union representation is their right. President Ripley says that it is important that union members know it is their responsibility to request to have a representative present during an interview with a supervisor. Ripley reports that some supervisors are denying an employee representation, by saying that a meeting is a “Fact Finding," not an investigatory inquiry. Employees cannot refuse orders from a

AFT-Maryland staff and affiliate members journeyed to Wichita, Kansas, March 9-14 for a week of intensive training in the AFT organizing model and to help the Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSE) identify potential activists and recruit new union members. The AFT-Maryland volunteers joined union members from Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, and Kansas in the joint organizing effort, which was launched as a part of the “Reclaiming the Promise of High Quality Public Services for Strong Communities,” an AFT national initiative."

AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson launched

Do you know an AFT member who has made a difference in his or her workplace? Someone who has had a profound and positive impact on the community? Someone whose extraordinary contribution in his or her field of work, or to the lives of others, has been heroic?

Please nominate your Everyday Hero by filling out a brief form by Jan. 31, 2014, at www.aft.org/everydayheroes, and you will be entered to win a $250 gift card.

We will identify semifinalists from each of our constituencies: 

Nancy Kopp, Maryland State Treasurer, criticized O'Malley's plan to cut $100 million from the pension fund to balance the budget, saying it would hurt the fund's credit rating. Read more at the Maryland Reporter.

2/3/14 Todd Reynolds, Political Action Coordinator