In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

• Permanent elimination of PINs (jobs)
• 5% Loss in Wages and Benefits
• Elimination of previously negotiated salary increases and cost-of-living adjustments
• Greater employee contribution to their health insurance plans (which translates to a cut in take home pay)
• Adjusting rules to limit when workers qualify for overtime pay

Source: Unions: Hogan admin

Baltimore County Public Employees hired after 2007 are getting long needed relief thanks to the work of the Baltimore County Labor Health Care Review Committee. John Ripley, President of the Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees and an AFT-Maryland VP at-large, served as the chair of the committee. The committee worked to remedy the bifurcated healthcare plans adversely affecting those hired after 2007. When asked what this means, President Ripley simply replied, “this is a great win for labor!”

Under the old plan, county employees hired after 2007 were paying more than $3,000 more