BCFPE led the way with other County unions to secure binding arbitration for all County employee's bargaining units. Now the effort has paid off with the county council passing the bill on October 17, 2011.
BCFPE would like to thank each and every one of you for going out there and standing together to see this effort payoff. It was hard work, from the collecting of signatures to getting it on the ballot. We had to reach out to the citizens of Baltimore County and they voted overwhelmingly in support of County employees. Then the real battle ensued between labor and the County administration to write a bill that represented the desires of the citizens. We used as a template, the existing legislation for Police and Fire, but the County resisted that option and instead introduced a bill with less teeth to it. After much effort and lots of conversation with the council, we were able to win the support of several amendments that expanded upon and improved the legislation. The passage of Binding Arbitration for General County Employees is the first of its kind in the state of Maryland.
None of this would have been possible without the help and support of the membership of BCFPE and their affiliates, AFT National, AFT-Maryland and AFL-CIO. We also received support from BCFPHN , AFSCME and others with this campaign.
http://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Documents/CountyCouncil/bills/b06611.pdf