Posts tagged Maryland
First Faculty Unions Form at Two Maryland Community Colleges
September 7, 2023 // Before passage of the 2021 collective bargaining law, some employee groups were already organized at the Community College of Baltimore County, Montgomery College, and Prince George’s Community College. There are additional faculty organizing efforts by AFT-Maryland underway now at the Community College of Baltimore County and Prince George’s Community College.
This Labor Day, ask yourself: Are unions living up to their promises?
September 4, 2023 // Good people across the country may believe that handing more power to public sector union executives will fix teacher shortages or improve ineffective government programs. Instead, these good people should reflect this Labor Day and ask themselves whether public sector unions have lived up to these promises over the past 50 years. They should also ask how we can hold union executives accountable and improve how public sector unions work. Unfortunately, anyone trying to advance ideas to improve public sector unions soon discovers union executives aren’t interested. Public sector union executives will go to war to ensure they keep their power — even at the expense of the employees they purportedly represent.
Full-time FCC faculty says union would address campus culture, contracts
August 24, 2023 // According to Trigger, the full-time faculty members at FCC are hoping to address several issues in their first union-negotiated contract. Through collective bargaining, the faculty hopes to gain better health coverage, guaranteed personal days and higher salaries. Last year, the college's board of trustees voted to increase employee wages by at least 2% after a compensation study found substantial variation between the minimum and maximum pay for the same roles. The same study also found that most FCC employees fall at the bottom end of the pay scale. In addition to advocating for fair contracts, the union will also focus on improving the relationship between FCC faculty and the school's administration.
Nation’s largest federal employee union endorses O’Malley to lead Social Security
August 22, 2023 // O’Malley’s nomination comes at a time when the agency he was chosen to lead is at a crossroads. House Republicans and the White House differ on how much to fund SSA in fiscal 2024 to the tune of nearly $2 billion, which administration officials are is needed to avert calamity within the agency. The union, for its part, estimates that more than $17 billion—$2 billion more than Biden request—is needed to shore up the agency’s workforce and operating procedures. And following years of conflict and deadlock at the bargaining table, AFGE and Social Security management reached an agreement last month to update a portion of their union contract, which includes commitments to set up regular union-management cooperation council meetings both at the national level and within the agency’s subcomponents, as well as plans to improve training for new employees and to boost some benefits like child-care subsidies.
American Federation of Government Employees Works to Unionize Defense Department Employees in Europe
August 14, 2023 // AFGE has established a new at-large local known as Local 14 under District 14. While District 14 primarily covers federal employees in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C., it also extends its membership to European federal employees and already has a few smaller locals in Europe. The goal is to establish more locals in Europe based on profession and locality. The new at-large local is open to federal employees throughout Europe, regardless of agency, who are not yet represented by an AFGE local. The hope is to eventually represent around 10,000 employees under Local 14. Currently, AFGE has about 100 dues-paying at-large members within the new local. While these members receive representation in labor disputes, collective bargaining can only occur once the union is recognized through FLRA elections. AFGE needs 30% of the workforce to express interest in holding elections before collective bargaining can take place.
Opinion Project labor agreements are not right for Prince George’s new schools
July 10, 2023 // A debate has arisen over the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on the construction of six new schools in Prince George’s County. But PLAs, which require union construction crews, are not the solution for Prince George’s County. PLAs are government mandates that exist exclusively as a method for public officials to steer tax dollars to organized labor. Most local businesses, particularly those owned by racial minorities, cannot work on projects covered by PLAs. These businesses risk financial ruin in the form of exorbitant pension withdrawal liabilities by agreeing to the terms of PLAs. Consider the case of a trucking company in New Jersey that unwittingly agreed to work on a PLA project and, years later, was hit with a demand from the union’s pension fund for $700,000 — more than twice what the company earned on the project.
MGM National Harbor Employees Vote in Favor of Unionization
July 6, 2023 // Such employee initiatives are part of a broader push towards better treatment for workers in the hospitality industry. Quebec recently saw casino staff begin an indefinite general strike, protesting over inadequate compensation. Unionized employees at Encore Boston Harbor casino also proved the value of forming a united front, protecting the rights of over 1,400 workers during tense negotiations with Wynn Resorts. MGM National Harbor staff joining the Teamsters highlights their determination to have a collective voice and negotiate for their rights. The success of this unionization effort and other similar initiatives carry broader implications for the labor movement in the hospitality sector, hopefully setting an example for others in the industry. The MGM parking ambassadors may inspire others to consider similar initiatives, driving positive change and promoting fair worker treatment.
Geico activists continue push to unionize, allege abuses by company
June 14, 2023 // Geico is opposed to the employee union effort, Konikoff said. The NLRB continues to investigate a complaint filed on Feb. 23, 2023 alleging that Geico fired an employee last year for engaging in a Section 7 "protected concerted activity." According to Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act a protected concerted activity "only requires two or more employees acting together ('in concert') to improve their hours, pay, working conditions or other aspects of their job.
Unionized Apple store workers want you to start tipping them
May 5, 2023 // Workers at Apple's first unionized store in suburban Baltimore are pushing for a tipping system. The proposal calls for customers to tip in increments of 3%, 5%, or a custom amount. It's part of a series of new proposals from the union ahead of contract negotiations.
Teachers, employees at MSD vote to unionize
February 16, 2023 // The MSD Faculty and Staff Association has technically existed as a union for decades, but until last week, it didn’t have collective bargaining rights, said Edna Johnston, its president. “It was like a dog without any teeth,” Johnston said in American Sign Language as an interpreter translated. Now that the association has negotiating rights, Johnston said, there are two main areas of focus. One is making sure all MSD employees become part of the state’s formal personnel management system. Currently, Johnston said, about a third of the teachers at the school are contractors, meaning they aren’t eligible for the benefits owed to state employees.