Posts tagged Maryland
Maryland Teachers Union employees earn $181,000 on average
November 19, 2023 // According to MSEA’s federal filing, at least 11 employees earned more than $200,000 in total compensation last year. Kristy Anderson, the general counsel, earned $285,962. Executive Director Sean Johnson earned $276,892. Assistant Executive Director Cathy Perry earned $259,210. Project Baltimore found that MSEA collected $26.5 million in revenue last year, the highest amount on record. Of that $26.5 million, $16.9 million went towards “salaries, other compensation, employee benefits” for the unions 93 employees. If $16.9 million went to 93 employees, that means on average, union employees earned $181,720 in total compensation. Keep in mind, MSEA is a tax-exempt nonprofit with a specific mission to elevate public education.
Max Finkelstein Workers Across East Coast Force RWDSU Union to Abandon 500+ Employee Unit
October 31, 2023 // “We warehouse workers and drivers at Max Finkelstein may be from many different facilities in many different states, but we are in agreement about one thing: RWDSU union officials don’t represent our interests,” commented Dorney. “It’s our right under federal law to challenge RWDSU’s forced representation power.” The RWDSU union has recently tried several high-profile unionization campaigns at Amazon warehouses across the country, most notably at the large Bessemer, AL, facility, where employees voted against the union by substantial margins in both 2021 and 2022. Gallup polling shows that 58 percent of nonunion workers are “not interested at all” in joining a union.
Abortion workers, crushed by restrictions and buoyed by labor movement, are unionizing
October 16, 2023 // It’s hard to know exactly how many reproductive healthcare workers are affected, but there are indicators that organizing is picking up steam as restrictions proliferate. Of the dozen Planned Parenthood affiliates that have unionized in total, a third voted to do so since Roe fell. These serve patients in Washington, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and California, all of which have seen an influx of patients traveling from states with restrictions.
Workers at Mack Trucks set to strike after rejecting tentative contract deal
October 9, 2023 // Union workers at Mack Trucks have voted down a tentative five-year contract agreement reached with the company and plan to strike at 7 a.m. Monday, the United Auto Workers union says. Union President Shawn Fain said in a letter to Mack parent company Volvo Trucks that 73% of workers voted against the deal in results counted on Sunday. The UAW represents about 4,000 Mack workers in three states. Union leaders had reached a tentative agreement on the deal on Oct. 1. The deal included a 19% pay raise over the life of the contract with 10% upon ratification. There also was a $3,500 ratification bonus, no increase in weekly health care contributions, increased annual lump sum payments for retirees and a $1,000 annual 401(k) lump sum to offset health care costs for employees who don’t get health insurance after retirement. Fain said in his letter to Volvo Trucks’ head of labor relations that employees working early Monday will exit the factories after performing tasks needed to prevent damage to company equipment.
Mack Trucks Reaches Tentative Deal With Auto Workers Union To Avoid Strike
October 2, 2023 // The tentative agreement was reached just before the current contract between the company and its workers—which was agreed to after a two week strike in 2019—was set to expire.
Perdue workers consider unionizing amid claims of unfavorable working conditions
September 27, 2023 // Workers at Perdue will be making an important decision this week. That decision will be whether or not to unionize with the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 27 Union. This isn’t the first time the company has been hit with claims from workers citing unfavorable work conditions. Workers reached out to form the union when concerns about safety were raised after several incidents involving staff. They also plan to address concerns of pay and fairness.
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.