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The MSD Union bargaining team has completed its work in negotiating a tentative agreement with the administration that will govern the terms and conditions of our employment for the next three years. Now it is time for the employees to vote on whether or not to accept the agreement.

The union will host brief 1-hour information sessions on the highlights of the new contract, as well as field any questions from members about its implementation. Click through for times, locations, and to RSVP!

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contract

We have a new, tentative, contract!

Thanks to the tireless work of our union leadership, our collective bargaining team, our bargaining committee, and support from AFT-Maryland, we have reached a Tentative Agreement with management. The contract is attached below for members to review. Highlights are listed below.

The next steps will include informational meetings where members can ask questions about the contract, and then we will enter the ratification process to vote on the contract. STAY TUNED for more information!

Click through for more information and to see the tentative agreement.

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Bargaining Update

As the Union’s bargaining team continues to progress in its contract negotiations with the School Administration and the state, we wanted to give you a brief update regarding where things currently stand.

The Bargaining team has been meeting regularly – often multiple times per week – with negotiators from management since September. Because this is our first union contract, there has been much to be discussed. First contracts are almost always historic first steps that move the workers closer to the goals their members want to achieve; they are first steps workers take in a fight to make our work-lives and our school much better.

Click through for the full update!

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Photo of AFT President Randi Weingarten addressing TEACH 2023

The AFT has always been a solutions-driven union, and our new campaign, launched during TEACH on July 21, proves it once again with a fresh, practical approach to strengthening public education. As AFT President Randi Weingarten pointed out during her keynote speech, the $5 million, yearlong campaign, “Real Solutions for Kids and Communities,” stands up against attacks on public schools and offers real-world solutions to build up, rather than break down, our communities.

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Randi Weingarten at a Massachusetts high school

Summer is upon us, and parents, children and teachers are winding down from what has been an exhausting and fully operational school year—the first since the devastating pandemic. The long-lasting impact of COVID-19 has affected our students’ and families’ well-being and ignited the politics surrounding public schools. All signs point to the coming school year unfolding with the same sound and fury, and if extremist culture warriors have their way, being even more divisive and stressful.

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What unions do

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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.

Historic Win for Workers at Maryland School for the Deaf

Maryland School for the Deaf members overwhelmingly voted to unionize and they chose AFT. The union election victory is just the first step to getting the demands they deserve.

Check out this video recap of Maryland School for the Deaf workers voting yes on unionization​.


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It is rare to get 99% of people to do anything these days, unless it's unionization at the Maryland School for the Deaf. Last week, faculty and staff at the state facility voted 159-2 to unionize, authorizing the Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association, Local 4828 (MSDFSA) to serve as the exclusive bargaining agent for faculty and staff at the school. The huge and historic win comes after years of organizing. AFT-Maryland has supported the faculty and staff at the state institution for more than two decades. In the last few years however, efforts to codify collective

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Voting Starts Today!

Stop by the AFT table on your campus to get coffee, snacks, and "PINs for ALL" and "I voted AFT" stickers and union swag after you vote!


Click to watch the full video on YouTube.


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Our local union, the Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association, Local 4828, believes we should have a union with Collective Bargaining Rights! Our Organizing Committee (the OC) has been collecting videos from MSD employees on why they agree that we all need collective bargaining rights for a fair and equitable workplace.  See all of the videos on YouTube at aftmd.us/MSDVotesYes

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