After a hard-fought campaign, Governor Larry Hogan has announced he will release the $68 million set aside to maintain the 2 percent salary increase—one that was negotiated and finalized last year by public employee unions and the state—for state employees. This was initially a point of contention between the Governor and state workers but his recent announcement has improved the relationship tremendously.

Several local labor leaders weighed in on Gov. Hogan's decision:

"Our members are pleased that Governor Hogan decided to do the right thing and honor the agreement that was negotiated between

Are state workers not Maryland families? Governor Hogan said Maryland families have been tightening their belts, but his new budget makes state workers tighten them even more. ​Under the Governor's budget, well deserved and long overdue Cost of Living increases will be taken back by the State.

Maryland public employees and their families are the very families that Governor Hogan said he ran to help. We can be heard. Join AFT-Maryland Monday February 9, 2015 for Lobby Night in Annapolis. This is an opportunity to discuss Governor Hogan's budget with you state representatives.

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February 9, 2015
AFT

CUB members stood with postal workers on Sunday, June 22nd at a "Stop Staples!" rally. Community members gathered in front of the Staples store at Eastpoint Mall on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore Sunday afternoon to tell the retail store to stop attacking good jobs and public post offices.

The City Union of Baltimore joins in telling Staples: THE U.S. MAIL IS NOT FOR SALE!

The recent Staples deal with the USPS will replace full-service U.S. Post Offices with knock-off post offices in Staples stores that are not staffed with U.S. Postal Service employees. We have a right to post offices staffed by

AFT-Maryland staff and affiliate members journeyed to Wichita, Kansas, March 9-14 for a week of intensive training in the AFT organizing model and to help the Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSE) identify potential activists and recruit new union members. The AFT-Maryland volunteers joined union members from Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, and Kansas in the joint organizing effort, which was launched as a part of the “Reclaiming the Promise of High Quality Public Services for Strong Communities,” an AFT national initiative."

AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson launched

Nancy Kopp, Maryland State Treasurer, criticized O'Malley's plan to cut $100 million from the pension fund to balance the budget, saying it would hurt the fund's credit rating. Read more at the Maryland Reporter.

2/3/14 Todd Reynolds, Political Action Coordinator

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.