If you are not currently an AFSCME member, you can become one here. As an AFSCME member, you get to help us decide future bargaining priorities and vote on future agreements.
After a total of 8 bargaining sessions (including today’s), our AFSCME Maryland bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with the State and voted to accept.
Our bargaining team knew this would be hard. During Governor Hogan’s administration, his team has fought us every step of the way in our fight to ensure each and every state worker is fairly compensated and respected for the critical work we do.
At the start of our bargaining sessions this year, we proposed a variety of pay increases, including steps, cost of living adjustments (COLAs), annual salary reviews (ASRs), and shift differentials to name a few, to better recruit and retain state workers. The State fought us on every single one of these proposals.
After a series of hard negotiation sessions, we were able to win the following:
- A step increase for all bargaining unit members eligible effective July 1, 2023
- An increase in bilingual pay from $25 per pay period to $50
- Eliminating the lowest step effective January 1 and creating a floor for all new hires
- Fully uncapping pay increases as a result of Annual Salary Reviews (ASRs), reclassifications, new classes, promotions, etc. Each grade increase is now equivalent to a 6% pay increase. Previously, the State was unfairly limiting pay increases in these situations.
- Bonuses for DPSCS employees, including:
- Making all Field Training Officers (FTOs) eligible for a $500 bonus
- Widening eligibility of longevity and retirement bonus to include all Division of Corrections (DOC) case managers, social workers, and psychologists
- Increasing the cadre bonus to $1,000
- Additional targeted pay increases as a result of Annual Salary Reviews (ASRs)
These raises are in addition to the 2% cost of living adjustment (COLA) all AFSCME bargaining unit members will receive on July 1, 2023.
Looking ahead into 2023, we will be working with the Moore administration and the General Assembly leadership. We have an important opportunity in this upcoming legislative session (starting in January) to show our state leaders that state workers deserve better. We will again go to the legislature and work to insert additional resources for AFSCME members in the budget.
If you have not already registered for our virtual legislative session kick-off meeting on Tuesday, January 10 at 7:00 PM on Zoom, please RSVP here.
In the fall, we will be starting our negotiations with Governor-elect Wes Moore’s administration for our entire contract (in addition to the pay and wages portion), and we’re looking forward to working together to get state workers the resources we need to do our jobs successfully.
Thank you to those who took the time out of their busy work schedules to serve on our AFSCME Maryland state bargaining team. We couldn’t have done this without you.
NOTE: Access to bargaining is information is limited to bargaining unit employees (units A, B, C, D, F, and H). Be aware that details of proposals, counterproposals, and related discussions in closed collective bargaining sessions are private and confidential communications protected from unilateral public disclosure during collective bargaining negotiations under SPP § 3-501(e). Such details should not be made public while collective bargaining negotiations are taking place. The above materials in this post include details and therefore should not be circulated to the public or publicly.