Since our last bargaining update, we have had two bargaining sessions with the State: one on Wednesday, December 6 at the AFSCME Maryland office and another on Tuesday, December 12 at State Center.
At the December 12 session, the State showed our team the results of a wage study regarding compensation for state employees.
The study was done by outside consultants and showed what we all know: that Maryland’s state employees are underpaid. The study called on the State to establish a clear philosophy and vision of where they’d like to see the salary scales for state employees adjusted in order to remain competitive with the market. The State team said they’d like to discuss these topics at a statewide labor management committee (LMC) meeting next year. It’ll be up to us to continue to put pressure on the State to do the right thing and make sure they understand that without additional raises, Maryland will continue to see talented state employees leave for better opportunities, and in turn, the public services our communities depend on will suffer.
Below is a summary of the tentative agreements that we have reached with the State:
| Topic | Tentative Agreement |
| Shift Differential | Increase to $1 an hour for those working non-traditional hours, including evening and overnight shifts; this has not changed in more than a decade |
| Bilingual Pay | Increase to $75 per pay period, up from $25 per pay period |
| Sick Leave | Improved language regarding sick leave and for chronic conditions |
| Bereavement Leave | Eligibility expanded to include non-spouse parents of shared children |
| Vaccination Leave | Allow up to 2 hours of leave yearly to receive COVID and/or flu vaccinations |
| Other Leave | Additional leave for state employees serving in the military or for disaster service leave |
| Union-Building Language | Additional union release time for members to help conduct union business, including for trainings, conferences, meetings, etc. Additional release time for AFSCME bargaining team members for bargaining purposes |
And here are the issues that remain outstanding and that we will continue to discuss at the bargaining table with the State:
- Wages, including establishing pay equity for state employees performing similar work and for state employees with many years of service and experience
- Anti-bullying policies
- Standardized COVID leave policy
- Notification process for disciplines and strengthening right to union representation
- Converting contractual employees to PIN positions with full rights and benefits as other state employees and cease hiring contractual employees
- Right to privacy language and additional guardrails regarding the use of surveillance, monitoring, and artificial intelligence technologies in work sites
- Establishing a worker-friendly transition to green technologies
- Adding language to establish a binding arbitration process during negotiations. With binding arbitration language, a neutral third party would evaluate both sides’ offers in instances when neither side will budge. This neutral arbitrator would then make a binding decision that both sides must agree to, effectively preventing the employer from using delay tactics and holding the employer accountable to working with us on an agreement.
- Creating chief steward positions and increasing the number of job stewards to help address workplace issues, including providing union representation in meetings, filing grievances, etc.
We will hold our next negotiation session on Wednesday, December 20 at the AFSCME Maryland offices in Baltimore. Don’t forget to wear GREEN to support your bargaining team that day!
TAKE ACTION
We need every state employee to send a letter to Governor Wes Moore! The wage proposal that the State has offered is NOT ENOUGH, and we only have until December 31 to come to an agreement with the State.
Take 2 minutes to send a letter to his administration, and let them know that state workers deserve a fair and comprehensive wage proposal. Without this, state jobs will continue to go unfilled, we won’t have enough people to carry out our public services, and our communities will ultimately be the ones who are hurt.
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NOTE: Access to bargaining 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.