It’s that time of year again when we have the opportunity to enter negotiations with the State of Maryland on important topics that affect our jobs and our workplaces.
At the end of last year, we finalized our new union contract for the next 3 years. But in the years that we do not negotiate our full contract (like this year), we have the opportunity to negotiate on all economic issues. That includes pay, raises, and our overall compensation.
The AFSCME Maryland Bargaining Team convened on Thursday, September 19 for negotiations with the State of Maryland.
As part of our preparations for this year’s wage negotiations, the bargaining team reviewed the work that the AFSCME team has done for our Pay Equity Labor Management Committee (LMC) meetings. Our AFSCME Pay Equity Team members are: Mildred Womble (MVA), Anissa Pierce Sessoms (MDH), Patrick Okafor (DPSCS), Cherrish Vick (DHS), Ginger Noble (MDA), and Jamaal Craddock (DJS).
They attended multiple meetings this summer with representatives from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to discuss how to fix the massive pay equity issues within state employment.
Based on data that our union requested, the main points regarding pay and compensation for state employees that we brought up included the following:
- Almost 30% of employees on the Standard Salary Schedule and over 40% of employees on the Correctional Salary schedule are 1 or more steps behind. During hard times, state employees were asked to make sacrifices, but more than a decade later, state salaries are not keeping up with the rising cost of living. Step increases should happen annually, not just when the State finds it convenient to implement them.
- The State is not able to hire new employees at the starting wage. In the last two years, nearly 75% of new hires were hired at step 5 or above, making wage compression even worse. It’s clear that the State must raise the starting wage to be competitive while also fairly compensating more experienced state employees for their years of service.
- Hundreds of state employees are leaving their state jobs for better opportunities and better pay. Over 40% of current state employees have been in their jobs for 4 years or less. If we allow this to continue, we will lose out on the valuable insight more experienced employees have.
As a result of these findings, the AFSCME Maryland Bargaining Team proposed the following initial wage proposal to the State of Maryland team:
- Creating a new and higher wage scale that would make both starting wages more competitive and give more experienced workers a boost in pay
- Increasing the value of annual step increases to 2.5% to properly compensate AFSCME members for longevity with the State
- Establishing a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase that keeps up with inflation
- Creating a series of “make up” step increases over the next 3 years so members can catch up on missed step increases
Our next bargaining session with the State of Maryland will be on Thursday, October 10.
When it comes to negotiations, your membership matters. When our membership is strong and united, the State takes us seriously, which means being able to win big at the bargaining table. If you are not currently an AFSCME member, you can join at www.afscmemd.org/join.
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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.