Mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 3 at 10:00 AM for a press conference and rally at State Center in Downtown Baltimore to call attention to the staffing and infrastructure crisis in our state facilities!
We have had two bargaining sessions since our last update. The first session was on Thursday, October 10 and the second session was on Wednesday, November 6. Both sessions took place at the AFSCME Maryland offices in Baltimore.
In the October 10 session, the Secretary of Budget and Management Helene Grady presented an overview of the state budget outlook for the upcoming fiscal years. The State team was honest that the budget outlook is very tough and that there are large projected revenue shortfalls. The State team told us that while the State does not plan to freeze pay this year, they do not believe they can offer us raises similar to the ones that our union has won in the last two years.
Our union believes the State’s approach is unacceptable. Immediately after the State communicated the possibility of fewer raises, members of the AFSCME Maryland bargaining team responded with powerful testimony of how dire the staffing crisis is, especially in our state facilities and hospitals. AFSCME members communicated that the State cannot afford to lose more state employees and that state leaders must find additional ways to bolster state revenue without hurting working families. That includes closing tax loopholes and increasing taxes for large corporations and the ultra-wealthy elite.
Towards the end of the session, the State presented its initial offer of a 1% cost of living adjustment (COLA) in July 2025 and a 2% COLA in July 2026 as well as adjustments to the pay scale to make all step increases worth 2.5% starting in 2027.
In the November 6 session, the AFSCME Maryland bargaining team communicated our issues with the State’s initial offer. Our bargaining team reiterated that any fair wage proposal we would consider must contain the following:
- Raises that are on par with those offered to other unions including the State Law Enforcement Officer’s Labor Alliance (SLEOLA), which represents state troopers, and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), which represents state firefighters, because all state employees do essential and important work.
- Step increases that are worth at least a 2.5% increase in pay, similar to the step increases for other state employees in higher education. The current pay scale for AFSCME’s bargaining units contains step increases that are only worth about 2% every time someone moves up a step.
- Additional step increases for those who have missed step increases in the past to properly compensate those who have more years of service. Because of missed step increases, there are thousands of state employees with many years of experience who are barely making any more than those who have just started their state careers.
The State also brought an offer related to Maryland’s new state law regarding Paid Family and Medical Leave. The State proposed paying an employee’s full salary during this leave instead of the $1,000 maximum included in the law. However, in exchange, the State would eliminate the leave bank and employee-to-employee leave donations.
The AFSCME bargaining team raised a number of issues with the State’s wage proposals and Paid Family and Medical Leave proposal. The State could not answer most of our questions. We requested that the State bring back a fair wage proposal in writing and answers to our questions in our next bargaining session, which will be on Wednesday, November 20.
We Need Your Help at the Bargaining Table!
In October, we kicked off our statewide press tour calling attention to the staffing crisis in our state. We held a press conference in October in Hagerstown focused on state facilities in Western Maryland and another press conference this past week in Salisbury focused on facilities on the Eastern Shore. Please hold your calendars for Tuesday, December 3 at 10 AM for the Baltimore stop of our statewide staffing tour! We will be holding a press conference and rallying downtown to demand a fair wage proposal and respect from our state leaders.
Here is some of the news coverage from these two press conferences:
Years to fix a prison fence? Maryland CO’s union says working conditions are dire
Maryland state workers push Gov. Moore to spend more on workers, facilities
Concerns voiced about staffing at state prisons south of Hagerstown
Union Members Call for Better Staffing at State Facilities on Maryland’s Eastern Shore
AFSCME union meets in Salisbury, demands better working conditions
Union decries Maryland government staffing ‘crisis’
Our Union Power Comes from You
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.