On Wednesday, April 16, the AFSCME Maryland team met with the University System of Maryland (USM) for our quarterly Labor-Management Committee (LMC) meeting.
The AFSCME Maryland team included the following AFSCME members:
- Saul Walker, Chief Steward of AFSCME Local 1072 (UMCP) and Higher Education Unit Vice President for AFSCME Maryland
- Todd Holden, President of AFSCME Local 1072 (UMCP)
- Angie Webb, President of AFSCME Local 1839 (UMB)
- Jontae Thomas, President of AFSCME Local 1297 (BSU)
- Patrick Moran, President of AFSCME Maryland
The USM management team consisted of Chancellor Jay Perman, Ellen Herbst (Vice Chancellor of Finance), Dan Chanen (Associate Vice Chancellor for Policy and Human Resources), and Sherri Roxas (Senior Director of Labor Relations).
The USM management team spoke at length about the challenges higher education institutions, including the USM, are facing. With hostile decisions coming from the federal level and budget cuts coming from Annapolis, USM leaders are worried about the impacts on the university system’s operations. In Annapolis, the USM received a larger funding cut than expected that totals around $155 million (about a 7% cut from the previous year’s budget). Between federal and state level cuts, the system is estimating that over $1 billion are on the line, and the USM is actively monitoring the amount of federal grant money that is at risk.
Despite this funding outlook, there are currently no widespread or planned cuts of positions in AFSCME-represented bargaining units. The USM team reiterated that our already-negotiated raises would be honored throughout this upcoming fiscal year. At this moment, only AFSCME-represented positions will be receiving these raises.
Throughout the meeting, the AFSCME Maryland team and the USM team remained aligned on our concerns about the Trump administration’s policy agendas and goals. The USM team agreed that we should work together to educate USM employees about their immigration rights and what to do in the case of workplace immigration raids.
Additionally, we discussed initial details regarding negotiations on a telework policy on a school-by-school basis, starting with College Park. We also brought up ongoing issues around job misclassifications, contingent employees, and having a union office at College Park.
We will be scheduling our next LMC meeting for this summer.