The power of the MPEC is on the rise. One of the strongest worksites of the union is the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE). MPEC Vice President Andrea Buie is at the work site and has done a yeoman’s work to increase membership and engagement at the location.
In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest column in the New York Times, she writes that, despite President Trump’s claims that we have the “best economy ever,” his policies are harming working and middle-class Americans, many of whom are struggling just to get by. “Our political and economic systems are so weighted toward the wealthy that opportunity will only come through the power of collective action,” she writes, using “the surest vehicles to increase opportunity for ordinary Americans”—public education, labor unions and voting. Read the full column.
Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) hosted two lunch and learns at the Glen Burnie MVA and the Department of Labor Licensing and Regulations. Shop stewards Davene Johnson (Glen Burnie) and Michelle Roberts (DLLR) did a great job turning out members to hear what AFT-Maryland organizer Aaron Ray had to share.
Members were fired up and ready to go at the MPEC Steward Training on Thursday May 30, 2019. The training, held in Baltimore, brought together stewards from across a variety of agencies for an intensive training of how to best serve members of the union on the job. Michael Spiller of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) was the lead facilitator during the training.
The 2018 Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court decision was a blow against organized labor and public sector unions in particular. While anti-union advocates may have thought they struck a death knell against labor, the energy from the MPEC annual member meeting suggests the Janus decision may have only awakened a sleeping giant.
The AFT’s long-time advocacy for public schools has just been turbo-charged, with a sweeping, multi-pronged campaign to fund the future of American public education. Amid the continuing wave of teacher activism shining a spotlight on massive shortfalls in education investment, the Fund Our Future initiative aims to take the teachers’ megaphone into Congress, statehouses and communities nationwide.
“A majority of American teens say they are worried about a shooting happening at their school. Let that sink in,” AFT President Randi Weingarten writes in her latest column for the New York Times. “Young people are demanding meaningful action beyond ‘thoughts and prayers.’ They know, as do law enforcement officers and educators, that there are effective ways to address gun violence.” Read more about the proven strategies that would enhance school safety and reduce gun violence.
It’s time to divest from private prisons: The US incarcerates more prisoners than any other nation in the world - and private prisons profit. Our new report details how AFT members can encourage their pension funds to divest from private prison corporations.
Many government employees already live paycheck to paycheck, without their government salary, it’s getting hard to feed their families.
This shutdown has plunged thousands of Americans, including many AFT members, into economic uncertainty and put critical services at risk. It’s time to end this pain being inflicted on American families.