In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

Throughout this legislative session, MPEC members united to improve and defend employee protections and benefits. The below bills resulted in a favorable outcome for MPEC members and their families:

HB 139 

Requires all teachers in Juvenile Services and the Department of Labor to be in the professional services of State Personnel Management. This will bring those teachers into the bargaining unit. Effective July, 2022.

SB 275-Veto Override

Creates the Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI)Program. Maryland is now one of ten states, plus the District of Columbia, to enact a law that provides benefits (paid leave) for an employee’s serious health condition, the birth or adoption of a child, the serious health condition of an employee’s relative, or for a qualifying exigency of a family member of an individual serving in the military. The law goes into effect on June 1, 2022, but benefits will not be available until January 2025.

HB 172 

Allows union dues to be tax-deductible.  Effective date July 1, 2022. 

SB 541- The Maryland Outdoors Act

Improves state park infrastructure, capacity, accessibility, and employee retention. Some specifics include:

• Renames Park Ranger Associates to Park Rangers
• Adds Park Rangers to the Hometown Heroes tax deferment 
• Gives Park Rangers the ability to issue parking citations
• Covers Park Rangers under presumptive language on Lyme Disease 
• Provides $12 million for the hiring and retaining of state park personnel

Effective Jun 1, 2022

SB 794- Successfully STOPPED

This bill was successfully stopped. It would have given complete autonomy to MSDE’s management without accountability and stripped employee protections. If passed, the agency would not have to follow the standard protocols for hiring, advancement, or termination of employees.

Together, we will continue working towards a better work-life in state service as we strengthen and increase our collective efforts.

• MPS- Park Rangers
• MLGCA- Compliance Officers
• DOL- Correctional Educators
• MSDE- Correctional Educators

These classifications were not allowed to telework, and their job duties required serving the public throughout the pandemic. 

The grievances were transmitted to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) on July 13, 2021. We are currently awaiting hearing dates for all cases.

If your job duties required you to serve the public during the

To bring awareness to the state's unfair and arbitrary decision-making throughout this pandemic, Maryland Park Rangers completed a 5-mile hike from Arnold Park, MD, to Lawyer's Mall, Annapolis, on June 23.

At the beginning of the initial pandemic lockdowns, Maryland Park Services were asked to remain open. They were a vital service for Marylanders, who could no longer frequent shopping malls, restaurants, or bars. Being outdoors at a park was the safest way to maintain their physical and mental health. Park Rangers, despite working in the busiest times in State Park history and enduring