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Scarlett Ahmed has started counting the number of people sleeping outside the Queens Career Center in New York City when she arrives at work in the morning.

“It was already bad,” she said. “But this? This will just add to it.”

Ahmed, a career center supervisor and an executive board member of New York’s Public Employees Federation, is referring to the devastating disruption in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The break in benefits—resulting from the longest federal government shutdown on record—has a seismic impact, reaching even programs and departments

Maryland Professional Employees Council Election of Officers and Delegates to Convention

In accordance with the Constitution and By Laws of the Maryland Professional Employees Council, (MPEC), AFT-Maryland, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFL-CIO, attached is the Nominations Form for the election of Executive Officers  and the Convention Delegates to the AFT Convention, the AFT-Maryland Convention and the Maryland State AFL-CIO Convention.

As provided in the by-laws of Local 6197, any full member of Bargaining Unit G, who has been in good standing for at least six months prior to the

The Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) Local 6197 recently wrapped up a successful and productive member outreach campaign. The initiative was a collaborative effort between the AFT-Maryland and the local union. During the campaign, staff from the state federation and the local were joined by member-activists who volunteered their time to connect with colleagues and potential members to inform them about the ongoing contract negotiations, to communicate the union’s priorities, and to encourage those who were not members to join the union.  

Read on for more about the member engagement blitz...

Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) Local 6197, kicked off a contract campaign for state workers in Unit G. The union is in negotiations with the state for a new contract and is seeking to educate members on the existing contract, as well as rally support for demands to be included in the new contract. To accomplish this, the union will visit worksites from late October through mid-November.

Read on for more about the campaign, and photos from the Kick-off Event!

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.

Maryland Park Rangers call on Governor Hogan to honor the State's commitment to release COVID-19 Response Pay. These State Employees seek compensation for their work responding to a need for safe and healthy ways for residents to maintain mental and physical health during the state-mandated "Stay At Home" orders during the pandemic.

Unsung Heroes Hike and Press Conference
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Hike at 2:00 p.m. starting at Arnold Park
Press Conference at 4:00 p.m.
Lawyers Mall, 100 State Circle, Annapolis

JOIN US: RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/unsung-heroes-hike-rallyreception/

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