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HOW THE FIGHT WAS WON

Our concerted efforts to stop the draconian cuts were successful! The Board of Public Works voted 2:1 to delay $205 million in cuts to state employees.
 
Over the past week, we have trended in media outlets such as the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, US News, Union Times, MSN, Maryland Reporter, and others. Together we took a stand against the Hogan Administration’s budget plan that did not allow the proper due diligence and collaboration from our bargaining unit. As employees that keep the state moving, we know the challenges of this pandemic—the the threats to the safety and well-being this
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Tele-Town Hall Event Discusses Workplace Safety

COVID-19 has created concern for all Maryland residents, but MPEC members have a specific concern as their work potentially increases their exposure to the virus. Staff and leadership of the union organized a tele-townhall to help members understand workplace safety and job liability in the unfortunate event they test positive for the virus.

The townhall allowed members to ask questions directly to Daniel Udoff, a labor attorney from the firm Kahn, Smith & Collins, who specializes in workers’ compensation claims. The conversation was robust and covered a number of topics but there were several

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MPEC Caravan to Stop the Cuts

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"69010","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","style":"width: 100%; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;"}}]]When Gov. Hogan proposed to solve the state’s fiscal challenges on the backs of state employees, MPEC stood tall and fought back. President Jerry Smith quickly mobilized the membership to engage in a massive lobbying campaign to members of the Board of Public Works to reject hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to state workers. Following intense letter writing and phone calling efforts, MPEC held a caravan outside of the Maryland State Treasurer’s Office to encourage Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot to reject the proposed cuts.

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JUSTICE AND EQUALITY

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Maryland’s Unsung Heroes On The Front Line: Maryland Park Rangers

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Maryland Park Rangers are on the frontline serving Marylanders during the COVID-19 pandemic in a unique way.  Parks are a holistic approach to the mental and physical challenges we face. Since state parks are essential in contributing to the overall health and well-being of Maryland citizens, there is a substantial impact on Maryland Park Services (MPS).  As attendance continues to skyrocket, budget cuts in the department have left them with less contractual help to deal with the crowds. This has led to increased park closures, greater vigilance to manage traffic control, and response to emergencies in the park. Of greater importance and concern is the increased exposure Rangers have to the thousands of daily visitors to state parks. 

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Maryland’s Unsung Heroes On The Front Line: Mindy Lawson

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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"68085","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-right","style":"width: 200px; height: 200px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 3px 2px; float: right;"}}]]Mindy Lawson is a rehabilitation teacher at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, the state’s forensic psychiatric hospital. While teachers in other facilities across the state telework, she continues to report to the hospital daily. Initially, her job was not deemed essential; however, during a state of emergency, management can make non-essential employees essential and alter their work duties, which changed her job status.  

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COVID-19 ELEVATED LEVEL 2 STATUS

Governor Hogan has ordered movement to an Elevated Level 2 status for all Executive Branch agencies, this means:

  • All non-emergency essential personnel who can perform their duties from home must do so in order to help contain the spread of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Employees who telework shall be compensated for their work at their regular rate of pay.
     
  • All teleworkers must sign the Interim Pandemic-Associated Teleworking Agreement.
     
  • During this period of mandatory telework for non-emergency essential personnel, State operations are NOT shutting down, but public access to State
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MPEC Info Table at DLLR

Valentine’s Day is a day of love, and MPEC was in the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulations (DLLR) spreading union love. Organizer Aaron Ray tabled at the facility during lunchtime. He engaged workers on a number of issues, but one that drew the most interest was reclassification and back-pay associated with it. There are a number of state employees at that agency who have recently been or will soon be reclassified and become a part of the MPEC bargaining unit. For some, this will come with pay increases. Those potentially affected were curious and spoke with the organizer about what

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MPEC Steward Training October 2019

The Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) trained another round of stewards on Thursday, October 17, 2019. The member activists serve the union on a volunteer basis and will be the point persons at their worksites for information their co-workers need to know. The day-long training took place at the Maryland Department of the Environment and featured presentations from MPEC board members and staff as well as staff from AFT-Maryland.

The new stewards represent agencies throughout the state. They learned about the contract, negotiations, safe and healthy work standards for their work

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In defense of public education

Randi Weingarten and NYC teacher Tamara Simpson

Attacks on public education in America by extremists and culture-war peddling politicians have reached new heights (“lows” may be more apt), but they are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended not just to undermine public education but to destroy it.

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