AFSCME union signs new contract
After two terms of rough negotiations with Maryland’s executive branch, unionized state employees flocked to the State House for the first time in nearly a decade Thursday to watch Gov. Wes Moore and Department of Budget and Management Secretary Helene Grady sign their new contract.
“Gone are the days when you have state leadership that works in opposition to labor leadership,” Moore, a Democrat, said to a cheering crowd.
The Maryland chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, Council 3 had an adversarial relationship with former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican.
Patrick Moran, the president of AFSCME Council 3, called their negotiations with the Hogan administration “incredibly difficult,” and said the former governor and his team “simply did not care about providing quality services to the people of Maryland.”
Thursday marked the first time in nearly a decade that the union came to a contract signing ceremony, in large part because of their poor relationship with Hogan.
“Being in this room is a little foreign to us, because we haven’t been here for about 10 years,” Moran said. “We weren’t welcome here for about eight years.”
Under Hogan, thousands of state employee positions were left vacant or eliminated. Moore pledged to fill 5,000 of them during his first year in office, but fell far short.
Moran said Thursday that there is “work to do” to address the “staffing crisis” felt at several different agencies, but recognized change takes time.
“We see your administration’s commitment to that progress, and we thank you for that,” he said to the governor.
The Moore administration was a change of pace for union leadership. Moran called negotiations with Grady “productive and transparent,” and thanked her for her time and willingness to try to understand what state employees need to efficiently do their jobs.
Moore said Thursday that change doesn’t just happen — it’s forced, and “it takes people who are willing to stand up, and fight, and navigate and work together, and never forget about why we are in the season we are in and who put us there.”
The new, three-year contract will adjust employee salaries between 5% and 20% based on job class, agency and tenure. All AFSCME members will receive a 3% cost of living adjustment on July 1 — the same day that eligible members will receive a step increase in their salary. Members who have continuously worked for the state since June 30, 2019, will get a salary step raise for their longevity.
The union also successfully negotiated pay equity between new hires and tenured employees based on department and region, the creation of a committee to study state salary scales, safety precautions for employees who have to work outside, the conversion of hundreds of contractual positions to full-time employees, a policy to retrain or reassign workers whose positions have been interrupted because of the transition away from fossil fuels, sick leave for positive COVID-19 cases, and expanded workplace rights.
“Governor, this is the first time … in a long time that Maryland has leadership in Annapolis that supports working people,” said Moran.
AFSCME represents approximately 45,000 public sector employees in Maryland. Union leadership will meet with Grady again in September to negotiate wages for fiscal year 2026.