2026 Legislative Session

Lobby Nights Schedule

Join us on Mondays in Annapolis for our AFSCME Maryland Lobby Nights! We'll meet in Annapolis at 5:30 PM in the AFSCME (public) Lounge on the first floor of the House of Delegates. Please RSVP here to let us know which Lobby Nights you plan to attend. By submitting your RSVP, we will be able to send you more details closer to each Lobby Night.

Monday, February 2: 24/7 Facilities Night & Non-24/7 Facilities Night
Monday, February 9: Local 2898 WSSC/Local 44 Baltimore City Convention Center Night
Monday, February 16: Higher Ed, Community Colleges, & Local Presidents Night
Monday, February 23: K-12 and Libraries Night
Monday, March 2: Local Government Night
Monday, March 9: All AFSCME Locals
Monday, March 16: All AFSCME Locals
Monday, March 23: Crossover Lobby Night
Monday, March 30: TBD Lobby Night

RSVP here >>

Our 2026 Legislative Priorities:

See below our legislative priorities for this year's session. Click "Read more" below to see more details about each priority.

Protect Public Services in FY27 Budget

Safe and adequate staffing levels across state agencies
Fair compensation and benefits for State Personnel
Investments in long neglected State Facilities

Protecting Public Services in the Budget:

Prioritizing State Personnel

Maryland’s public services rely on a stable and fairly compensated workforce. Chronic understaffing and growing dependency on overtime and contractors undermines quality services, employee safety, and fiscal responsibility.

Overtime Costs: In 2024, state agencies spent $404 million on overtime, including $205 million in DPSCS alone – equivalent to the salaries of roughly 3,000 additional staff. Overtime has risen steadily for five years, fueling burnout and unsafe conditions.
Excessive Contracting Out: Between FY2020–FY2025, the state overspent its appropriated contractual services budget by $7.6 billion, diverting resources away from state employees to private contractors who receive less oversight.
Recruitment, Retention & Compensation:
- Over the last decade, AFSCME-represented state employees have fallen 11% behind inflation in their COLAs and scheduled steps were provided only half the time.
- State compensation now lags behind county governments, worsening hiring and retention.
- As of August 2025, the average turnover in state government was 409 employees per month, a trend that may worsen under hiring freezes and increased retirements.
- When the rate of inflation for the last two years has been around 2.9%, we must be able to keep up.

During the 2026 Legislative Session, AFSCME will continue to oppose attempts to cut, privatize, or automate state work in ways that undermine public services and the workers who deliver them.

Strategic Capital Investments in State Facilities

Maryland faces aging facilities and significant maintenance backlogs, making major capital investment urgently necessary. Some approved projects also warrant reevaluation. The Baltimore Therapeutic Treatment Center (BTTC), for example, has seen its projected construction and equipment costs rise more than 150% and now exceeds $1 billion, making it the most expensive capital project in state history. Yet only $100 million is budgeted for operations, leaving the facility heavily dependent on private contractors for medical staffing. These escalating costs threaten the state’s ability to address critical infrastructure needs across DPSCS and MDH. AFSCME urges the legislature to reassess the BTTC and redirect capital funds to the facilities and agencies with the most urgent needs.

Ensuring Fair Impasse and Disciplinary Procedures:

Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act of 2026 (SB 28)

Maryland’s current impasse process leaves state and higher education workers with collective bargaining rights but no meaningful leverage during contract negotiations. From 2016–2019, state employees received no COLAs, despite state budget surpluses. AFSCME won at fact-finding in 2018, the administration simply ignored the recommendation of an arbitrator because it was not binding. In Higher Education, where there are no enforceable timelines, negotiations can drag out for years. Legislation being reintroduced by Sen. Cory McCray and Del. Jared Solomon would create a constitutional amendment to allow for an arbitrator’s award to be placed directly into the Governor’s budget, establishing a fair and impartial impasse process that prevents unilateral wage imposition.

WSSC Disciplinary Reform (PG/MC 104-26, Delegate Mireku-North & Senator Kramer)

AFSCME Local 2898 members operate, maintain, and repair the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission’s systems, ensuring safe drinking water and reliable sewer service for 2 million residents. For years, they have sought a fair, impartial process to review management-issued disciplinary suspensions. PG/MC 104-26 would allow workers to appeal suspensions to the Office of Administrative Hearings and set clear timelines for disciplinary investigations, aligning WSSC standards with those already in place for state employees.

Right to Strike for K–12 and County Library Workers

In addition to binding arbitration, the right to strike is a critical tool for workers at impasse. This bill, supported by AFSCME, BTU, MSEA, SEIU 500, and the MD/DC AFL-CIO, would authorize the right to strike for K–12 and public library employees during contract and unfair labor practice disputes.

Expanding Collective Bargaining Rights & Stopping Union Busting:

Attacks on federal workers and unions have fueled unprecedented interest in organizing across Maryland. To strengthen our middle class, the state must protect and expand the right to unionize.

Local Government PERB

Workers in 12 counties and most municipalities still lack collective bargaining rights. AFSCME will reintroduce legislation establishing a standardized collective bargaining process for local governments under the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB).

Maryland Worker Freedom Act (HB 45)

State resources should not be used to fund contractors who engage in anti-union activity in state facilities. This legislation prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee for their refusal to participate in an employer-sponsored captive audience meeting, during which the employer communicates their views on certain topics including whether employees should unionize.