Invest In State Workers, Invest In Maryland Press Conference

Baltimore, MD - Earlier today, AFSCME Council 3 held a press conference calling on the state to invest in and protect the public services that millions of Marylanders are relying on in a time of increasing crisis. 

At a time when the federal administration is taking a slash and burn approach to public services and public employees, here in Maryland state services are on the brink with facilities crumbling, resources dwindling, and people left vulnerable by exacerbated safety issues and state services in crisis. We cannot continue to have public services in Maryland if we do not have people who are willing to do the difficult and necessary work. If wages don’t keep up with the cost of living, there won’t be enough staff for the critical services the people of Maryland rely on.  

 Our union is ready and willing to be a partner with the state in solving the multiple crises facing public services. Despite the state meeting with us, they fail to recognize our members as partners in tackling the issues facing Maryland. They also do not follow the letter of our MOU and hold agencies and leadership accountable when they act in violation of our members’ rights at work. Today, we’ve been left with no choice but to file unfair labor practices against the state. 

 “You can’t continue to run state government without qualified people who are willing to serve and take on difficult work. If we do not have the resources to hire and retain people, and state workers are being asked to do even more with less given the lack of  federal support, state services collapse.” Patrick Moran, President of AFSCME Council 3 

 “This lack of investment has real consequences for patient care and the public who rely on us to provide these services in dire circumstances. And it has real consequences for state employees who are being asked to do more with less year after year after year. We are on the brink and desperately need support from our Governor and the State.” Jenny Reese, President of AFSCME Local 539, LPN at Springfield Hospital Center 

“The depopulation at MRDCC was not due to any brand-new emerging crisis, it was due to existing problems we have been calling on the administration to fix for years. They ignored it until it reached a crisis point. Now they are transferring inmates around the state, creating additional safety concerns on top of the crisis of understaffing and mandatory overtime.” Oluwadamilola Olaniyan, President of AFSCME Local 1678, Correctional Officer Sergeant, Jessup Correctional Institution. 

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About AFSCME   

AFSCME's 1.4 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in communities across the nation, serving in hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections officers, childcare providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and freedom and opportunity for all working families.   

About AFSCME Maryland Council 3    

AFSCME Maryland Council 3 represents nearly 50,000 public service workers in local, city, county and state government as well as in higher education and the private sector who provide the valuable public services that our communities rely on. From Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore, we make Maryland happen.