Overview
Main Takeaways
- Over 78% of survey respondents have considered leaving their State job.
- Over 56% of survey respondents reported that they have had to work multiple jobs while working for the State.
- Over one-third of survey respondents said they have experienced workplace violence and over 56% reported having a health or safety concern about their working conditions.
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Thank you for reading AFSCME Maryland’s very first State of Our State Services Report. The purpose of this report is to shed light on the issues facing Maryland’s state employees and how we can improve state jobs for the better.
The issues outlined in this report are categorized into three main themes: compensation, safety, and respect. In each section, you will find a summary of each issue along with recommendations.
Survey Results
In June, we surveyed over 25,000 AFSCME-represented state employees. This report includes results from that survey and provides valuable insight into how state employees are feeling about their jobs and their work.
Over 2,500 state employees responded to our survey, representing nearly 10% of our AFSCME Maryland bargaining units.
32 state agencies were represented in our survey responses. The largest state agencies represented in the survey were the following:
- Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS)
- Department of Human Services (DHS)
- Maryland Department of Health (MDH)
- Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA)
- Department of Juvenile Services (DJS)
- Office of the Public Defender (OPD)
- Department of Labor (DOL)
- State Highway Administration (SHA)
- Comptroller of Maryland (COMP)
- Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA)
- Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)
The most common job titles among survey respondents were the following:
- Correctional Officer II
- Parole & Probation Agent Senior
- Social Worker II Family Services
- Customer Agent II
- Family Investment Specialist II
- Correctional Officer Sergeant
- Family Services Caseworker II
- Correctional Officer Lieutenant
- Direct Care Assistant II
- Customer Agent III
Hogan’s Disastrous Legacy
While former Governor Larry Hogan was in office, he did little for state employees and state services. He reduced the number of state positions throughout state agencies — eliminating numerous Position Identification Numbers (PINs), which reflect each permanent position in State government. He then turned around and claimed he had helped address staffing shortages by lowering the vacancy rate.
During Hogan’s administration, agency hiring slowed, and positions remained vacant — not to mention the $23 million that were collectively stolen from correctional officers in Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS). When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it became clear how dangerously understaffed state agencies are. Had Governor Hogan not received federal funding during the pandemic, including funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, Maryland’s state services would have been left in an even worse position. These funds helped stabilize some state services but record vacancy rates, short staffing, and unsustainable workloads have persisted.
In 2022, Governor Wes Moore made addressing the vacancy and staffing crisis facing Maryland’s state services a key priority. While his administration has made progress in hiring, state agencies continue to be overwhelmed by the growing numbers of clients, patients, and residents seeking services. AFSCME members continue to report impossible workloads, and many agencies continue to pursue problematic tactics like eliminating open positions to misleadingly bring down vacancy numbers, while contracting out services that used to be done by state employees and refusing to work with our union on meaningful solutions.
In particular, Maryland’s state hospital system continues to be held in contempt of court because there are not enough beds to house everyone needing treatment. Instead, these individuals continue to languish in jails rather than receiving the mental health treatment that they need. In Maryland’s state prison system, inmate homicides and assault rates have reached record highs. Recent data still shows that there are over 2,400 vacancies within the bargaining units that AFSCME represents, and agencies like the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) and the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) are still short thousands more PINs (Position Identification Number) that the agencies actually need to meet their missions.
The staffing crisis facing Maryland’s state services hurts all of us — from state employees being asked to work in dangerous conditions without the support and resources they need, to clients and patients in desperate need of direct care, to the families and the public who are relying on and trusting that the State of Maryland will provide the services it has promised to residents. The success of any administration will only be possible by addressing this staffing crisis and fully investing in Maryland’s state services and the state employees who make them happen.
