Ballot Question 1 Explained: The Importance of Binding Arbitration for Fair Contract Negotiations
Top Reasons to Vote YES for QUESTION 1:
It levels the playing field for 40,000 state employees during union contract negotiations so the State cannot ignore the concerns of workers.
This would improve labor law and would align us with 26 other states & D.C.
Passing this raises the standard for all public employees in Maryland and helps protect our public services.
Learn more about our endorsed candidates, how to get involved in this election, and resources about Question 1 here!
A Quick Explainer:
Imagine you’re at Camden Yards, watching an O’s game.
A player slides onto home plate, but no one can agree:
Safe or out?
That’s when you need an umpire. The umpire is neutral and makes the final call.
Something similar can happen when Maryland state employees and the state are negotiating.
Sometimes, they reach an impasse, which means they simply can’t agree.
Right now, someone called a factfinder can step in. The factfinder listens to both sides, looks at the facts, and makes a recommendation about how to resolve the disagreement.
In baseball, that would be like asking a sports commentator to watch the play and recommend whether the runner was safe or out. Yes, that person knows a lot about baseball and doesn’t work for either team, but that would make no sense.
We all know the fairest way to make that decision is to have an umpire do it.
And there’s another problem: the two teams aren’t on equal footing.
The state has far more money, staff, lawyers, and resources than the employees sitting across the table.
That’s why having a neutral person who can make the final call matters — if neither side was compelled to listen, the game could last forever.
Passing Maryland Ballot Question 1 means we have our own version of an umpire, called an arbitrator, to step in when the fact-finder approach isn’t working during bargaining. This neutral party reviews both sides and makes the final decision - just like an umpire.
While binding arbitration doesn’t guarantee a win, it levels the playing field when negotiations are at a standstill. And winning binding arbitration for state employees will raise the standard for all public sector workplaces in Maryland.
In baseball, the teams may not have the same resources, but they do have an umpire to make sure the same rules apply to everyone.
In baseball and in bargaining, everyone deserves a fair game.
This message has been paid for by AFSCME Council 3, President Jack Hughes. This message has not been authorized or approved by any candidate.