ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Great news out of Maryland!
After more than a year of organizing and building a powerful statewide organization, nearly 5,000 supervisors employed by the State of Maryland are now part of AFSCME Maryland Council 3.
The results of the mail-in ballot election conducted by Maryland’s Public Employee Relations Board showed that an overwhelming majority of supervisors voted for AFSCME Maryland Council 3.
"We are proud to welcome nearly 5,000 state supervisors into the AFSCME family and congratulate them on winning their union,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders said Wednesday after the results were announced. “They know a voice on the job is essential for ensuring workers have what they need to continue delivering critical public services and strengthening our communities. Now that they officially have a seat at the table, they can advocate for — and win — workplace improvements that will benefit all Marylanders.”
Council 3 President Patrick Moran also welcomed the supervisors and said they will now be able to build power at work.
“For decades, AFSCME Maryland has been the largest union for state employees,” Moran said. “Now, nearly 5,000 state supervisors can finally join the rest of their AFSCME family in securing a union contract. Together, we will build on the power of the AFSCME Green Machine and continue to win the raises, rights, and respect that we deserve.”
Walter Moore, Jr., a security attendant supervisor at Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville, said supervisors wanted a voice on the job just like other unionized workers.
“We work alongside state employees who are working towards the same agency goals as we are, but they had a stronger voice and a union contract to ensure their hard work was rewarded and respected,” Moore said. “Now that we’ve certified our union, we can finally work on solutions like overtime pay, workload levels, and more.”
The union election was the result of a process that began more than a year ago. State supervisors worked with AFSCME Maryland to pass HB 260/SB 192, legislation that granted Unit S state employees collective bargaining rights.
Gov. Wes Moore signed the legislation in April surrounded by AFSCME Maryland Supervisors Union leaders. That marked one of the largest expansions of collective bargaining rights to workers in Maryland in the last few decades.
“With our AFSCME union, we as supervisors can finally have a say in workplace policies that affect us, such as expanded hours, how our scheduling works, how comp time works, and more,” said Michael Lawson, acting assistant superintendent and a bus maintenance supervisor at the Maryland Transit Administration. “We are experts at how our agencies and offices operate, and now we have a seat at the table to weigh in on decisions that shape our work, our services, and our agencies.”
Maryland state supervisors join other supervisory employees in 11 other states — Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, Minnesota, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Florida — in organizing with AFSCME. County supervisors in Prince George’s County, Baltimore City and Howard County, all in Maryland, have also formed unions through AFSCME.
AFSCME represents 1.4 million public service workers throughout the United States. Council 3 represents more than 50,000 of those workers throughout Maryland in local, city, county and state governments as well as in higher education.