Maryland – Workers Win Expansion of Collective Bargaining
Will Randall and his fellow Maryland Transportation Authority workers fought for and won rights for their colleagues.
A new law championed by AFSCME members across the state gives state workers in four previously excluded agencies collective bargaining rights already enjoyed by their sisters and brothers in the state service.
“My co-workers and I are voting for collective bargaining to win the respect we deserve and new rights on the job in an AFSCME contract we can count on,” said William “Will” Randall, a facilities maintenance technician at the Maryland Transportation Authority.
The law, which became effective in July, gives workers at the Maryland Transportation Authority, the State Board of Education, the Office of the Comptroller and the Maryland State Retirement Agency the right to vote for collective bargaining. AFSCME activists are working every day on an organizing campaign with approximately 1,600 workers covered by these new bargaining units.
AFSCME members lobbied aggressively for this ‘Freedom to Vote’ legislation. At a time when far too many governors and legislators across the country are trying to diminish workers’ rights, Gov. Martin O’Malley and legislative leaders worked with AFSCME members to expand the rights of public service workers.
Speaker Pro-Tem, Adrienne Jones said, “I was proud to sponsor this bill (Freedom to Vote) because these hard-working employees deserve the same right to vote for collective bargaining that most other state and university employees in Maryland already have.”
