Above photo: Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union and university leaders gathered at a signing ceremony Friday to mark the official start of the standardized protections.
Workers at nine colleges will see boosted wages and heat safety standards after years of advocacy.
Workers at nine of 12 schools in the University System of Maryland are now protected under the first-ever system-wide union contract.
The new agreement raises wages, establishes health and safety protections, and guarantees permanent salaried positions for contractual employees after two years of service. The changes affect around 5,700 employees, from Frostburg to the Eastern Shore.
Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union and university leaders gathered at a signing ceremony Friday to mark the official start of the standardized protections. Before, each campus had different contracts, and therefore different working conditions.
“It shouldn’t be that somebody at one school has designated water when it’s 100 degrees outside, but yet on the Eastern Shore, you may not,” said Quiana Tilghman, director of student outreach and leadership development at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. “This makes sure that everybody gets the same equal, equitable and fair treatment.”
Melanie Lombardi, who runs the cable channel at Frostburg State University, said securing these protections was only possible through the collective power of multiple campus workers.
“It’s finally giving equal footing for large and small campuses,” she said. “And with the voices of everyone together, we were loud, and we were able to get it completed.”
From the other side of the bargaining table, USM Chancellor Jay Perman also praised the new contract, saying in a statement that it “supports the University System’s employees, values their hard work and contributions, and stewards our resources responsibly.”
This change has been years in the making, with union advocacy leading to a law passed in June 2021 greenlighting the joint contract model. The USM Board of Regents approved the contract in a special meeting on July 31, according to AFSCME.
“While Maryland is considered to be a rather progressive state, collective bargaining and public labor unions are really only a recent development in the state’s history,” said Todd Holden, president of the AFSCME local that represents workers at the University of Maryland College Park and University of Maryland Global Campus. “It was really appropriate to look at this for what it is, as being really a first contract, and first contracts take a long time.”
Holden said implementing the new contract’s provisions will be another uphill climb.
“When it comes to proactively notifying workers of dangerous heat and dangerous air quality, that’s something that’s actually going to require work to do,” he said.
The contract increases the minimum wage for workers from $32,000 to $38,000, and gives a 5.5% minimum raise to all covered staff.
AFSCME members and leaders called the gains “historic.” But they also said there’s more work to do.
Under the new contract, some conditions will still vary by university, including telework availability and work hours.
That variability leaves the door open to favoritism, Lombardi said, with some workers approved to telework while others are not..
Tilghman said she wants to see a childcare subsidy included in the next contract. And Sally Davies, a retired worker from University of Maryland College Park, said staff also need transportation assistance.
“How do you get to the campuses? What do you pay for when you get there?” she said. “Right now, all of that costs a lot of money, and sometimes the public transportation is inconvenient.”
The new contract expires June 2027.