Maryland

In Maryland, Cracking Down On A Crime Wave That Doesn’t Exist

March 6, 2025 Jon Jeter, Black Agenda Report. Resist! Baltimore, Children, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Legal System, Maryland, Police

Here in this deep blue state, a coalition of judges, attorneys, youth advocates, civil liberties and racial justice organizations are trying to persuade Maryland lawmakers to amend Draconian legislation that requires prosecutors to charge children as young as 10 in adult criminal court for a wide range of felony offenses. At issue is Senate Bill 422 , which, if passed by Maryland’s General Assembly in this legislative session, would reduce by nearly two-thirds the 33 criminal offenses for which juveniles in Maryland are automatically charged as adults.

How Common Ground Cafe Workers Won A Union And A Cafe

February 28, 2025 Bernadette King Fitzsimons, EWOC. Organize! Baltimore, Cooperatives, Maryland, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

In December 2022, workers at Common Ground Cafe in Baltimore started to talk about forming a union. They wanted to address issues of pay equity and workplace discrimination, among others. They hoped their boss would be open to working with them to improve the cafe, which had been a mainstay in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood for over 20 years. Instead, when the boss found out about their union drive in July 2023, he closed the business with less than 12 hours’ notice. Nik Koski, a Common Ground worker involved in the union campaign, was completely shocked: “We prepare ourselves for the different ways a boss might retaliate, but to actually experience it was something else.”

Locals Hit Elon Musk Tesla Car Dealers Again

February 23, 2025 John Zangas, DC Media Group. Resist! DOGE, Elon Musk, Federal Workers, Maryland, Tesla, Virginia, Washington D.C., Worker Rights and Jobs

Local grassroots organizers stepped up actions on Saturday for the second weekend outside Elon Musk’s Tesla electric vehicle dealerships in hopes of spurring a boycott against the company. At least four dealerships were targeted in the region as fury rose against the mega-billionaire and world’s richest man. The protests were part of a national effort by many grassroots groups. Local dealerships of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DC-MD-VA) at Georgetown, Washington DC; Rockville, Maryland; Tysons Corner and Arlington, Virginia were among those sites of the weekend protests.

Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition Prevails Over Housing Commission

February 18, 2025 Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, Popular Resistance. Resist! African Cemetery, Desecration, Legal System, Maryland

On February 11, the Montgomery County Circuit Court (the “Circuit Court”) sided favorably with the motion for equitable relief from the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) against the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC.) The BACC filed a lawsuit to stop HOC from selling Moses African Cemetery to a private developer, Bethesda based Charger Ventures. The decision was appealed to the MD Supreme Court. In a split decision, the Maryland Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Circuit Court and provided BACC and plaintiffs with the opportunity to amend their complaint and demand equitable relief, including financial damages for HOC’s desecration of Moses Cemetery.

Baltimore Media Create A False Impression That Youth Are Responsible For A Lot Of Very Dangerous Crime

January 9, 2025 Janine Jackson, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Educate! Baltimore, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Maryland, Media, Propaganda, Youth imprisonment

Some listeners may know the Sentencing Project for their work calling out racial disparities in sentencing associated with crack versus powder cocaine, and mandatory minimums. A recent project involves looking into another factor shaping public understanding and public policy around criminal justice—the news media. In this case, the focus is young people. “The Real Cost of ‘Bad News’: How Misinformation Is Undermining Youth Justice Policy in Baltimore” has just been released. We’re joined now by the report’s author. Richard Mendel is senior research fellow for youth justice at the Sentencing Project. He joins us now by phone from Prague.

IKEA Workers Vote To Extend Strike Into The New Year

January 6, 2025 Nick Barrickman, World Socialist Web Site. Resist! Ikea, Maryland, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

Perryville, Maryland - On December 28, 320 unionized workers at the Perryville IKEA distribution center in northern Maryland voted to remain on strike into the new year after voting down a tentative agreement offered to them by the company and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union. The distribution workers have been on strike since mid-November, citing seniority treatment and pay which is below the cost of living. “Seniority is the most important thing here,” said striking worker Lisa Mengel in a video statement released by More Perfect Union.

In Baltimore, Urban Farming Isn’t Just About Growing Food

January 3, 2025 Jennifer Goold, Next City. Create! Baltimore, Maryland, Racism, Urban Agriculture, Urban Farming

Urban farming is often heralded as a practical solution to food deserts, providing fresh produce to communities where unjust urban planning and policy have limited access to nutritious options. But urban farms can also sow seeds that grow far beyond the garden beds. In Baltimore’s Curtis Bay neighborhood, Filbert Street Garden is showing the power of community-led transformation. Once an overgrown lot, it has evolved into a vibrant community hub, thanks to the dedication of Black farmers like Brittany Coverdale, whose passion for racial and environmental justice led her to the garden coordinator role at Filbert Street Garden.

Protests Highlight Maryland’s Ties To Israeli Tech And Defense Systems

December 20, 2024 Kaela Roeder, Technically. Resist! BDS Movement, Israel, Maryland, Weapons Maker

More than a year after the Oct. 7 attacks that spurred Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, some Maryland residents have continued protesting Israel’s conduct in the conflict. Like others around the world demonstrating in solidarity against Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories and the tens of thousands killed, these protestors have illuminated the local dimensions of this international issue. Much of their attention has fallen on an organization using public and private resources to facilitate economic exchange with Israel — including with companies developing tech for its military actions.

College Park MOM’s Workers Reject Effort To Oust Union

November 20, 2024 UFCW Local 400. Resist! Grocery Workers, Maryland, union busting, Unions, Worker Rights

College Park, MD - United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 Union announced workers at the MOM’s Organic Market in College Park, Md. have resoundingly voted down an effort to decertify the union at the store. The attempt to oust the union was backed by the National Right to Work Committee, an anti-union organization based in Northern Virginia. Workers resoundingly rejected the effort and voted 22–9 in favor of remaining unionized with UFCW Local 400. “We know MOM’s can be a better place to work and the best way to make that happen is to stand together and collectively demand the change we need.

Baltimore Is Setting A National Standard For Diversifying Its Economy

November 8, 2024 Ilana Preuss, Next City. Create! Baltimore, Local Economy, Manufacturing, Maryland, Worker Rights and Jobs

One of the crucial economic lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic is the importance of diversifying local economies, even in America’s largest cities. New York City continues to struggle with an economy too heavily reliant on tourists and commuters; Las Vegas saw its entertainment industry shut down when out-of-state visitors stopped traveling; vacant storefronts are prominently visible in major business districts and on main streets nationwide. Diversifying often implies attracting new industries by luring them from elsewhere – often a zero-sum game, if the industries are simply shifting locations within the United States.

Apology Demanded: County Executive Bars Civil Rights Hero From Meeting

November 7, 2024 the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, Popular Resistance. Resist! African Cemetery, Civil Rights, Desecration, Maryland, Repression

On Thursday October 31, 2024, Paul Pumphrey, a highly respected community elder and organizer was refused permission to attend a meeting on racial justice and later escorted out of the Executive floor by orders of Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “Mr. Pumphrey is a giant among civil rights leaders in Montgomery County,” said Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, President of BACC. “This is unacceptable and the community demands an independent investigation and a public apology. Ironically, this behavior by Mr Elrich represents a continuation of Jim Crow policies.

Maryland Supreme Court Decision Favors The Bethesda African Cemetery

September 27, 2024 Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and Ari Gutman, Black Agenda Report. Strategize! African Cemetery, Desecration, Maryland, Racism, Supreme Court

On Friday, August 30, the Supreme Court of Maryland issued its decision in the case of Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition v. Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County. The case, which began in the Circuit Court of Maryland in 2021, deals with the issue of whether or not the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), a government agency responsible for building, developing, financing, owning, and managing low and moderate-income housing, could legally sell an African Cemetery and the remains of African people without permission from descendants or the court. For decades, Montgomery County, the HOC and the State of Maryland have covered-up the desecration of Moses African Cemetery and the state-sponsored violent destruction of an African “Maroon” community in collusion with white supremacist groups, such as the ‘white caps’ and the KKK.

BACC Declares Victory At The Supreme Court Of Maryland

September 4, 2024 Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Popular Resistance. Resist! African Cemetery, Maryland, Racism, Supreme Court, Victory

On Friday August 30, the Supreme Court of Maryland issued its decision in the case of Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition v. Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County. In its finding, the court acknowledges what BACC has been asserting for years: Moses African Cemetery “was a historic Black burial place that contains interments of many individuals, including formerly enslaved persons and their families” and “it appears likely that human remains are still interred in the land today, which is currently part of a property known as the Westwood Tower Apartments.” In light of the Maryland Supreme Court decision, we call on all elected officials to demand an immediate cessation of all desecration and erasure of Black History at the Westwood Towers site.

Baltimore Lawsuit Alleges Shale Investments Fueled Price Fixing Scheme

August 27, 2024 Sharon Kelly, DeSmog. Resist! Baltimore, BlackRock, Drilling, Energy, Maryland, Oil and Gas, Shale

The city of Baltimore filed a class action lawsuit on Saturday, alleging that major U.S. shale drillers colluded to fix oil prices, the latest in a series of lawsuits filed this year claiming that U.S. oil producers conspired with each other and with OPEC to drive oil prices up. The new lawsuit, filed by the mayor of Baltimore and its city council, is notable in part because it alleges Wall Street investment firms played a role by pressuring shale drillers to coordinate their output to prevent fueling price wars with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producers abroad. Wall Street companies were among the largest investors in multiple competing shale producers at the same time — and pushed them all to engage in “capital discipline,” the lawsuit alleges.

New Contract Equalizes Protections Across University Of Maryland

August 5, 2024 Bri Hatch, WYPR. Organize! Education, Maryland, Unions, Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

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.

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