Unions call on Senate to move worker protection bills languishing in committee

Labor unions called on senators Monday to act on a pair of worker protection bills that passed the House but are languishing in the Senate, with just two weeks left in the legislative session.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland Council 3 (AFSCME) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) rallied in support of the bills — one to support laid-off federal employees and one to help state workers in future negotiations.

“These aren’t just workers, these are our neighbors, our friends, they’re our family,” said House Majority Whip Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George’s), the lead sponsor of both bills awaiting Senate consideration.

“The House has already passed both these bills, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to do the same – and I know they will,” Lewis said at a news conference in the Prince George’s Delegation room in House office building.

The bills come at a time when state officials are trying to support government workers amid mass federal layoffs and a rocky economic outlook for the state.

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House Bill 1424 would expand the use of two current employee-assistance funds so they could be used to assist federal workers who are laid off as the Trump administration rushes to slash the size of government. The bill also gives the attorney general authority to sue the Trump administration on behalf of the laid off workers.

The bill passed the House 103-36 on March 11, and is slated for a hearing Thursday in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. A companion bill, Senate Bill 683, was discussed in Budget and Taxation in early March, but was never brought to a vote.

But Budget and Taxation Committee Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard), who noted that there are a number of federal workers who live in his district, said Monday evening that there is interest in the bill.

Lewis’ other bill, House Bill 159, would reform the state’s collective bargaining process to subject it to binding arbitration if the state and the unions reached an impasse in negotiations.

The bill, which has been filed every year since 2022, has never moved out of either chamber before. But the House passed it 101-37 in March 11 and sent it to the Senate, where it has been jointly assigned to the Finance Committee and the Budget and Taxation Committee.

The Senate version of the bill received a hearing back in January in Budget and Taxation, but has not been brought to a vote.

“Over the years, our jobs as state employees have gotten harder every day. There’s more work to do, there’s more Marylanders to serve and there are more services that are needed,” said Cherrish Vick, secretary-treasurer with AFSCME Local 112.

“There just aren’t enough of us to do the work,” she said at Monday’s event. “You know what happens? Lines get longer, services get delayed and lawsuits start piling up.”

She said that the bill would “fix a broken negotiation process in state government” and she is “hopeful” that the Senate will support the legislation.

Without addressing either bill specifically in his remarks, Gov. Wes Moore (D) stopped by the event to provide comments in support of federal and state workers who live in Maryland and are affected by layoffs.

“Maryland is strong because we are union strong, and we stand united in that,” he said. “We make sure that we take care of our people. And right now, our people are under attack.”

Following his comments, Moore left the press conference early without taking questions.

Lewis said during the event that the governor supports his arbitration bill, but did not indicate where the governor stands on the Protect Our Federal Workers Act. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request to clarify his position on the bills.