AFSCME's legistlative outreach efforts bore fruit, as a joint hearing of the Budget and Tax and Appropriations subcommittees on Wednesday September 16 provided an opportunity for front line workers to sound the alarm over the USM institutions' COVID-19 responses.

Local 1072 member Maria Ayala spoke about how even today RF housekeepers are only receiving one disposable mask per day.  Interim President Todd Holden questioned whether campus responses are of the quality and excellence our elected officials and Marylanders expect of higher ed, and of the need for the USM and campuses to come to the table to negotiate solutions with the union.

AFSCME brothers and sisters from UMES and Frostburg testified about their own experiences and their own disappointments in the response.  After the hearing, it should apparent to all that higher ed can and should do better, and it starts with bargining with AFSCME.

Watch the recorded hearing on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/c72XrXBo70c