Workers rallied outside the University System of Maryland Board of Regents meeting on Friday morning aiming to bend the ear of leaders for better wages and work conditions. There were about 100 people, some of whom were university employees, who even marched into the meeting that was in progress to garner the attention of board members to no avail. The American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees were outraged that pay raises from a state surplus of nearly $2 billion won’t trickle down to university employees.
Standing on the steps of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union building, union leaders said they demand higher wages, safer work conditions and emergency leave. The union is also pushing for a new contract that applies to all universities in the system, to bargain with the board of regents, instead of individual contracts with each campus.
The goal is for the contract to be “equitable and put people first and their business second,” said Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Council 3.
Maryland’s General Assembly voted last year to allow all University of Maryland institutions to have one collective bargaining agreement. Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed the bill but it was overridden by the state legislature.
Prior to the bill, contracts were negotiated between each bargaining unit and individual universities.
As the University System of Maryland Board of Regents meeting prepared to begin, Saul Walker, a multi-trades chief at the College Park campus led workers and organizers into the meeting.
Despite the outburst, none of the board members responded to union workers or officials to commit to a seat at the bargaining table.
Walker said employees have been forced to work with a limited supply of personal protection equipment and in dangerous conditions such as severely moldy buildings and extreme heat.
In exchange, employees are paid “very minimal, for the work that we do and for what we have to go through," he said.
The minimum hourly pay at the University of Maryland for nonexempt workers ranges between $15 and $32 per hour, according to the university’s website. The minimum wage for workers is $15 per hour, or $31,286 a year, which is something the union fought for last year.
Union officials claim that there are both gender and racial wage disparities among workers on the college campuses according to its analysis of salaries in 2019.
The University of Maryland told Maryland Matters in September 2021 it was “ready to engage in consolidated collective bargaining as soon as SB 9 becomes law.” The university did not dispute the union analysis at the time.
Women earned 86% of the median salary of their male counterparts, according to the union analysis. Black and Hispanic workers earned significantly less than their white coworkers.
Maryland State Delegate Nicole Williams who represents District 22, which includes Prince George’s County where the university's main campus sits, supported the union demands.
Williams said that the University of Maryland is among the largest employers in the state and should be held accountable calling on the board of regents to negotiate a fair contract.
Editors Note: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the number of people at the rally and to further clarify which board of regents meeting union members attended.
