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AFSCME Maryland tells subcommittee contract gains won but local compliance, outsourcing and marketing spending remain concerns
Summary
An AFSCME Maryland representative said the union’s first master contract with USM secured conversions for contingent staff and modest wage increases but reported compliance problems at campus level, called for full funding of wage increases, and urged scrutiny of outsourcing and marketing contracts.
Dionne (Dionne) Williams, a contract administrator at the University of Maryland College Park and a representative of AFSCME Maryland, testified to the House Appropriations Committee Education and Economic Development Subcommittee on behalf of more than 6,000 higher‑education workers.
Williams said the union secured its first master contract with the University System of Maryland after more than two years of negotiations and that the agreement includes provisions allowing contingent or contractual staff to convert to full‑time regular status with benefits as well as modest wage increases. She thanked the General Assembly for the enabling legislation that, she said, made the contract possible and said the union has begun regular meetings with USM leadership.
But Williams told the panel there remain compliance issues at the institutional level and asked the General Assembly to ensure wage increases are fully funded so frontline staff can continue operating the system. She urged the committee to look for cost savings that do not impact personnel or students, and specifically called out what she described as an “obscene” marketing budget at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) and various contracted, privatized functions across campuses — dining, housekeeping, grounds, transportation and maintenance — as places to seek savings. Williams also urged eliminating spending on outside anti‑union counsel.
Williams said union members are stretched thin and urged consideration of raising revenue in the session so “those who can afford to pay more in Maryland pay their fair share.” She closed by offering to work with the General Assembly and the system to improve USM operations and support frontline staff.
The exchange included a request from the committee for more detail; Williams’ testimony was the primary labor voice in the recorded segment.
