Labor "Disappointed" In Annapolis Session

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

"Labor's Year" in the Maryland General Assembly turned out to be "Labor's Year of Disappointment," reports Metro Council Political Coordinator Rick Powell. Bills guaranteeing shift breaks and overtime after eight hours failed – shift breaks for the third time - as did Prevailing Wage, which passed in the House and ran out of time on the Senate side. "While the just-concluded Assembly passed the Work Place Fraud Bill, it was a weakened version," says Powell, "with the right to third-party action stripped out and tough penalties for intentional violations reduced dramatically." A watered-down Apprenticeship Training bill was okayed, and the Fair Share for Public Union Employees passed but almost half the state's workforce was exempted when university employees were removed from the bill. Prince George's Hospital's tenuous lifeline was extended for at least the next two years with the state and County investing $12 million annually each, but beyond that the future of the Hospital is uncertain. "On the positive side," Powell notes, "Unemployment Compensation for part-time workers passed and Governor O'Malley and Labor Secretary Tom Perez and his staff received high marks from union advocates for their pro-worker efforts during the session." Calling the session "instructive," Powell added that "Labor learned that the chairs of the various committees on both the Senate and House side are very strategic in their approach to the session." Said Metro Council President Jos Williams, "We will be back next year, an election year, with the support of allies like Progressive Maryland and others, and will raise the stakes and hold our leaders accountable to Maryland voters." - photo courtesy Corbis Images