Maryland has fallen behind on worker's rights, but we can turn the tide this session

Maryland pride is real. From the mountains to the Eastern Shore, the people who live here are proud to call this state home. We have a lot to be proud of, too. This is the birthplace of Frederick Douglass and the Star Spangled Banner and the state that gave America Old Bay, Smith Island cake, and the only crab cakes worth eating. When it comes to workers' rights, Maryland has every reason to be proud as well. After all, Maryland has been a key player in the labor movement since the National Labor Union was founded here way back in 1866. That's why it is such a shock that on the key question of which workers have the right to collectively bargain with their employer, the Old Line state has just fallen behind Virginia. Recently, the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate passed legislation to expand collective bargaining rights to nearly 700,000 workers. It's an incredible moment, and we could not be more proud of our union siblings at SEIU 512 and SEIU 32BJ for their tremendous effort in helping to pass these landmark bills. By expanding the pool of workers eligible to unionize by more than half a million, this could be the greatest victory for collective bargaining rights in decades. Yet the fact that Maryland had not already beaten Virginia to the punch should be of concern to all of us who care about protecting and restoring our middle class. Until now, Virginia had effectively been a right-to-work state. In 2021, legislators there inched the Old Dominion forward by allowing certain public sector workers the right to collectively bargain, but ultimately left the decision to counties and cities. Once signed into law by Governor Abigail Spanberger, this new legislation will guarantee workers' rights across local boundaries. Maryland, on the other hand, has historically been a more worker-friendly state, with working people in the public and private sectors being able to collectively bargain. Even still, not all workers enjoy that same freedom, as the numbers show. Just over 11% of employees in the state were represented by a union in 2024 - a figure that has tended to remain at or above the national average for most of the preceding decade - but that leaves ample room for improvement. Local public employees, such as workers at municipal and county governments still do not enjoy the guaranteed right to collectively bargain statewide. In 2025, two bills were introduced to advance collective bargaining rights for local government and public sector employees, HB1509 in the House and SB976 in the Senate. Neither made it out of committee. At Montgomery County Public Schools, where we have the honor of representing over 10,000 workers, the difference collective bargaining makes in the lives of workers is palpable. "Our union has given us the power to stand together. When we speak as one voice, administrators and decision-makers listen," Tamara Kelly, an SEIU Local 500 member at CESC recently told me. Meanwhile, Sally Murek, a member leader at MCPS once said, "working in our schools is a calling, but having a union ensures that the people who do this work every day are treated with dignity and fairness." At a time when a middle class life is rapidly falling out of reach for more Americans - and when Maryland workers in particular have been targeted by their own federal government - policies that benefit working families should absolutely be top priority. That means expanding collective bargaining rights so that workers can join together to bargain for the working conditions and family-sustaining pay they deserve. In 2021, we passed collective bargaining rights for community college employees. This session, it's time for us to take the next logical steps by passing collective bargaining rights at Maryland universities for non-tenure-track faculty and graduate student workers, as well as a bill to guarantee the right to strike for K-12 and public library workers. As SEIU 500 member James Mulhern once said, "the right to strike is a basic worker right. As public school employees, we dedicate our careers to supporting students and families, and we deserve the same ability as other workers to stand together when our voices are ignored." When it comes to workers' rights, Maryland can either lead the way or leave workers behind. That's why we're calling on our elected leaders to empower workers this session. After the election, we'll look forward to working with new and veteran lawmakers to make ours the most pro-worker state in our region. Travis B. Simon is Executive Director of SEIU 500, the fastest growing union in Maryland and the nation's capital region with over 20,000 members across Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. He previously worked with SEIU 512, serving health care workers in his native Virginia.