We have thousands of union members across Maryland and DC, and if we come together this year, we can pass bills and elect leaders that will get us what we need – fully-staffed facilities and safe and healthy communities. 

Get Involved

 

Letters to raise wages for nursing home workers

Sign these letters to tell lawmakers to raise the wage for nursing home workers! 

Read more about this law here.

Laws we want to pass in Maryland

 

Maryland Medicaid Wage Pass-Through Act   

This bill would increase many nursing home worker's wages and benefits by raising the Medicaid reimbursement rate and making that raise go to wages and benefits.

Learn more about this law here.

  

MD Loan Assistance Repayment Program for Nurses & Nursing Workers Act  

This bill would provide nurses and nursing workers with financial assistance to pay back student loans, including state certifications as well as undergraduate or graduate studies needed to become a nurse or licensed nursing worker.  

Learn more about this law here.

  

Maryland Nursing Home Annual Audit Report   

This bill would require annual audits of long term care facilities so that decision-makers can identify nursing homes that are in financial hardship and also to increase oversight and transparency in the long term care industry. The audit would include an analysis of labor standards, financial performances, and trends in the industry, as well as anonymous worker feedback.    

Learn more about this law here.

  

Career Pathways for Healthcare Workers Program    

This bill would create a career training program for health care workers paid for by employers and the state. Training programs would be offered through Historically Black Colleges and Universities or community colleges.  

Learn more about this law here.

  

The Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, Inclusion, Restoration, and Rehabilitation Act  

This bill would make it legal to possess and cultivate cannabis for users over the age of 21. It would also reate more equitable practices in the cannabis industry, expunge some marijuana related criminal records, and provide union jobs.  

  

Time to Care Act of 2022  

This bill would establish a family and medical leave insurance program, so that employees can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for new children, family members with severe health conditions or disabilities, or themselves. Employers and employees would contribute to the paid leave fund.

  

Police Reform/ Police Accountability – Counselors not Cops  

This bill would redirect the $10 million/year Student Resource Officer (police in schools) Fund towards student mental health services, wraparound supports, and restorative approaches – so that districts can hire counselors, social workers, and school psychologists and implement trauma-informed practices. It would also require reporting on the use of force by school security and on calls to city or county police for incidents in schools.  

  

Medical Debt  

This bill would require the Comptroller’s Office to identify residents who paid for medical expenses but who should have received free care, and would require the office to inform them that they are now entitled to reimbursement from the hospital.  

  

Access to Care & Healthy Children Equity Acts    

These bills would insure all income-eligible Marylanders, including immigrants, immigrant children, and immigrant pregnant women. The bills would create a subsidy program and extend Affordable Care Act coverage to all Marylanders who meet the eligibility, regardless of their immigration status.  

  

Increased Filing Fee for Landlord-Tenant Actions  

This bill would increase filing fees in eviction actions to make them more consistent with the fees charged in other states. It would also prohibit courts and landlords from passing these increased surcharges on to residential tenants.  

  

Redistricting - New State Legislative Map  

The Maryland General Assembly will vote on a new map for state legislative districts. Every ten years, following completion of the Census, states draw new political boundaries to accommodate changes in population and ensure equal representation. The Governor has proposed one map, and the General Assembly has offered a different map. This political process can alter the fairness of elections before any votes are cast. District lines can be redrawn to favor one party, to protect incumbent elected officials, or to help or harm a specific demographic group.

Laws we want to pass in DC

 

$22 in ’22: Increase the Living Wage 

We are coming together with long term care organizations throughout the District to increase the living wage to $22 an hour for CNAs and LPNs in long term care facilities. This increase can help decrease staffing shortages. 

  

Public Mental Health in Schools 

There are not enough mental health clinicians, specifically Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) social workers in DC public and charter schools. The current model distributes money to community-based organizations that often employ minimally-licensed clinicians. This money needs to be redirected to support and hire more fully-certified DBH clinicians who can provide comprehensive trauma-informed care. 

  

Extend the Rent Freeze  

Last year, DC Council passed a law that stopped rent increases for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. This rent freeze, which has protected tenants throughout this crisis, ended on December 31, 2021. As part of the Reclaim Rent Control Coalition, we will advocate for extending this rent freeze. 

  

Public Safety Reforms 

We should fund programs that provide alternatives to police and shift those dollars to community support programs like education, housing, addiction programs, and mental health. 

 

Paid Family and Medical Leave for DC Public Sector Workers 

Council Members Silverman and Henderson will introduce a bill that will increase paid family and medical leave to 12 weeks for city employees so they can bond with a newborn child, care for a sick family member, or personally recover.