In July, the state of Maryland cut nearly $150 million from the state budget. A good chunk of the savings was planned to come from delayed hiring for new positions in state government. More cuts were anticipated in the future. Sound like a lot? Actually, these are drops in the bucket when compared with those made by former Governor Larry Hogan, which were coupled with the largest tax cuts in the state’s history.

The ramifications of these budgetary decisions on state workers have been dire, according to speakers at an October 9 press conference, held by AFSCME Maryland Council 3, the union that represents the state’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, its Department of Juvenile Services, Department of Health and the Office of the Public Defender.

“Every day at the beginning of our shifts, we don’t know if we’re going to be able to go home at the end of the night,” said John Feeley, president of AFSCME Local 1772 and a Correctional Officer Sergeant at the Maryland Correctional Training Center.  “We don’t know if we’re going to be forced to work another double and go another day without seeing our families. Or worse, be wheeled to the hospital because we’ve been injured.”

According to a press release put out by the union which represents about 20,000 state employees. Feeley also pointed to the problems of cancelled “visits from loved ones, limiting medical and psychiatric services, and running limited classes and programs, all at the expense of those who are incarcerated in these facilities.”

The workforce shortage in Maryland has also impacted its ability to replace decrepit and failing infrastructure, according to the release, which quotes Mike Gardner,  a power plant operator at the Western Maryland Hospital Center as saying, “When it comes to infrastructure, we’ve been waiting on a new roof for a long time. We’ve been told there’s money for the roof, but since the Department of General Services doesn’t have any construction supervisors available, we’ve just been left in limbo. When we’ve tried to hire additional facilities staff, they’re getting job offers from elsewhere that pay thousands more than the state does. In the meantime, we’re spending money on pricey contractors to help maintain our facilities instead of investing in full-time state jobs.”

The union is pushing for a variety of alterations to the state’s approach to staffing, including:

• “A comprehensive staffing plan with a timeline and commitments to recruit, hire, and retain qualified staff for each agency.”

• “An assessment of the maintenance backlog for state facilities.”

• “A facilities plan that includes timelines and commitment to ameliorate poor conditions in state facilities that contribute to adverse health effects for those residing and working there as well as a safety plan to reduce violence in state facilities.”

As the release concluded: “State employees are facing impossible workloads . . . At the same time, there are Marylanders that are not getting the care and help they need or the second chance that they deserve. Now is not the time for more paper and hollow plans that lack follow-through. We need action,” said Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Maryland Council 3. 

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