MCEA held its 81st annual convention on October 8, 2016. The meeting was called to order by MCEA President, Linda Day. This year's convention was held at the Diamondz Event  Center located in Baltimore City. President Day welcomed and addressed the huge crowd of delegates who travelled from all four corners of the state to conduct the business of MCEA. President Day expressed that our number one goal as always is to service our members and provide them with the very best representation possible. MCEA member Janet Rhone described how being a member of MCEA personally benefited her.  Ms. Rhone

MCEA's team of professionals met with employees of Towson University to explain the many benefits of union membership. Over the summer months MCEA has sponsored meetings with the employees in an effort to inform them of their rights as state employees. Attendees came prepared with many questions ranging from appeal and grievances, acting pay, reclassifications, leave usage, workplace bullying and insurance. On hand to answer these questions were (featured left to right) MCEA attorney Hillary Galloway Davis, board member, Anna Cluster, Barbara Thompson, Vice President, Agnes Valenzia, President

The next Area 4 quarterly meeting will be held as follows:When: Thursday, December 15 at 6:30 P.M.Where: Western Sizzlin', 17567 York Road, Hagerstown, Md. 21740

MCEA President, Linda Day attended the Comptrollers Labor Advisory Council on September 28, 2016. Labor leaders from across the state participated in a roundtable discussion with Maryland's Comptroller, the Honorable Peter Franchot. A major topic of the discussion centered around the 1.4 billion dollar budget shortfall that Maryland is facing and the ongoing concerns of the lagging growth rate of the state's pension investments that are derived from the stock market. MCEA remains ever vigilant in regards to how these shortfalls will be met. Your union stands ready to aggressively oppose and

The 2016 AFT National Convention in Minneapolis, MN was one for the ages. Not only was it the 100th anniversary of the union, but there were a number of high profile elected officials and social justice activists that addressed the convention. The members even took to the streets themselves to put the rhetoric into action. The AFT-Maryland delegation was not only well represented but they also had a strong impact on the presentations and displays during the convention.

The convention kicked off with President Randi Weingarten’s state of the union address. Included in her remarks were a number