$80 BILLION per year, of most Americans’ money feed into the machine; PRISONS. We need to repeal the 13th amendment.
Mental health doesn’t need police interaction. Mobile crisis response should divert instances; police aren’t qualified. Only health professionals. I advise changing “Defund the Police” to investing in health services so that police can do their jobs more efficiently and we reduce violent situations, resulting in homicides.
| 116th CONGRESS 1st Session |
| H.Res. 41 | Resolution Rejecting White Nationalism and White Supremacy | [PDF] |
| Added 01/14/2019 at 08:03 PM |
H. J. RES. 38
Removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 30, 2019
Ms. Speier (for herself, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Luria, Ms. Spanberger, Ms. Wexton, Mrs.Lawrence, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Heck, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Plaskett, Mr. Carbajal, Ms.Schakowsky, Mr. Peters, Mr. Takano, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Norton, Mr. Ruiz, Miss Rice of New York, Ms. Frankel, Mr. McNerney, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Foster, Mr. Engel, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Espaillat, Ms.DeGette, Mr. Richmond, Ms. Brownley of California, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Cooper, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Sarbanes, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Schrader, Mr.Cummings, Mr. Welch, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Crist, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr.Tonko, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Horsford, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Schiff, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Loebsack, Ms. Gabbard, Mr. Swalwell of California, Mr. Huffman, Mr.Garamendi, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mr. Soto, Mr. Sires, Mr. Keating, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Clay, Ms. Hill of California, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Waters, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr.Lynch, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Schneider, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Barragán, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Kind, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Cox of California, Mr.Gallego, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Norcross, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Cárdenas, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Omar, Ms. Sánchez, Mr.Perlmutter, Ms. Titus, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. Himes, Ms. Schrier, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Adams, Mr. Case, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Ms. Porter, Mrs. Bustos, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. García of Illinois, Ms. Garcia of Texas, and Mr. Rush) submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment.
That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208, 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972, the article of amendment proposed to the States in that joint resolution shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.
Shown Here:
Placed on Calendar Senate (03/04/2019)
Calendar No. 29
| 116th CONGRESS 1st Session |
H. R. 8
To require a background check for every firearm sale.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESFebruary 28, 2019
Received; read the first timeMarch 4, 2019
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
AN ACT
To require a background check for every firearm sale.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019”.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to utilize the current background checks process in the United States to ensure individuals prohibited from gun possession are not able to obtain firearms.
SEC. 3. FIREARMS TRANSFERS.
Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (s);
(2) by redesignating subsection (t) as subsection (s); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (s), as redesignated, the following:
“(t)(1)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer a firearm to any other person who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession of the firearm for the purpose of complying with subsection (s).
“(B) Upon taking possession of a firearm under subparagraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all requirements of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the unlicensed transferee.
“(C) If a transfer of a firearm described in subparagraph (A) will not be completed for any reason after a licensee takes possession of the firearm (including because the transfer of the firearm to, or receipt of the firearm by, the transferee would violate this chapter), the return of the firearm to the transferor by the licensee shall not constitute the transfer of a firearm for purposes of this chapter.
“(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to—
“(A) a law enforcement agency or any law enforcement officer, armed private security professional, or member of the armed forces, to the extent the officer, professional, or member is acting within the course and scope of employment and official duties;
“(B) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift between spouses, between domestic partners, between parents and their children, including step-parents and their step-children, between siblings, between aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, or between grandparents and their grandchildren, if the transferor has no reason to believe that the transferee will use or intends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited from possessing firearms under State or Federal law;
“(C) a transfer to an executor, administrator, trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death of another person;
“(D) a temporary transfer that is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, including harm to self, family, household members, or others, if the possession by the transferee lasts only as long as immediately necessary to prevent the imminent death or great bodily harm, including the harm of domestic violence, dating partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, and domestic abuse;
“(E) a transfer that is approved by the Attorney General under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
“(F) a temporary transfer if the transferor has no reason to believe that the transferee will use or intends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited from possessing firearms under State or Federal law, and the transfer takes place and the transferee’s possession of the firearm is exclusively—
“(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting gallery or other area designated for the purpose of target shooting;
“(ii) while reasonably necessary for the purposes of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the transferor—
“(I) has no reason to believe that the transferee intends to use the firearm in a place where it is illegal; and
“(II) has reason to believe that the transferee will comply with all licensing and permit requirements for such hunting, trapping, or fishing; or
“(iii) while in the presence of the transferor.
“(3)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Attorney General may implement this subsection with regulations.
“(B) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph may not include any provision requiring licensees to facilitate transfers in accordance with paragraph (1).
“(C) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph may not include any provision requiring persons not licensed under this chapter to keep records of background checks or firearms transfers.
“(D) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph may not include any provision placing a cap on the fee licensees may charge to facilitate transfers in accordance with paragraph (1).
“(E) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph shall include, in the case of a background check conducted by the national instant criminal background check system in response to a contact from a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer, which background check indicates that the receipt of a firearm by a person would violate subsection (g)(5), a requirement that the system notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer possession of, or title to, a firearm to another person who is not so licensed unless the importer, manufacturer, or dealer has provided such other person with a notice of the prohibition under paragraph (1), and such other person has certified that such other person has been provided with this notice on a form prescribed by the Attorney General.”.
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) Section 922.—Section 922(y)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking “, (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)” and inserting “and (g)(5)(B)”.
(b) Consolidated And Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012.—Section 511 of title V of division B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by striking “subsection 922(t)” each place it appears and inserting “subsection (s) or (t) of section 922”.
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be construed to—
(1) authorize the establishment, directly or indirectly, of a national firearms registry; or
(2) interfere with the authority of a State, under section 927 of title 18, United States Code, to enact a law on the same subject matter as this Act.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 210 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives February 27, 2019.Attest:
| Cheryl L. Johnson, |
Clerk.
S.649: Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013
Ballot Initiatives 2020
Florida raised the minimum wage by 2026
Colorado passes family leave trust fund
Missouri and Oklahoma expands Medicaid
Arizona adds 3.5% tax on incomes greater than $250,000
- Decriminalize Marijuana and other petty crime
- Banning the Box
- Restorative, mental health
- Facilities for Women Pre-Release – (SB 684 2020)
POLICE REFORM 2020
DC ballot initiative 81 decriminalizing marijuana
Baltimore Co. has banned chokeholds.
According to The Marshall Project and data obtained through a database compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado, Iowa, New York and now Connecticut are the only states that have successfully passed legislation aimed at attacking systemic police racism through improved police oversight and accountability.
Colorado’s bill requires all officers to wear body cameras by 2023, bans chokeholds and carotid holds, holds officers legally accountable for failing to intervene against other officers using excessive force, and removes the qualified immunity defense – allowing civil rights claims against officers to be brought to court. The bill also adds protections to protesters and gives the state attorney general more power in prosecuting poor departments and officers.
Bills passed in New York and Iowa addressed similar issues by banning chokeholds and overseeing officer misconduct more thoroughly. More power is given to the state attorney general to investigate wrongful killings by officers and to prevent officers from being rehired who had been convicted of a felony, fired for misconduct or quit to avoid a firing for misconduct. Both New York and Iowa, however, failed to go as far as Colorado in ending qualified immunity for police officers.
Annapolis 2021
However, we see that the entire interim through crossover (March22) the policing reforms, resulting in 9 bills, have to be reconciled. Some weakened, some strong if left unamended. Maryland MattersMaryland Lawmakers Want to Reform Policing. We Break Down the Bills That Would Do It – Maryland Matters has done a great job of a Venn diagram of the two chambers. The House and Senate have passed different versions of a police reform package. The Senate bill [SB178 – strong MPIA reform for police misconduct records] would allow greater transparency over police misconduct investigations and the House [HB670 – strong use-of-force limitations with a necessary-as-a-last-resort standard; weak LEOBR repeal-and-replace; weak MPIA reform for police misconduct records.] elevated the use of force standard to authorize force only when it is necessary. However, neither [HB670 and SB627] establishes a streamlined disciplinary system that focuses on the substantive question of guilt or innocence, without unnecessary procedural barriers that prevent or delay discipline. Both chambers [HB670 and SB627] have also failed to enable the possibility of real external community oversight, which is different from the elements of community participation that they did include. SB 626-Use of Force is declared unconstitutional by the ACLU.
Addressing Mayor Scott, Commissioner Harrison and States Atty. Mosby on Crime
In Scott’s State of the City, he touts a plan with restorative initiatives yet continues, against neighboring county executive, FUND THE POLICE. I recently attended the Northeast Neighbor association meeting as listening to the Deputy SA was like Mosby was there speaking. He couldn’t even answer a question about recidivism. To date Mosby hasn’t file for re-election. And Baltimore will gain control of its Police Department. The city has had over 300 homicides, black-on-black, with less than 20% closing rates. I’m glad that funding has allowed the department the technological resources, required nationwide by the FBI and hoping to better target and closed these open cases.
The 2022 Session in Annapolis banned ghost guns and invested in mental health services.
Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action are committed to creating a movement and culture that is diverse, inclusive, and equitable, and being intentional about the intersectional nature of our work. To that end, candidates who apply for the Gun Sense Candidate distinction should not only be ready to commit to governing with gun safety in mind, but must also commit to ensuring that their words and actions promote equity across all communities.
I commit to governing with gun safety in mind and promoting equity across all communities. (REQUIRED)
Addressing Gun Violence in America
Every day, more than 110 people in the United States are killed with guns and 200 more are shot and wounded. The gun homicide rate in the U.S. is 25 times higher than that of other high-income countries. Data and research show that common-sense public safety measures can reduce gun violence and save lives.
1) Do you believe that state elected officials have a role to play in addressing gun violence in the United States?
Please select… Yes No
Background Checks
Federal law requires that a person pass a background check before buying a gun from a licensed firearm dealer. Since 1994, more than 4 million illegal gun sales have been blocked, including to convicted felons, domestic abusers, and people prohibited due to mental illness. But the federal background check law does not apply if a person buys a gun from an unlicensed seller. This unlicensed market has flourished online, where each year more than a million ads offer firearms for sale that would not legally require a background check. This loophole means that criminals can easily buy guns from strangers they meet online or at gun shows, with no background check and no questions asked.
2) Do you support expanding the federal background checks requirement, which currently enables prohibited people to buy a gun from an unlicensed seller with no questions asked?
Please select… Yes No
Extreme Risk Protection Order
When a person is in crisis, loved ones and law enforcement are often the first to see when a person is showing warning signs of being a danger to themselves or others. Extreme Risk laws, often called Red Flag laws, allow them to ask a judge to temporarily remove guns from dangerous situations. If a court finds that a person poses a significant threat to themselves or others, that person is temporarily prohibited from purchasing and possessing guns. Nineteen states and DC have passed these laws, including fourteen since 2018.
3) Do you support empowering family members and law enforcement to petition a judge for an Extreme Risk Protection Order (a.k.a “Red Flag law”)?
Please select… Yes No
Secure Storage
Secure firearm storage can reduce the risks of suicide, unintentional shootings, and school shootings. It is estimated that 5.4 million American children live in households with at least one firearm that is loaded and unlocked. Between March and December of 2020, there was a 31 percent increase in unintentional shooting deaths by children of themselves and others compared to the same time period in 2019. Youth firearm suicide has increased significantly, and in the vast majority of suicides by children, the gun used belonged to a family member. Similarly, up to 80% of school shooters obtain their gun from their home or the home of relatives or friends. Storing guns locked and unloaded is associated with a 78 percent lower risk of self-inflicted firearm injuries and an 85 percent lower risk of unintentional firearm injuries among children and teens.
4) Do you support policies requiring gun owners to store their firearms securely — locked and inaccessible to unauthorized users, including children and prohibited people?
Please select… Yes No
Suicide by Gun
Six out of 10 of all gun deaths in the U.S. are suicides. Gun suicides claim the lives of nearly 24,000 people in America every year–that’s an average of 65 deaths a day. But many of these deaths could be prevented if guns were taken out of the equation: while 90% of gun suicide attempts prove fatal, 4% of attempts by other methods result in death. In addition to enacting legislative solutions like the Extreme Risk Protection Order and secure firearm storage requirements, building public awareness about the suicide risked posed by firearm access is crucial to saving lives.
5) Do you commit to educating the public about the unique role firearms play in America’s suicide epidemic?
Please select… Yes No
Ghost Guns
New products designed to evade gun laws–including widely available kits that easily convert unfinished parts into fully functional firearms and new capability in 3D printing technology–make it easy for prohibited people to make their own guns at home. These untraceable “ghost guns” can be assembled in less than an hour and let criminals evade the background check system. Ghost gun recoveries across the U.S. are on the rise, and have recently been connected with criminal enterprises, gun trafficking rings, and far-right extremists.
6) Do you support prohibitions on building “ghost guns” at home outside of the background check system?
Please select… Yes No
Protecting Victims of Domestic Abuse
Women in the U.S. are 21 times more likely to be killed by gun homicide than women in other high-income countries. And when a gun is present in a domestic violence situation, a woman is five times more likely to be killed. Federal law prohibits many domestic abusers from possessing firearms, but states play a primary role in enforcement — and can pass and enforce their own domestic violence laws. Evidence shows these state laws are especially effective at preventing gun violence if they require abusers turn in their guns once they become prohibited.
7) Do you support state legislation that prohibits gun possession by domestic abusers convicted of domestic violence and/or subject to final protection orders, and ensures domestic abusers to turn in their guns promptly after becoming prohibited purchasers?
Please select… Yes No
Funding Community Violence Intervention
Community-based violence intervention programs apply a localized approach to address gun violence in neighborhoods with particularly high rates of gun violence. Numerous studies demonstrate that evidence-based intervention and prevention–for example, through street or hospital-based outreach — can reduce gunshot victimizations among people at the highest risk of being shot.
8) Do you support robust public funding in your state for localized violence intervention programs that support people at the highest risk of being shot and killed?
Please select… Yes No
Public Carry of Firearms
Over the last several years, the gun lobby has gone from statehouse to statehouse seeking to enact “permitless carry,” which would pose a public safety risk by removing the requirement that a person get a permit before carrying a hidden, loaded handgun in public. These laws often remove important safety standards, such as requirements for safety training and no recent history of violent acts. States that have passed permitless carry have seen a substantial increase in violent crime.
9) Do you support state permitting requirements, including firearm safety training, in order to carry concealed handguns in public?
Please select… Yes No
Increasingly in recent years, political extremists have taken advantage of gaps in state law to carry guns openly in public as a means of intimidation. In 2020 anti-government extremists, including the ascendant boogaloo movement and white supremacists, used guns, in particular assault weapons, as tools of intimidation and violence in increasingly open ways. Taking advantage of weak state gun laws, they have brandished weapons at anti-government protests, intimidated peaceful protests for racial justice, and even killed people.
10) Do you support a law prohibiting the open carry of firearms in public?
Please select… Yes No
Police Use of Force and Accountability
Police violence is gun violence – 95% of deaths of civilians caused by police are with a firearm, and Black people are victims at a disproportionate rate. Police shootings have a corrosive impact on our communities as they foster distrust which makes it harder for law enforcement to keep communities safe. Local leaders must commit to supporting targeted reforms that will help prevent shootings and build trust. These reforms should include: a strong legal standard barring the unnecessary use of force and a standard requiring officers to intervene to stop abuse, a commitment to de-escalation, deploying formal tools to identify misconduct, a thorough and independent review system for use of force incidents, and transparency about use of force and other policies and procedures.
11) Do you support police accountability measures that promote de-escalation, promote transparency, and that aim to eliminate unnecessary use of force?
Please select… Yes No
“Stand Your Ground”
So-called “Stand Your Ground” laws allow people to shoot and kill others even if they could safely and easily avoid using deadly force. These laws embolden vigilante violence, encourage people to seek out confrontation, make it harder to hold unjustified shooters accountable, and are associated with increases in firearm homicides.
12) Do you oppose Stand Your Ground laws, which allow people to shoot and kill others even if they could safely and easily avoid using deadly violence?
Please select… Yes No
Guns in Schools and Colleges
In recent years, the gun lobby has campaigned in statehouses to allow guns in K-12 schools, to arm teachers, and even to force colleges and universities to allow guns on their campuses. There is no evidence that arming teachers can help deter, mitigate, or intervene to stop active shooters—and on the contrary, armed civilians are more likely to cause confusion when law enforcement respond to a shooting, and guns in schools may be accessed by children when not under the teacher’s control. College life is also full of risk factors that make the presence of guns dangerous: college can be a stressful time for students, with research showing that rates of suicidal ideation doubled between the 2006-2007 and 2016-2017 school years.. Arming teachers and forcing guns on college campuses are broadly opposed by law enforcement, students, and educators.
13) Do you oppose allowing guns in K-12 schools and colleges, outside of trained law enforcement and security staff?
Please select… Yes No
Preemption of Local Gun Safety Laws
After a decades-long effort by the gun lobby, most states now have some form of firearms preemption law, blocking towns and cities from adopting their own gun laws suited to local needs. These preemption laws often bar mayors and police chiefs from taking steps to address gun violence, and in some cases even have punitive provisions that leave taxpayers on the hook for court costs and fees.
14) Do you oppose broad firearms preemption laws, which block local officials from passing and enforcing laws that keep communities safe from gun violence?
Please select… Yes No
Have you ever volunteered with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America or Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America?
Please select… Yes No
Have you been personally affected by gun violence?
Been held at gunpoint a few times. My grandmother’s brother was shot.
Would you like to provide any additional background for any of your responses?
A lady named Cham has done a great job of using the Baltimore Sun’s homicides and archiving it. I have a spreadsheet that tracks homicides so far in Baltimore City (more so Black on Black than police unarmed) from 1970 to the present and plan to add neighboring Baltimore Co., DC, and Prince George’s.
AFL-CIO
Maryland State and D.C.
AFL-CIO
2022 CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
OUR UNIONS
Airline Pilots (ALPA) I Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA) I Auto Workers (UAW) I Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco & Grain Millers (BCTGM) I Boilermakers (IBB) I Bricklayers (BAC) I Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET-CWA) I Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) I Communication’ Workers (C WA) I Electrical Workers (IBEW) I Electronic Workers (IUE-WA) I Elevator Constructors (IUEC) I Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) I Fire Fighters (IAFF) I Flight Attendants
(AFA-CVA) Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) I Glass, Molders & Pottery Workers (GMP-USW) I Government Employees (AFGE) I Hotel & Restaurant Employees (UNITE HERE) I UFIU) I International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) I Ironworkers (BSOIW) I Laborers (LIUNA) I Letter Carriers (NALC) I Machinists (IAM) I Marine Engineers (MEBA) Masters, Mates & Pilots I Mine Workers (UMWA) I Musicians (AFM) I National Nurses (NNU) NFL Players (NFLFA) I Novelty and Production Workers I Office and Professional Employees (OPU) I Operating Engineers (IUOE) I Operative Plasterers’ and Cemetery
Masons’ (OPCMIA) I Painters and Allied Trades WPAT) I Plate Printers and Die Stampers I Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) I Postal
Workers (APWU) Printing, and Media Workers (PPMW-CWA) I Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) I
Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS)’ I Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers (RWDSU-UFCW) I Roofers and Waterproofers I School Administrators (AFSA) Screen Actors and Radio and Television Workers (SAG-AFTRA) I Seafarers (SIU)
Service Employees (SEIU) I Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Workers (SMART) I Stage and Movie Workers (IATSE) I State,
County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) I Steelworkers (USW) I Teachers (AFT) I The News Guild (TNG-CWA) I Transit Workers
(ATU) I Transport Workers (TWU) I Transportation and Communications Workers (TCU/IAM) I Utility Workers (UWUA) I
Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO I Metropolitan Washington AFL-CIO Western Maryland AFL-CIO
Central Maryland AFL-CIO DelMarVa AFL-CIO
DONNA S. EDWARDS GERALD W. JACKSON
President Secretary-Treasurer
Chuck Cook
Legislative and Political Director
There are certain basic workplace rights that the unions and members of the Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO believe are fundamental and absolutely essential. Collective bargaining elections and representation are permitted for private sector employees, whereas for public sector employees in Maryland, legislation is required in order to have those same rights. Over the past decade, ,these rights have been given to many state, higher education and g K-12 public school education employees and some county employees. However, thousands of public sector Employees are still denied these rights.
Please indicate if you support or oppose comprehensive collective bargaining legislation that would provide collective bargaining rights (including exclusivity, binding arbitration, and an independent labor board) for all public employees-local, county, school boards md state. Explain how these issues are essential to workers’ rights.
Do you support or oppose the right of all private and public workers to organize and have union representation? Explain.Do you support or oppose the right of all workers to freely exercise workplace rights free from harassment, intimidation and/or delays? Explain.
Support
Do you support or oppose the right to bargain collectively with a legal obligation on both sides to negotiate in good faith? Explain.
Support
Do you support or oppose the right to resolve differences in a fair, impartial and timely manner, including binding arbitration for public and private employees through a neutral arbitrator process? Please explain your position.
Nurses have some of the highest rates of work-related, musculoskeletal injuries of any occupation. Do you support or oppose legislation that would require that hospitals institute and utilize lift teams and lift equipment, and that also protects the rights of nurses to speak out regarding unsafe patient care practices? Explain your position.
California is the only state to have passed comprehensive workplace violence prevention legislation to protect healthcare workers. In order to be effective, such a standard must mandate that every hospital, nursing home, and health care facility develops a workplace violence prevention in conjunction with health care workers that is unique to the needs of each unit and is in effect at Il times in every unit. It must include hazard identification and correction procedures, annual program evaluation, in person training for all employees and sufficient staffing to respond to workplace violence incidents. Do you support the creation of a comprehensive workplace violence prevention standard for healthcare workers in Maryland?
As health care costs continue to escalate, many Marylanders do not have access to affordable quality health care services. Please describe some legislative remedies that you would pursue.
Transportation
After years of planning, the proposed Red Line light rail project was cancelled in 2015. Would you commit to supporting efforts to revive the Red Line, including any necessary funding for its completion?
Absolutely.
Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO
2022 Candidate Questionnaire
Do you support or oppose a requirement to include prevailing wages, project labor agreements, labor peace agreements and buy Maryland/buy America first provisions, in all State procurements and tax incentive policies?
Support
Should •the government divert funds from public schools by giving vouchers (either a tax credit, or even a tax rebate) to parents who want to send their children to private or religious schools, including through the BOOST voucher program? Please explain your answer.One element that was unfortunately left unresolved by the Kirwan Commission recommendations was the area of pay for Paraprofessionals and School Related Personnel (PSRPs). For too many PSRPs in Baltimore arid throughout the state, compensation levels are not enough to be considered a living wage. Will PSRP compensation be a high priority for you if you are elected to office?
Yes
With the 21st Century Schools Program passed in 2013, the state allowed City Schools and the Maryland Stadium Authority to leverage bonds arid completely renovate roughly 25 public schools in Baltimore City. While this certainly is a good start, with the largest portfolio of aging and obsolete school buildings in the state, this program needs t be expanded. If elected, what will you do to assure
What is your definition of “The Right to Work”? Do you support or oppose “The Right to Work in Maryland? Explain your position?
Oppose
The AFL-CI and our affiliated unions are actively engage to establishing workers’ rights and representation and bargaining for workers in the platform economy like Uber and Lyft. Do you support laws that clarify the labor rights of rideshare and other platform workers? Why or why not?
Support
Economic Recovery
Maryland has myriad tax credits, tax abatements, grants, and various other programs for businesses that ostensibly exist to “create jobs”. However, very little demand is made of these businesses to ensure that the tax money given to them is used to create family-sustaining careers. In recent legislative sessions, unions have had success in adding stronger job standards to a handful of business tax credits in order for businesses to receive taxpayer money for economic development purposes. Would you support legislation that universally applies to all Maryland economic development tax credits and programs — including clean energy — requiring labor standards for each job created or maintained that included, at a minimum: 150% of State minimum wage or Prevailing Wage if in the building and construction industry, the right to collectively bargain, paid leave, covered by Unemployment Insurance and Workers’ Compensation, employer-provided health insurance, retirement benefits, career advancement training, and fair scheduling?
One of the loopholes in construction on State and Local projects that require contractors to pay prevailing wages is their ability to sub out the manufacture or fabrication of the materials needed to off-site entities. This work is done in shops located within and out of State often at substandard Wages. Would you support legislation that requires prevailing wages be paid to all employees engaged in the manufacture or fabrication of materials used In projects that are required to be paid prevailing wages, whether done on or off site?
The pandemic had a massive impact on public transit ridership and experts are predicting large budget deficits for transit systems across the country in 2023. Are you willing to commit additional funding to Maryland’s public transit systems to help close this deficit and avert service cuts and layoffs?
Yes
Do you commit to opposing partnerships between rideshare companies and public transit services?
Support
Contracting out public services is sometimes seen as a way to save money and/or make government more efficient. Do you see outsourcing as appropriate in any circumstance? If so, when? It’s never appropriate to outsource.In recent years legislation has been introduced that would move public employees’ retirement from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan (401K). Do you support such a plan? I support the pension system.
Privatization of public transit I o s private to the riding public and by decreasing the wages and benefits of public transit workers. Do you commit to helping end the practice of the privatization of Public transit systems in Maryland by helping transition privatized public services into the public sector?
Yes
Voting Rights
Participation in the democratic process should be available to all that are eligible and willing to participate. With the recent attack on voting rights and the weakening of the Voting Rights Act, working families see their ability to participate in democracy through voting-under attack. As the United States Postal Service is still one of the most trusted means of communication and the American Postal Workers Union and National Association of Letter Carriers are stalwart advocates for voting rights; what is your position on the need for universal vote-by-mail legislation on the state level? Support
Would this be legislation that you support? Yes
Lastly, briefly describe legislation that you draft to support this.
Renaud Brown for Delegate 2026 