Maryland Green Party
www.mdgreens.org/
P.O. Box 754
Laurel, MD 20725-0754

Released January 2, 2007

Contact:
James Madigan, Green Party 2006 candidate for Lt. Governor of Maryland, 410-948-5242, maddawgbgp-AT-yahoo.com


Dear Governor O' Malley,
Congratulations on your election to Governor. As you are aware, your election was due in large part to the support of working people and endorsements by labor unions across the state. We look forward to an administration that will fight for the interests of working people.

The Maryland Green Party, as a party dedicated to social justice, asks you to honor your party’s historic tradition of supporting workers and their families. We believe that an honest day’s work requires an honest day’s wage.

The previous administration abused its workers: denying them pay raises until the election year, suspending collective bargaining, and vetoing a General Assembly bill to reinstate it (HB 605/SB 348).

Fortunately, the General Assembly overrode the Governor’s veto, but many issues remain unresolved. State employees are underpaid compared to their counterparts in the private sector and even other public sectors. The Governor employed political “hatchet men” to fire employees without just cause, and filled many key positions with unqualified appointees and corporate spokesmen. Many positions were eliminated for political reasons and the work outsourced to private companies. Rather than saving the state money, this practice costs taxpayers more, since private contractors have to cover their overhead and make a profit. As a result of the previous administration’s mismanagement, the morale of state employees has plummeted; many have retired or sought other jobs, and productivity has suffered.

Our state and contractual employees deserve a Living Wage. Baltimore City passed such a requirement. State workers deserve no less. We request that you either require companies under state contract to pay a living wage with adequate benefits; or create merit positions for full time state employees to do the work. During his tenure, Governor Glendening converted all long-term contractual positions to merit positions with full benefits, and we hope you will do the same.

The State Labor Relations Board has been inactive, failing even to define what constitutes “unfair labor practices.” We ask that your administration expedite the selection of a new State Labor Relations Board by working with the current sole collective bargaining agent of each unit, so that these appointments can be in place to administer the justice our state workers deserve. Consistent with the Green Party’s 2006 Gubernatorial platform, we recommend the establishment of a cabinet-level Department of Labor to oversee the implementation of collective bargaining, and ensure the enforcement of workers’ rights.

We hope that you will review state employees’ pay, health benefits (which could be made easier through passage of single-payer universal health care), and pensions (with consistent Cost Of Living Adjustments), and ask that you make it your administration’s goal to make these competitive with other government and private sectors. Retaining quality state employees necessitates compensation equal to the task. We also hope that you will not repeat the abuses of the previous administration of hiring and firing employees solely for political reasons. In short, state employees deserve to be treated fairly and with respect.

We are confident that we can work together for the good of those who work daily in the service of Maryland’s citizens. We thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Patsy Allen and Tim Willard
Co-chairs, Maryland Green Party

Ed Boyd and James Madigan
2006 Green Party candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor

Cc: AFSCME Council 92
MD Classified Employees Association
MD Profession Employees Council
MD-American Federation of Teachers
MD Correctional-Law Enforcement Union