 Members from AFSCME Council 3 headed to Annapolis last Monday to demand a solution to the growing crisis around staffing in state agencies. There are currently around 2,000 vacant positions in AFSCME's bargaining units, forcing some employees at critical locations like hospitals and correctional facilities to work multiple 16-hour shifts a week to fill in the staffing gaps. This is a problem for both state employees -- whose safety at work is endangered -- and for Maryland citizens. These staffing levels not only directly affect the existence and quality of the services state employees are tasked with providing, AFSCME also estimates they are costing tax payers $100 million in overtime annually. Read more about the staffing crisis here.
photo: Jason Suggs, president of the AFSCME local representing employees of the Maryland Department of Labor, describes problems caused by understaffing at the department during a press conference Tuesday in Annapolis. photo by Rachel Baye for WYPR. Comments are closed.
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