MD Workers Win Fair Share

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Working families scored a huge victory in Maryland last Thursday when the General Assembly overturned Gov. Robert Ehrlich's veto of a law that will make big profitable companies like Wal-Mart pay their fair share of health care costs for their employees. The House of Delegates also voted to override Ehrlich’s minimum wage veto and the Senate is expected to easily approve the override today. “People power works!” said Metro Council President Jos Williams, noting that “The overrides cap a big step forward for Maryland’s working families that began last year when the General Assembly passed three pro-worker bills.” Fair Share Healthcare, the minimum wage increase and a bill limiting international trade agreements were all vetoed by the Governor, who has now been overriden on all three by the General Assembly. Mark Federici, Political Director of UFCW Local 400,  reported that metro Washington-area legislators, who had been lobbied extensively in Annapolis and their home districts by labor and allies, overwhelmingly supported the overrides. Voting against were Murray Levy (D-28), Sally Jameson (D-28), Danny Mayer (R-28), John Wood (D-29a) and Anthony O'Donnell (R-29c); the State AFL-CIO says that “no” votes on the vetoes will earn lawmakers “no” votes on endorsements. “What the Maryland victory shows is that the tide is turning because working people are not just fed up—they are ready to get active to set our country in a different direction, one state at a time,” added AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “The time is ripe for change and we will look to the lessons of the Maryland victory as we move forward with our ‘Fair Share Health Care’ initiative in 32 states.”