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Legislative Synopsis 2025 - Maryland Labor Secures Key Victories in 2025 Legislative Session, But Big Fights Remain

Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO
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The 2025 Maryland General Assembly session was a busy one for labor, with the State Fed tracking 647 bills, testifying on 80+, and helping pass 28 bills directly impacting workers and unions.

Download a copy of the 2025 Legislative Synopsis here.

Key Wins:

  • Collective Bargaining: Secured bargaining and arbitration rights for BWI Airport fire and rescue employees.
  • Worker Protections: Passed the Protect Our Federal Workers Act (HB 1424), loan support for furloughed federal employees; fought for AI regulation with labor representation on a new state AI workgroup (HB 956).
  • Worker Safety: Established a Public Employee Safety and Health Unit, protected transit workers from assaults, and expanded firefighter cancer screenings.
  • Healthcare: Won transparency in nursing home cost reporting, protections against medical debt on credit reports, and required anti-bias training for healthcare workers.
  • Clean Energy & Jobs: Ensured prevailing wage and union job standards in the Next Generation Energy Act (HB 1035/SB 937).
  • Procurement & Apprenticeships: Passed the Procurement Reform Act (HB 500) and RAISE Act (SB 431), strengthening labor standards and apprenticeship pipelines.

Major Challenges/Defeats:

  • Efforts to expand collective bargaining rights to higher ed faculty, graduate assistants, local government workers, and state employees (binding arbitration) failed.
  • The Unemployment Modernization Act (HB 554/SB 752) stalled, leaving outdated benefit structures in place.
  • Minimum wage increases for education support staff and stronger railway safety standards failed.
  • Attempts to establish stronger guardrails on AI (SB 936, HB 1331) and ban employer “captive audience” anti-union meetings (HB 233) also fell short.

Budget:

Maryland faced a looming $3 billion deficit, prompting new taxes (including IT/data services, vehicle excise, and cannabis) and cuts. Labor successfully protected COLAs and key wage increases.

Looking Ahead:

Labor leaders see 2025 as progress but unfinished business. They plan to reintroduce collective bargaining, unemployment modernization, and worker safety bills in 2026, while continuing to fight off anti-worker measures like internet gaming expansion.