AFSCME rally at Bowie State demands stalled pay raises, jobs protections

At Bowie State University, a pay dispute has turned into a jobs warning for Prince George’s County workers, with AFSCME saying the University System of Maryland has yet to deliver raises that were negotiated and funded, even as the campus faces layoffs.

AFSCME Local 1297 gathered at the Student Center on May 7 and marched to the Administration Building to press USM leadership to honor the contract and stop layoffs. Jontae Thomas, president of Local 1297, was scheduled to speak at the rally. The union said the system is denying a 2.5% merit increase and a $500 base pay raise for more than 6,000 AFSCME members, and that those increases were already covered by state funding.

The fight centers on a 2024 agreement that the union and USM described as historic. The three-year deal covers about 5,700 employees in 15 bargaining units across nine USM institutions, including Bowie State, University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Maryland Global Campus, Coppin State University, Frostburg State University and the University of Baltimore. It took 31 negotiation sessions over 21 months to reach. The agreement runs from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027, and raised the minimum salary to $38,000 a year while increasing each salaried pay grade minimum by 5%.

For eligible employees, the first-year package included a 3% cost-of-living adjustment and a 2.5% merit increase. AFSCME said that promised merit raise is now being withheld, creating the kind of paycheck gap that union leaders say undercuts retention and makes it harder to keep experienced staff in student-facing roles.

The stakes are sharper at Bowie State because of the university’s own financial strain. In May, Bowie State said it faces an $18 million budget deficit and plans to cut 79 positions through vacancies, reorganization and layoffs. AFSCME said the campus may need to lay off 30 bargaining-unit members, turning a contract dispute into an immediate workforce issue for employees who keep classrooms, offices and daily operations moving in Bowie.

The standoff raises broader questions for the USM Board of Regents about whether negotiated labor terms will be honored when campus finances tighten. For public universities that rely on state money and public workers, the dispute at Bowie State suggests a deeper strain over wages, staffing and the system’s willingness to deliver the deal it approved.