The University of Maryland in College Park and Baltimore City Community College violated state labor laws while bargaining with their unions, according to the Maryland Public Employee Relations Board.

The board’s rulings came late last year but were publicized Monday morning. The board found that the state’s flagship university refused to “bargain in good faith” with its union and that Baltimore City Community College committed several unfair labor practices by refusing to “engage in sincere wage negotiations” with its union.

The two unions are represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a national trade union of public employees. There are about 4,000 employees in UMD’s union and about 130 at BCCC.

Michael Hayes, a professor emeritus at the University of Baltimore School of Law and the former chair of the Maryland Public Employee Relations Board, said it’s unusual for the board to publicly release rulings. It’s also not a court and doesn’t always rule on cases.

Patrick Moran, the president of the union’s Maryland chapter, said the behavior of UMD and BCCC leadership in bargaining with the unions was “absolutely deplorable and illegal.”

UMD officials did not respond to a request for comment.

BCCC President Debra L. McCurdy said in a statement that the college accepts the board’s decision and “remains fully committed to a fair, transparent, and collaborative workplace.”

A fight over telework at College Park

The dispute between the University of Maryland, College Park, and its staff union was about telework.

The union requested all university telework policies and guidance across departments. The university, under law, was required to provide the requested information “as soon as practicable, but not later than 30 days” after receiving the request, which the union submitted Feb. 21, 2025, according to the ruling.

But the university, the board found, took months to respond to requests, often releasing only partial information.

And, according to the board’s decision, while the university and the union were negotiating telework policies, the university’s information technology department sent an email to staff announcing a new telework policy that hadn’t been negotiated. The university did not provide notice to the union of its intent to implement the changes, nor did it offer the union an opportunity to bargain over them, which constituted violations of labor laws, according to the board’s decision.

The Maryland General Assembly has explicitly identified telework as a subject requiring negotiation, the board stated in its decision.

“By withholding basic information about telework practices, the university placed the union at a disadvantage in preparing proposals and evaluating existing conditions,” the board’s decision stated.

The board ordered the university to stop changing telework policies or other mandatory subjects of bargaining without first attempting to bargain with the union. The university must also rescind its telework policy and engage with current union bargaining. Additionally, the university must pay back any loss faced by employees resulting from the telework policy.

A nod and a disagreement at BCCC

The labor relations board found Baltimore City Community College violated several labor laws in the last year.

The union and BCCC were engaged in bargaining sessions since early 2024, according to the complaint. During the sessions, the union proposed $1,500 wage increases in 2025, 2026 and 2027.

The community college did not submit its own wage proposal or counter the union’s because, according to BCCC, leaders wanted to address non-economic issues before ones having to do with pay. Leaders at the community college said they assumed the union was OK with this because a union representative “nodded” when they suggested it.

But the union’s chief negotiator, Stuart Katzenberg, disputed that testimony.

Either way, the board ruled, a “nod in response to a unilateral statement regarding bargaining order is insufficient to establish an express, clear and unmistaken agreement.”

Because of that, the labor board ruled that BCCC “failed to bargain in good faith by refusing to engage in negotiations over wages, a mandatory subject of bargaining.”

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.