Appeals court hears day care union case
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals heard a case yesterday over Gov. Martin O'Malley's decision to allow a union to represent family child care providers during negotiations for state subsidies.
The Maryland State Family Child Care Association sued to stop O'Malley's executive order from going into effect, and two Republican lawmakers, Del. Michael D. Smigiel Sr. and Sen. Allan H. Kittleman, have said that the Democratic governor overstepped his bounds. A lower court granted a preliminary injunction, but the appellate court entered a stay of that order.
Mark L. Rosenberg said that the Service Employees International Union has been trying to unionize the industry and turned to O'Malley when it failed to win approval of legislation in the General Assembly. He represents the association, a trade group, that sued and has historically represented the industry's interests before the administration. "It's all about money; it's all about union dues," Rosenberg said.
O'Malley's administration, in its brief, argued that the trade group didn't want to share its role and did not try to become certified as an elected representative of care providers. The order stated that the governor would be willing to enter into nonbinding negotiations with a bargaining representative elected by providers.
Laura Smitherman
Anne Arundel
Route 295
Single-vehicle crash fatally injures man
A man was killed early yesterday morning in a single-vehicle crash off Route 295, authorities said. The man, who was not identified yesterday, was traveling southbound near Route 100 when his vehicle left the roadway and overturned. Fire officials who responded about 2 a.m. found a man trapped in the vehicle with fatal injuries.
Officials said speed, alcohol and driver error appeared to have contributed to the accident, and police were investigating.
About 12:50 p.m.yesterday, a box truck ran off of Route 100 at Route 170 in Hanover and struck a State Highway Administration worker who was cutting grass on a median, state police said. The worker did not appear to have serious injuries, and he and the truck driver were taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Justin Fenton
Annapolis
Fatal-crash victim identified
The man who died Saturday after losing control of his car just outside Annapolis, sending it into the Chesapeake Bay, was identified yesterday as a city resident, Anne Arundel County police said.
