Union

As thousands of federal workers prepare to be furloughed, many are concerned about how to deal with a pay cut. Keith Everett, a chief steward with the American Federation of Government Employees, said his union held two meetings in recent weeks at Fort Meade for workers, many of whom had the same financial questions: Can I apply for unemployment benefits? Will I receive back pay if lawmakers eventually reach some agreement on budget cuts? The answers: No and no. "Everyone is hoping [lawmakers]

Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore Inc. announced Thursday that it had agreed to acquire Advance Bank, another Baltimore-based institution. A sale price hasn't been determined and will be based on which Advance assets regulators say MECU can acquire, said Dorothea Stierhoff, senior public relations manager with MECU. MECU, a state-chartered credit union, and Advance Bank, a mutual savings bank, are each owned by their depositors. MECU has about $1.2 billion in assets and nine locations.

The Rawlings-Blake administration and Baltimore's fire unions are battling over the city's proposal to require firefighters to work longer hours — 24 hours straight, every three days. The mayor says the move — which mirrors staffing trends in other large U.S. cities — will save millions for cash-strapped Baltimore while giving its 1,300 firefighters a huge pay raise by creating a longer work week. The fire unions, however, say the move would represent a cut to their hourly pay and is unfair to employees who have built their lives around a work schedule that's been in place for 20 years.

After spending three decades at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, Kevin Hux eagerly joined efforts this past year to unionize his workplace. "I joined this union to have some kind of voice and be protected," said Hux, 55, who started in housekeeping shortly after the Inner Harbor hotel opened and now sets up tables for conventions and receptions. Because of staffing cuts, Hux said, he now shoulders tasks that three workers would have handled several years back. Hux and other employees have been working with organizers from Unite Here, which represents hospitality workers and has embarked on a national campaign aimed at unionized and nonunionized Hyatt hotels.

Towson University is trying to reassure its student population and address the concerns of national civil rights groups after a pro-white race student group recently announced it would conduct crime-watching patrols at night. Matthew Heimbach, a Towson senior and founder of the White Student Union, made headlines across the country earlier this week for the patrols, which he said were in response to a spike in black-on-white crime. Heimbach said the patrol members would be unarmed except for flashlights and pepper spray, though he had previously told Towson's student newspaper his members have gotten firearms training.

Barely a week after the group made national news for advocating for racial segregation at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Towson University's White Student Union is again drawing attention for plans to conduct nighttime patrols to watch for crime. Matthew Heimbach, a 21-year-old senior and founder of the group, said his group plans to go out a few nights a week - the men armed with only Maglite flashlights, the women with pepper spray - and will attempt to make a citizen's arrest if they witness a "violent felony.

Fort Meade announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with the union representing Department of Defense employees on how proposed civilian furloughs will be handled. Civilian employees face up to 22 days of furlough - about a 20 percent pay reduction - after lawmakers failed to reach a budget deal to stop $85 billion in automatic spending cuts this year called the sequester. Furlough notices to civilians could be issued sometime between Thursday and Monday, according to Fort Meade.

In February, APG Federal Credit Union honored Susan Kemen, senior vice president of consumer lending, with an award presentation for 30 years of dedicated service to the credit union, and Barbara Poff, senior member service operation specialist, with an award presentation for 25 years of service. In 1983, Kemen was hired as a part-time teller at APGFCU's Aberdeen Proving Ground branch. Over the years, she was promoted to collection department manager, consumer loan manager, senior vice president branch operations and most recently to senior vice president of consumer lending.

Most of the Howard County public library's 184 employees would have the right to unionize and bargain for pay and benefits under a bill that has been endorsed by the county delegation to Annapolis. The legislation follows an unsuccessful attempt in the 2010 legislative session to pass a bill that would apply to all library employees in the state and is one of 17 county bills now before the Maryland General Assembly. Other county measures cover alcohol sales, charity casino nights, the county sheriff's salary and an array of bond bills for construction projects.

WASHINGTON -- Officials at the Woodlawn-based Social Security Administration informed employees they do not anticipate furloughs when across-the-board federal budget cuts go into effect, the union that represents many of those workers said Thursday. The announcement came days before $85 billion in budget cuts known as sequestration were expected to take effect on Friday -- cuts that the Obama administration has warned could lead to government-wide furloughs. Acting Social Security Administration commissioner Carolyn Colvin informed employees in a meeting on Thursday that furloughs would be avoided.