The Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association (MSDFSA) is a left-of-center teachers’ union affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) as Local 4828. It represents employees at the state-owned Maryland School for the Deaf, which operates campuses for pre-K through 12th grade students in Frederick and Columbia, Maryland. ¹

Background

The Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association  is a teachers’ union that was created in February 2023 after the Maryland legislature passed a law in 2021 allowing the creation of a bargaining unit at the public school. ¹ The law was supported by AFT Maryland, which lobbied heavily for its passage.  ²

Previously, teachers and other employees at the school had been in the professional service of Maryland’s State Personnel Management System, which made them ineligible for collective bargaining. ³

The employees voted to affiliate with the American Federation of Teachers and AFT Maryland, becoming AFT Local 4828. ²

Bargaining

Among other areas of emphasis in its initial 2023 contract negotiations, the union asked for and received the establishment of a labor-management committee to “create a new training program for employees and managers to help identify and overcome various forms of discrimination that occur in the workplace.” ⁴ It also negotiated for five days of paid leave for any union member who tested positive for COVID-19.  ⁴

White House Visit

In September 2024, 20 MSDFSA members were invited to the White House to participate in an event hosted by then-First Lady Jill Biden and Miguel Cardona, secretary of the Department of Education. ^{5  5}

While billed as a “Back to School” event, it took place during the closing stages of the 2024 presidential campaign and the American Federation of Teachers treated it as a campaign-adjacent event, with MDFSA president McCully writing that “Most of us wore blue to represent AFT with buttons rooting for Harris/Walz by our union.” ⁵

1. “Legislation – SB0556.” Maryland General Assembly, July 1, 2021. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0556?ys=2021rs.
2. “MSD Faculty and Staff Overwhelmingly Choose Collective Bargaining.” Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association , February 14, 2023. https://msdfsa.md.aft.org/news/msd-faculty-and-staff-overwhelmingly-choose-collective-bargaining.
3. Boice, Caroline L. “FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE Third Reader – Revised Senate Bill 556 .” Maryland General Assembly, July 20, 2021. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/fnotes/bil_0006/sb0556.pdf.
4. “Tentative Agreement Reached between MSD Union and Management.” Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association, January 12, 2024. https://msdfsa.md.aft.org/news/tentative-agreement-reached-between-msd-union-and-management.
5. McCully, Shelly. “MSDFSA Members at the White House Back to School Event.” Maryland School for the Deaf Faculty and Staff Association, October 9, 2024. https://msdfsa.md.aft.org/news/msdfsa-members-white-house-back-school-event.