August 10th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

Maryland state government and higher education employees will join together in a protest caravan calling on Gov. Larry Hogan to take steps to protect front line workers.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3 will be joined by lawmakers and community leaders in a caravan that will begin at the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum and make stops at locations including Morgan State University. The caravan is set to begin at 5 p.m. Monday.

“As AFSCME members and other frontline employees continue to hold our state together in spite of increased transmission of COVID-19, we are calling for support from the Hogan administration that includes increased contact tracing, greater funding for testing (particularly at our universities), an accounting of transmission at state work sites, and the release of additional state reserves to balance the state budget," Council 3 President Patrick Moran said in a statement.

The union is calling for better contact tracing, mass testing efforts at public universities, better accounting of where state employees have contracted the coronavirus and more robust disinfecting practices. The union demanded the use of $1 billion in state reserve funds to mitigate budget deficits.