As an active member of AFSCME Local 6368, William Parker thought his biggest challenge would be butting heads with his employer, the Maryland Department of Transportation. But as he tries to mount a campaign against an unknown opponent, “the union has become my first and foremost hurdle.”

The June 16 election to represent about 500 MDOT supervisors is five days away, but the union has not yet disclosed who are the other candidates for president. “Nobody knows for sure who I’m running against. We think it’s the current shop steward, Kevin Edwards, but it could be Rahim Abdullah. We simply don’t know. And that’s because it’s all in the hands of one person – Pat Moran.”

Moran is the president of AFSCME Council 3, the umbrella organization that represents 50,000 public service workers across Maryland. His failure to address nomination and election irregularities at Local 6368 is uncannily similar to the role he played last year against grassroots sanitation worker, Stancil McNair.

McNair twice defeated Moran’s hand-picked candidate for AFSCME Local 44 president, only to be cast aside and not permitted by Moran to even occupy an office at the union hall.

“Stancil was calling for better protections for sanitation workers, two of whom had recently died on the job,” Parker recalled. “When he followed the rules and won the Local 44 election, they got mad at him. When he defied Patrick and tried to represent the members, he got his hands snapped.”

Moran did not respond to questions submitted by The Brew. Council 3 Communications Director Linda He issued this statement last night: “Communications to dues-paying members regarding local union elections are outlined per the local union election manual. Unsure of where you’re getting your information from, but Kevin Edwards is not on the ballot for Local 6368 president.”

Unlike Local 44, which has represented blue-collar Baltimore City workers for decades, Local 6368 was organized last year after Maryland lawmakers extended collective bargaining rights to “Unit S” or state supervisors. Moran stood prominently beside Gov. Wes Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson and then-House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones when the bill was signed by Moore.

Parker, a supervisor at MTA’s Metro Subway maintenance facility, was named a trustee of the nascent local and began studying ways to better protect member benefits and make sure they were getting their money’s worth for the dues they paid. “I push against the grain. I guess I didn’t fit the certain type they want who lines up with their beliefs.”

Murky Election Process

On June 3, nominations for president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, recording secretary and MTA chair were held. Parker and his slate filed, but no election committee was formed at the meeting, and Edwards and Abdullah “refused to accept the nomination for president on the Zoom call,” Parker said. “Now I’m hearing that Abdullah is using AFSCME resources to campaign around the state.”

UPDATE: After this story was posted, Abdullah confirmed that he is running for Local 6368 president. He said he is not using AFSCME resources and has long advocated for pay equity and other membership issues. “You guys were used as a tool to run a smear campaign against me for whatever reason. That’s my statement to you. Council 3 has not talked to me. I was not a person put in by them. I don’t have communication with them.”

Before the nominating meeting on May 28, Parker and other members sent an email to Moran expressing concerns about the election and asking for a meeting. On June 1, Moran replied that he’d be happy to discuss the matter, but no such meeting, took place, according to Parker.

On Monday, June 7, or eight days before the election, Parker emailed Moran the following:

As you know, I have attempted to reach out to you, Ms. Ally [Sabeela Alley, Moran’s chief of staff] and International President [Lee] Saunders several times regarding concerns about unfair election practices. While I did receive your email requesting that I refrain from using my state email account for correspondence, I promptly responded from my personal email and offered an apology. That was the extent of our communication, and no opportunity to meet or discuss these concerns was offered at that time.

Unfortunately, the issues we raised were not addressed, which brings us to where we are today. We have serious concerns regarding the fairness of this upcoming election and the manner in which the nomination process was conducted and concluded. There appears to be a significant imbalance when one candidate has access to union resources, including the ability to communicate with members using ULink under the guise of conducting union business, while other candidates do not have the same opportunity. This creates the appearance of an unfair advantage and raises legitimate concerns regarding equal access, impartiality, and fair campaigning.

Additionally, we found the manner in which Mr. Cox conducted the nomination process to be unacceptable. The handling of nominations, particularly allowing candidates who were present during the Zoom meeting to . . . delay accepting or not multiple positions. Accepting their nomination at the close of nominations created confusion and, in our view, failed to uphold the standards and consistency.

Our intention is not to create conflict but to ensure that the election process is conducted fairly, consistently, and in accordance with the applicable rules and procedures. We respectfully request that these concerns be reviewed and addressed promptly to preserve the integrity of the election and maintain the confidence of the membership.

“If you continue to have issues with the conduct of the election, you can follow the steps to file a protest regarding the conduct of the election,” Moran told Parker.

The next day, June 8, Moran punted the matter over to Wiley Rhymer, the current appointed president, and then emailed Parker:

I informed President Rhymer yesterday that, since there are elections, he will need to appoint an election committee. Your issues regarding the election will need to run through the committee. He will inform each candidate who makes up the committee and how they can inform them of their issues. At the conclusion of your election if you continue to have issues with the conduct of the election, you can follow the steps to file a protest regarding the conduct of the election.

His email included a link to the AFSCME elections manual.

Parker says Moran is setting up Rhymer to take the blame for any election irregularities. In the absence of help from Moran’s staff or from the international union in Washington, finding a labor lawyer to represent his slate’s interests has proven to be impossible.

“What I’m simply asking the union to do is to follow the rules in the AFSCME Constitution,” Parker said. “If you follow the rules, then it’s me and another guy running for president. If you’re not following the rules, it’s whatever. Where we are right now is whatever.”