Anne Arundel County Question ACharter Amendment – Binding Arbitration for All County Employee Unions
What your vote means
A YES vote lets every county employee union (not just police, fire, sheriff and detention officers) take pay and work-rule disputes to binding arbitration.
A NO vote keeps binding arbitration limited to uniformed firefighters and uniformed police, sheriff's and detention officers.
Our one-line summary of the official wording.
In plain words
Our summary of the official materials and local reporting.
- Binding arbitration means that when talks with the county reach a standstill, an outside neutral person decides the dispute and the decision must be followed. source: afscmemd.org
- Today only uniformed firefighters and uniformed officers of the County Police Department, Sheriff's Department and Office of Detention Facilities can use it. source: elections.maryland.gov
- The County Council put the question on the ballot with Resolution 30-25, introduced Oct. 6, 2025 and passed Oct. 20, 2025 by a vote of 7-0. source: aacounty.org
- The county budget office's fiscal note says the amendment itself has no direct effect on the budget, but if an arbitrator rules for a union the Council would no longer have the final word on that pay package. source: aacounty.org
Cost: No direct cost from the vote itself, per the county Office of the Budget fiscal note. Later costs are uncertain: an arbitrator could award more than the county's final offer, and the county would then have to cut other parts of the budget to cover it. Source: https://www.aacounty.org/sites/default/files/2025-10/res-30-25-fiscal-note.pdf
Why people want it, and why others object
Why this is on the ballot
- Resolution 30-25 was sponsored by Councilmembers Pickard, Hummer, Rodvien and Smith and passed 7-0 on Oct. 20, 2025. source: aacounty.org
- AFSCME Locals 582 and 2563 urged the Council to put the question on the ballot. AFSCME says public safety unions in the county have had this tool for over twenty years. source: afscmemd.org
Why supporters want it
- Kevin Nethers, president of AFSCME Local 582, spoke strongly in support of the resolution at the County Council. AFSCME says public employees cannot strike, so arbitration gives them a way to settle an impasse. source: afscmemd.org
- Michael Akers, former Local 582 president, said arbitration could have helped in a past dispute in which members "only received half of what they deserved." source: afscmemd.org
Why opponents object
No public statement found.
Who backs each side
- AFSCME Local 582 and Local 2563 backed the resolution. No campaign committee found for either side. source: afscmemd.org
In each side's own words where we could find them, quoted or summarized with a link to the source. We don't endorse either side.
What you will see on your ballot
Official ballot wording, word for word (tap to open)
Word for word from the State Board of Elections' official Anne Arundel ballot: elections.maryland.gov .
Charter Amendment Executive Branch - Merit System - Binding
Arbitration To amend the Anne Arundel County Charter to permit all authorized employee representatives to enter into binding arbitration to resolve labor disputes relating to the terms and conditions of employment. Currently, only authorized employee representatives of uniformed firefighters and uniformed officers of the County Police Department, Sheriff's Department, and Office of Detention Facilities may enter into binding arbitration with the County to resolve labor disputes relating to the terms and conditions of employment. There are several other labor organizations in the County that cannot enter into binding arbitration with the County. A vote FOR the charter amendment would permit all authorized employee representatives to enter into binding arbitration to resolve labor disputes relating to the terms and conditions of employment. A vote AGAINST the charter amendment would retain the current binding arbitration provisions in the County Charter, meaning only authorized employee representatives of uniformed firefighters and uniformed officers of the County Police Department, Sheriff's Department, and Office of Detention Facilities may enter into binding arbitration to resolve labor disputes relating to the terms and conditions of employment.
- For the Charter Amendment
- Against the Charter Amendment
Latest news
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