Maryland Association of Correctional & Security Employees
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The Maryland Association of Correctional & Security Employees (MACSE) is a Maryland corrections officer labor union, and works to represent its members on a number of issues.
Disciplinary matters such as terminations, suspensions, rejection on probation and demotions are fought by members both individually and collectively by the union's membership. Grievances are also filed about evaluations, shift changes, lack of promotions and transfers.
[edit] Maryland security employees
The State of Maryland has more than 10,000 employees assigned to work in the area of prisons and jails. Most of these employees are involved in security and protection matters. These employees face many dangers and are frequently injured and threatened by inmates.
Management of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services seldom provides training, adequate equipment and salaries. Most of these changes presented by MACSE have not been officially denied by The Department's management.
Recently two corrections officers have been killed in the line of duty.
[edit] Contrast with AFSCME
MACSE differs from other labor unions. The union has one staff person and is run day to day by rank & file correctional officers. MACSE was formed as a reaction to the indifference of their issues and concerns by another labor union, AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. AFSCME is a national union which represents many other employee groups other than corrections employees. Many corrections employee labor unions have left AFL-CIO national unions such as AFSCME and the Teamsters because of lack of aggressive representation of their issues and concerns.
Many independent labor unions for correctional employees have formed and left national unions in the past decade. New state-wide unions in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and California have been formed by rank & file union members. The California labor union CCPOA is considered the strongest and most powerful labor union in the state.
Many correctional unions are represented nationally by Corrections USA.
[edit] MACSE Activities
MACSE trains its members as well as sponsoring rallies on such matters as staffing and security issues.
