Hogan Begins Reopening of Maryland
(not massage)
and Senate Hearings On Unemployment
Thursday, May 14, 2020

Hi Everyone,

We will have a broader update of all things AMTA-MD later this week, that will include details from our Annual Meeting and Elections.

Below we have updates from Tuesday's Senate Hearing, Wednesday's House Briefing and Governor Hogan's Executive Order from yesterday evening.

Short story - massage remains closed.

Best wishes,

Amelia
Board Member and Government Relations Chair
for
your AMTA-Maryland Chapter Board
Stage One Reopening in Maryland
Yesterday afternoon Governor Hogan held a press conference to share his new Executive Order that begins stage one of reopening.

There are many sources for other details, we will focus on the order section IV.G.i which states that Massage is to remain closed.


A lot of people are upset about the wording - it is old government language that is very outdated however it remains in statute and not liking it doesn't change it, or mean we can go back to work.

AMTA-MD will look into all that would need to be done to expunge these words in Maryland. Sadly, it is also used on the Federal level. We are developing our agenda for the 2021 legislative season and will keep you posted. When we begin the process your input, letters and calls will be very helpful. At this time we are not overburdening our legislative contacts with this, they have a pandemic on their hands.

All that being said, we are not included in phase one of reopening. We are requesting clarification on what phase massage falls under as it is unclear. As we know more, we will be sure to inform our members.
Senate Unemployment Hearing Tuesday 5/12
For today we wanted to send a quick update about Tuesday's Maryland Senate Hearing and all the testimony they heard about how challenging the Unemployment system has been for so many of us.

Amelia was able to provide testimony and we are all so appreciative of your support and interest. A few other MTs who were also able to testify.

Here is a link to the whole hearing - over 250 people testified and it went over nine hours. If you move to 1:25:25 or so you will find Amelia's testimony:

As many of you have seen, Amelia has contacted her local representatives, Senator Sarah Elfreth and Delegate Shanika Brown throughout the pandemic asking for guidance for AMTA members. You are always encouraged to contact your State Representatives share your experience and challenges - here is a link to that: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District


A written version of yesterday's testimony is included below:

Thank you,

My name is Amelia Mitchell, I’m a licensed massage therapist,
representing the American Massage Therapy Association, Maryland Chapter.

There are over 4000 licensed and registered therapists in Maryland. Thousands of us are sole proprietors or 1099 contractors. The Beacon Unemployment failure impacts us disproportionately.

Please help, you can access what is happening, while we only get the multiple hang ups, unanswered emails, hours on hold, and tutorials that imply user error is the problem. For most there are no debit cards in sight.

I have received dozens of messages filled with frustration and dismay. People spending all day every day trying to complete applications, understand denials. There has to be a way to get people access to help. Not tutorials, actual help from a human.

Phone appointments, call back arrangements, a real queue, resources - staff training.
Many of us are without income for almost two months. People are suffering. On average this group earns less than $26,000 a year.

and sadly, the financial impacts will not be short term for massage therapists. We simply can’t go back to work and socially distance.

OSHA lists the profession as medium to high risk, requiring significant changes in how we practice with increased expenses and reduced income.

In order to protect the health of the public, society must support those who cannot safely return to work in the near term. For massage therapists in particular, the next six months are financially precarious and we need relief.

The first step to that is to get Beacon functioning.

Thank you.

~Amelia Mitchell
Wednesday's Labor Department Briefing
After the hearing on Tuesday in the Senate, the Labor Department gave a committee briefing to the House of Delegates on the current situation in the Unemployment Division. Full video is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y03kpXkKUaE

There is so much to talk about, however there is one detail that I will suggest adding to your collection of tools. Contact your Maryland Senator and Delegates - let them know what is happening and ask them to advocate on your behalf.

The Labor Department agreed to keep our representatives apprised of issues with their constituents. This sure won't fix it, however it may get your case attention sooner than the next.

And as always, please keep us posted on how you are doing, we have heard a number of people who were able to apply after 4//24 are making progress through the system.