When Howard Community College professor Alejandro Muzzio returned to his office after teaching Wednesday morning, he noticed a union sign that had been affixed to his office window was gone.

The front-facing poster had been taped to an inside window of his office, meaning someone unlocked his office door with a master key, removed the poster and then relocked the door. None of Muzzio’s non-union-related signs were removed from his office door or windows.

The five-year faculty member, who teaches anthropology, said he called the college’s public safety office to ask about the poster’s removal. He said he was told, “Yes, we removed it, and we will visit your office to discuss this.”

Muzzio was one of several HCC faculty members to complain to lawmakers Wednesday that, hours before they were to testify on a bill to improve transparency at the college, they found their offices had been accessed and union posters removed from the doors, walls and windows.

“I’m a little bit, I guess, disturbed,” state Sen. Clarence Lam told the professor upon hearing his story. “... So you’re saying that there were security officials from the college that were dispatched to a few offices there who proceeded to, I presume, unannounced, that’s right, and then went through your offices?”

The HCC faculty union, along with the American Federation of Teachers, filed an unfair labor practice complaint Thursday afternoon with the National Labor Relations Board, according to Austin Kingston, a union representative.

“It is a violation of concerted activity” by the HCC administration, Kingston said, adding that it was “done expressly to limit union speech on campus.”'

The conflict comes as past and current faculty have complained about retaliatory firings and a toxic work environment under President Daria Willis. Meanwhile, members of a faculty union formed 18 months ago have claimed administrators aren’t negotiating in good faith over a first-ever contract.

A week before the poster incident, union members who’d gathered to demonstrate in the lobby of the campus theater were removed ahead of the annual convocation ceremony. Organizers say they were told the indoor gathering ran afoul of campus rules, which include at least three days’ written authorization from the college president or a designee, so they took it outside.

Of the signs’ removal, Muzzio said HCC “cited a policy prohibiting all signs posted on doors and windows. … However, a campus official clarified that only union-related signs needed to be removed, as directed by administration.”

Muzzio’s sign contained language reflecting the union’s mounting frustration with the college over the pace of contract negotiations. The union has presented 30 proposals to the college for consideration, union representatives say, but the college has offered little in return.

HCC officials disagree.

“The college has repeatedly come to the table to negotiate in good faith with the union and will continue to do so as required by law,” Jarrett Carter Sr., a college spokesperson, said in an email. “That said, the college will also uphold its policies in a non-discriminatory manner as is clearly stated in its own polices and as mandated by federal and state law.”

Carter did not address the posters’ removal.

“We consider distractions with disinformation, including testimony delivered during the hearing, as demonstrative of the union’s unwillingness to negotiate fairly,” he said.

The Baltimore Banner reported in November that about two dozen current and former HCC employees and students described high staff turnover and a toxic culture under Willis that they said negatively affected staff and student services.

Carter said last fall that he believed some of the criticism against Willis was racially motivated. He cited some of the attacks on an anonymous online message board that contains hundreds of posts, many critical of Willis’ management style.

Willis is the first Black woman to lead the college; she recently began her third year in the post.

Despite the ongoing turmoil, Willis has received praise from Gov. Wes Moore and support from Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. The college’s board of trustees also extended her contract, which pays $325,000 a year, through June 2028.

The seven-member board has had its own upheavals in the past year, with three members abruptly resigning without explanation last fall.

The county’s state senators — Lam, Katie Fry Hester and Guy Guzzone — have recommended three replacements, but Moore has yet to act on them.

Lawmakers push for transparency

In November, the senators also announced they would push to expand the board from seven to nine members.

The next month, Willis gave her support to a bill that would expand the board. However, Willis’ administration has walked back that support since the Democratic senators approved amendments that they say would bring transparency.

The amendments would require:

• A public comment period at all trustees meetings
• Video and audio records of all trustees meetings
• Mandatory training for the board by an independent nonprofit every two years
• An annual anonymous employee satisfaction survey, conducted by an independent, nationally recognized firm, with the findings submitted unedited to the board
• New procedures for the renewal of the president’s contract, including transparency in the potential contract renewal process, an opportunity for public comment and the solicitation of public feedback
• Effective July 1, new guardrails for how much the HCC president will be compensated following termination

Carter said in an email that the senators’ amended bill “would undermine” Willis’ and the board’s authority. He added that the legislation stands to “hamper the ability for any college board or executive officer to govern effectively.”

Willis has pushed on, with the support of the current four-member board. The HCC board recently decided to outsource its human resources functions to a consultant.