Salisbury's First Responders Need Your Support - Mayor Moves to Strip Collective Bargaining Rights
Salisbury, Maryland - The men and women who protect the City of Salisbury every day are now fighting to protect something themselves...their right to a fair seat at the table. The Fraternal Order of Police has issued a press release informing the community that Salisbury City Mayor Randy Taylor intends to ask the City Council to dissolve the collective bargaining and binding arbitration process that has served Salisbury's police officers and firefighters.
This is not a minor procedural change. It is a direct move to silence the voices of the city's first responders at a time when their working conditions, salaries, and morale are already under pressure.
FOP President Scott Hamilton represents the Salisbury City Police Department in the collective bargaining process. He has made clear that the FOP is not the obstacle here. The union has remained at the table, willing to negotiate and adjust its proposals to reach a fair agreement.
Yet, to date, the city has not responded with a counteroffer.
Rather than negotiate in good faith, Mayor Taylor is now attempting to use the City Council to end the process entirely. That approach sends a troubling message to the officers and firefighters who put their lives on the line for this community each and every day.
"We remain open and willing to adjust our proposals to reach a balanced agreement; however, as of today, no formal counteroffer has been received. Instead, there is now an effort by the Mayor to use the Council to end the process."
- FOP President Scott Hamilton
What is at stake: Without collective bargaining, Salisbury's police officers and firefighters lose their ability to negotiate competitive salaries, benefits, and working conditions, the very things that determine whether the city can recruit and retain qualified first responders.
The consequences of eliminating this process would be felt across the entire community. Surrounding agencies already offer more competitive pay. If Salisbury Police Officers can no longer negotiate fair compensation, many will simply leave for those opportunities.
The city simply cannot afford to lose more officers. Staffing levels are already strained, and further departures would put public safety at risk.
In fairness, we reached out to Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor and had a conversation through text. The conversation was very cordial and non-confrontational. We have had a good relationship with Mayor Taylor and our conversation was very professional. I understand that he has a job to do and he understands that not every decision he makes, we will agree with.
He confirmed that this item is on Monday's agenda. We were upfront with Mayor Taylor and explained that under no circumstance could we support this decision.
We have been very supportive of Mayor Taylor with a lot that he has done in the city but this absolutely is not one of those decisions.
Eastern Shore Undercover vehemently does NOT support this decision by Mayor Randy Taylor as it will create an absolute disaster within the City of Salisbury. This will be catastrophic to this city, to say the least!
SPD Officers will resign at record numbers to go elsewhere, crime will increase drastically and the only applicants that will apply will be those who either can't get hired elsewhere or are desperate for a job, which you NEVER want in law enforcement.
Mayor Taylor expressed to me that he believes that crime is down in Salisbury however I find that very hard to believe. I am well aware of several major incidents that have happened recently. I'm aware that there is still an open murder case involving a 10-year old, someone got stabbed at Longhorn Steakhouse today, I could go on and on but fact is, crime is NOT down, not even slightly.
As a citizen you may not hear about the crime in Salisbury because of the encryption and because Eastern Shore Undercover does not have the greatest relationship with Salisbury City Police Department (being upfront and honest) and I have a very hard time gathering info from them to post, but don't be mistaken, crime is not down!
Ask a Salisbury City Police Officer if crime is down and you will get your answer!
Wicomico County State's Attorney Jamie Dykes has also raised the alarm recently about this same topic. In a recent letter, she expressed serious concern about the growing gap between what is demanded of law enforcement officers and what the governments are willing to provide in return. That gap will only widen if collective bargaining is taken away.
The City Council has the power to stop this. They can reject Mayor Taylor's request and stand with Salisbury's first responders. But they need to hear from you.
Monday, April 13, 2026 · 6:00 PM - Salisbury City Council Meeting
Attend the City Council meeting and urge your council members to oppose any effort to dissolve collective bargaining and binding arbitration. Support continued good-faith negotiations for Salisbury's police officers and firefighters.
Your presence makes a difference. Salisbury's first responders have never stopped showing up for this community and now it is this community's turn to show up for them.
