This week, Governor Moore raised wages for union workers at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, he announced a $100 million investment from Northup Grumman in Elkton, and a new grain transloading facility at the Port of Baltimore. The Baltimore Banner also highlighted his efforts to boost Democrats across the state and Delegate Joe Vogel praised him for his action on redistricting.
Gov. Moore Raised Wages For Union Workers At BWI
Maryland’s minimum wage for unionized workers at BWI Marshall Airport will be raised from $17 to $18 per hour, Gov. Wes Moore said Monday.
The new rate will affect roughly 120 employees covered by bargaining agreements between their union and the state, according to the governor, who said his administration will seek emergency legislation to expand wages for hundreds of nonunion staffers as well.
“That work takes skill. It takes experience, and that type of experience is deeply hard to replace,” he said. “If BWI is going to compete, it has to compete for workers too.”
With a wave of purple-wearing members of the Local 32BJ Service Employees International Union behind them, state, transportation and labor leaders spoke Monday in Annapolis about the need to better support BWI’s airport workers: people like security guards, custodians and groundskeepers.
Gov. Moore Announces Moore New Jobs Coming To Maryland
Governor Wes Moore announced nearly 200 new jobs coming to Maryland. Saval Foods is opening a brand new 230,000-Square-Foot Columbia Headquarters which will create 107 new jobs and Founding Farmers will be building their new 17,000 square-foot headquarters in Prince George’s County, bringing 90 new jobs to the region.
Saval Foods has broken ground on a new 230,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution center in Columbia, a project expected to create 107 full-time jobs while retaining the company’s 391 existing employees.
The family-owned foodservice distributor is developing the Columbia Gateway facility in partnership with Howard Hughes Communities. The project will combine Saval’s corporate offices, Saval Foodservice and its 1932 Specialty Produce & Meat division under one roof.
Saval expects the consolidation to improve efficiency, increase collaboration and provide additional capacity for future growth. The company plans to add the new positions over the next four years.
Founding Farmers, the farmer-owned restaurant group known for its Mid-Atlantic restaurants, has moved its headquarters to Maryland and plans to create more than 90 full-time jobs by the end of next year.
Governor Wes Moore announced Tuesday that the company has relocated its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to a 17,000-square-foot facility in District Heights. Founding Farmers purchased the property at 8100 Cryden Way in 2024 to expand its commercial kitchen operations.
The Prince George’s County facility is now fully operational and produces food and beverages for the company’s restaurants, catering business, and events division. Operations include house-roasted coffee, handcrafted chocolates, fresh-baked pastries, and other scratch-made products.
According to the governor’s office, the expansion is expected to create more than 90 full-time positions by the end of 2027.
Founding Farmers employs more than 1,400 people across the Mid-Atlantic and operates eight restaurant locations, a catering company and a distillery. American family farmers, including members of the North Dakota Farmers Union, own a majority stake in the company.
Gov. Moore Announces $100M Investment From Northrop Grumman In Elkton
Northrop Grumman opened a new facility the company says will help support U.S. and allied defense programs.
Governor Wes Moore joined Northrop Grumman leadership for the ribbon cutting at the 57,000 square foot facility in Elkton.
The new Propulsion Innovation Center will house 250 engineers to help with defense.
According to Northrop Grumman, the new building will increase onsite solid rocket motor design and manufacturing capacity by 25% and support over 30% increased staffing.
The center was a part of a $100 million investment by the company.
Gov. Moore Announces New Grain Facility At The Port Of Baltimore To Boost Farm Exports
Maryland farmers now have a more direct path to global markets thanks to a new grain transloading facility at the Port of Baltimore.
The Moore-Miller administration announced the facility Wednesday. The facility spans four acres, includes three grain silos with a combined capacity of 60,000 bushels, and functions as a full-service grain elevator capable of loading more than 200 containers per week.
It supports inbound shipments from both truck and rail and is designed to help farmers export soybeans, corn, wheat, and other grains to Europe, Asia, and South America.
Before the facility opened, there was no direct transloading option at the Port of Baltimore for moving grain from trucks into containers for export. Farmers had to load their products into empty shipping containers at offsite locations, which were then transported to the port.
Under the new system, farm trucks drive directly into the Seagirt terminal and deposit grain onto a conveyor system that moves it into a silo. Ports America Chesapeake then transfers the grain from the silo into containers when it is ready for export.
Gov. Moore Has Put $1.2 Million Into Boosting Democrats Running For Office Across The State
Even though most political observers in Maryland view Gov. Wes Moore’s path to reelection as a cakewalk, the Moore campaign is still raising — and spending — cash like it’s going out of style.
A prolific fundraiser, Moore raked in $1.7 million from June through early August and has $6.5 million in the bank, according to state campaign finance reports. Yet over that same time, his campaign spent $1.7 million, with year-to-date totals of about $3.7 million.
His opponent, Republican Dan Cox, has $136,000 in his campaign account. His campaign has about $148,000 in outstanding obligations, meaning it owes more than it’s got.
A chunk of Moore’s campaign spending is meant to boost Democrats around the state at a time when Republicans are already weak.
Through mailers, rallies, direct transfers to other candidates or fundraisers, Moore’s campaign has funneled at least $1.2 million to Democrats in down-ballot races across the state, records show. Further spending is expected as Moore and the state Democratic Party look to flip a handful Republican-held legislative seats and county-level offices they’ve identified as vulnerable.
Carter Elliott IV, a spokesperson for Moore’s campaign, said the governor is “laser focused on electing commonsense leaders up and down the ballot in Maryland who will help him continue to strengthen Maryland’s economy, continue delivering record drops in crime, and build the best public schools possible.”
Maryland Democrats are targeting nearly a dozen Republican-held seats across the state this November, with Gov. Wes Moore putting his considerable campaign resources behind the effort — a move that could add to their existing supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly and grow their influence in local offices.
Moore has spent, donated or raised $1.2 million to support Democratic state candidates this election cycle, according to his campaign, and has given the maximum $6,000 contribution to Democrats running for some Republican-held seats. Democrats also are fielding a candidate for every General Assembly seat for the first time since 1974.
“We’re going to send a message,” Moore told reporters last week at a campaign event in Pasadena. “[It] is not just if I win, right? Part of the definition of sending a message is making sure we have good candidates all across the state and all across the country who are also successful.”
The event kicked off the statewide “Take Back Tour: Road to Blue,” highlighting candidates running in competitive races in Republican-held districts.
Del. Vogel Praised Gov. Moore For His Action On Redistricting
As a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, I had a front-row seat to the fight over congressional redistricting. I saw the difficult conversations, the setbacks and the moments when it would have been easier to walk away.
But Gov. Wes Moore and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk never did.
Now, after the Supreme Court of Maryland’s decision, the people of our state will have the opportunity to decide the future of congressional redistricting at the ballot box this November.
That is a major victory for Marylanders, and it did not happen by accident.
For more than a year, Moore warned about what was happening across the country. President Donald Trump was pressuring Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional maps in the middle of the decade for one purpose: manufacturing additional Republican seats in Congress.
We understood the stakes because we understood what those additional votes in Washington could mean for Maryland families. These were the same forces working to take away healthcare, cut food assistance, threaten federal jobs and undermine the livelihoods of people across our state.
Moore refused to stand by while other states attempted to change the rules of our democracy.
He also warned that the attacks went deeper. Republicans were threatening the Voting Rights Act and targeting Black political representation. Moore called it “political redlining,” and that description captured exactly what we were watching unfold: politicians using lines on a map to diminish the voices of communities they could not win on the merits.
Moore knew Maryland needed to act, but he also understood that a decision this consequential required a serious process.
He created a bipartisan commission to study congressional redistricting and recommend a path forward. That commission ultimately recommended moving ahead.
Then, Peña-Melnyk went to work.
I was proud to work alongside her and my colleagues in the House of Delegates. She built support, kept our chamber focused on what was at stake and helped move legislation through the House.
Even after the legislation stalled, Moore continued pushing. Peña-Melnyk continued leading. Those of us in the House who believed Marylanders deserved a voice continued making our case.
Eventually, that persistence paid off.
We returned to Annapolis for a special session and passed legislation giving Marylanders the power to decide this for themselves.
That point is important because there has been plenty of political rhetoric surrounding this debate. What we ultimately did was remarkably straightforward: We trusted the voters.
And now, Maryland’s highest court has affirmed that Marylanders can make that choice.
I am proud of the vote I cast. I am proud of the work we did in the House. And I am proud to have stood alongside Moore and Peña-Melnyk throughout this fight.
But this victory does not belong to any one elected official.
It belongs to the people of Maryland.
At a time when politicians elsewhere are trying to consolidate power and weaken the voices of voters, Maryland is putting power directly into voters’ hands.
That is how democracy should work.
There were easier political paths we could have taken over the last year. Moore could have stopped pushing when the legislation stalled. Peña-Melnyk could have decided the obstacles were too great. Members of the House could have moved on to other issues.
Instead, we stayed in the fight because the stakes were bigger than any one election or any one elected official.
This November, Marylanders will have the final word.
As someone who helped fight to get us here, I could not be prouder that the decision about Maryland’s future will ultimately rest exactly where it belongs: with the people we represent.
Contact: Carter Elliott, IV [email protected]