By Adam Pagnucco.
Earlier this morning, I printed a press release by UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO alleging that the Sheriff’s Office had violated the Maryland Public Information Act along with claims of mismanagement and creating a toxic workplace. The union has been criticizing Sheriff Max Uy for months and has targeted him for defeat in next year’s election. Soon after I received MCGEO’s allegations, I asked for a response from the Sheriff’s Office.
This is Sheriff Max Uy’s reply to MCGEO.
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SHERIFF MAXWELL C. UY
PRESS RELEASE
(December 18, 2025) Today, the UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO (“MCGEO”), the collective bargaining representative for certain deputies and civilian employees in the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (“MCSO”), continues its trite political smear campaign against the MCSO and Sheriff Uy with another press release filled with innuendo, false allegations and misinformation. More of the same. For the most part, the press release merely repeats the same baseless allegations it has used in its failed September press conference.
MCGEO’s campaign is nothing more than a calculated scheme to advance the candidacy of the former Union President from the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office (PGCSO) who seeks to lead the MCSO after abruptly leaving the PGCSO in January 2025 less than two years after his appointment as Chief Assistant Sheriff. These efforts are simply a continuing pattern by MCGEO to create a favorable political landscape for their hand-picked “union” candidate for Sheriff.
If MCGEO’s claims had any basis, MCGEO would be able to point to facts – not vague and anonymous charges of “fear, retaliation and dysfunction.” For example, if retaliation against employees were occurring, where are MCGEO’s charges of discrimination or grievances/arbitrations challenging such conduct? There are none. In fact, there hasn’t been a single grievance advanced to arbitration or a single charge of discrimination filed during Sheriff Uy’s more than three (3) years as Sheriff. The truth is that employees are not leaving in droves, employees do not fear retaliation, and there is no dysfunction. Instead, retirement patterns and attrition have followed predictable levels for the past 3 years. What has changed has been the difficulty of recruiting in the law enforcement realm generally. Most every law enforcement agency of any significant size has experienced these challenges – including both MCPD and other Sheriffs’ offices in Maryland. Nevertheless, owing to Sheriff Uy’s relentless recruitment efforts, the MCSO anticipates that its current vacancy rate will shrink from more than 20% down to 5% by the end of January. The only reason MCGEO finds these recruitment challenges “unconvincing” is that it does not specialize in representing law enforcement personnel.
With regard to its Child Support Enforcement Section (CSES), the MCSO recently downsized its staffing in that section by two (2) deputies because the workload did not warrant the existing staffing level. The downsizing had nothing to do with the Child Support Administration’s (CSA) review of the cooperative reimbursement agreement that MCSO maintains with CSA and that funds a portion of the personnel costs there. MCSO has been fully cooperative with CSA and CSA was well aware and, in fact, approved the part-time use of CSES deputies in other sections. In addition, MCSO has already timely provided a partial response to the Union’s information request and is preparing additional documents for release. At no time has it violated any disclosure laws. Moreover, the CSES deputies about whom MCGEO suggests retaliation, actually voluntarily transferred from CSES. Again, more disinformation by MCGEO.
Finally, MCGEO’s efforts to raise the specter of “public safety consequences” is another sham allegation. MCSO’s historical data confirms that MCSO’s warrant service rates have remained stable for at least the past ten (10) years and it continues to prioritize critical warrants and maintain its participation with the Capital Area Regional Task Force (CARTF) with the U.S. Marshall’s Service that apprehends the region’s most dangerous and violent felons. While Sheriff Uy continues to promote a positive and safe work environment in the MCSO, the law enforcement needs of County residents remain his top priority.