Dear TABCO Members,

You may have heard about our second day of bargaining,  but I want to recap it again for you.

In short, BCPS wants to cut our planning time and add to our workload.

Further, Through After two days of bargaining BCPS does not seem to be taking these negotiations seriously. Yesterday, during our second bargaining session, BCPS showed up without counterproposals, and cut short the session due to a scheduling conflict that we could have planned around.

We’ve proposed multiple workload-reducing measures because workload and time are at the heart of our campaign. We are fighting to protect the time we need to do our jobs well, and our team made this clear from the very beginning. At the first session, however, BCPS brought proposals to increase workload. Further, in our first bargaining session they proposed cutting our planning time. Every educator in Baltimore County knows that planning time is not extra. It's the time we use to prepare the lessons our students depend on, as well as all of the other tasks that come with being an educator. Every educator in Baltimore County also knows that workload increases are the wrong way to go.

We also have many proposed contract changes that speak to our dignity at work. Yesterday we discussed due process protections that would mandate that educators know what they are being accused of from the beginning of an investigation. We believe that protecting educators' rights protects everyone in our schools, including our students. On due process, BCPS said our proposals would get in the way of their investigations; and they would not acknowledge our concerns.

These actions and proposals from BCPS have left us with a clear impression that BCPS is not taking bargaining seriously.

We are asking you to write a letter to the school board about Time and Dignity, about your workload, and asking them to use their leadership to encourage BCPS to make meaningful movement towards us at the bargaining table.

In Solidarity,

Kelly