“As we approach Labor Day, TAAAC joins in solidarity with UFCW 1994 bus drivers and attendants in their fight for better wages and the equitable, affordable, high-quality healthcare they deserve. As the union representing Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ certificated educators, we know that our bus drivers are vital to our students’ success. Returning to school after the pandemic made clear the importance of having a fully staffed transportation department to ensure that all routes can run, that buses are not overcrowded, and that students can get to school on time.
“Your employees who are critical to students’ ability to access their right to a public education deserve respect, living wages, and good benefits. As school system employees, we have worked to protect and maintain our own high-quality health care. Your transportation workers who serve the same students that we do should have the same; however, your company has created a two-tiered health care structure that denies bus drivers and attendants access to the better and affordable health care plans that the rest of your employees enjoy. This is unjust and cannot stand.
“When your bus drivers and attendants participated in a work action in 2021, they successfully won safety measures that protected them on the job. Not only that, but these improvements allowed STA to enhance recruitment and retention of staff which positively benefited the entire Anne Arundel County Public Schools community by ensuring that our students could safely and reliably get to and from school. UFCW members and their advocacy, then and now, make clear how essential bus drivers are to our school communities.
“We urge you to go back to the bargaining table to take immediate action to ensure a settlement is reached in good faith so that your transportation employees can head into this Labor Day weekend, knowing that their work is valued and they have the wages and benefits to sustain themselves and their families.”
Sincerely,
Kristina Korona, President
Jorge Córdoba, Vice President
Diane Barnes, Secretary-Treasurer
Board of Directors: Charis Cephas, Maria Côté, Dyana Cronin, Maryalice Davis, Will Johnson, Christopher Lerch, Melissa McHarg, Elizabeth Ruddy, Keanuú Smith-Brown, and Karina Zotti
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