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Fire union negotiations go to arbitration
(by Sue Reid - March 17, 2010)
Fire union negotiations go to arbitration
By SUE REID
The City of Solon and the International Association of Firefighters Local 2079 will enter arbitration hearings March 24 and 25 at City Hall. The rulings will be binding.
Arbitration, or conciliation, resulted from the rejection by City Council of a fact-finding report in January. Random drug testing, wages, overtime and health care were cited in the report as issues which led to the impasse.
"I'm disappointed it had to go to this length, because I like to get all contracts resolved between the parties, but we will accept and comply with whatever decision is made," Human Resource Director Thomas Cornhoff said last week.
This is the first time since 2000 that negotiations have resulted in conciliation. The city and union have been to fact finding twice before in recent years.
Attorney Margaret Johnson has been selected as the conciliator.
As part of the process, the city and fire union representatives will present which areas they agree or disagree with from the fact-finding report, Mr. Cornhoff said. "Those will be brought forward to the conciliator, who will make a decision on each of those, and that decision is binding." He said the conciliator is usually very specific with the rulings.
According to the fact-finding report, the fire union opposed the drug testing for various reasons, including that random testing in public employment may be unconstitutional. The city maintains there is a need for it to ensure public safety. The fact-finding report recommended a one-time $300 bonus be given to current employees to opt into the random testing policy.
In the area of wages, the union proposed an increase of 3.75 percent for 2010, 2011 and 2012, while the city proposed increases of 1.75 for 2010 and 2011 and 2.25 percent for 2012, according to the report. The fact-finding report recommended increases of 2.5 percent for 2010 and 2011 and 2.75 percent for 2012.
Mr. Cornhoff said that typically, a ruling should be made within a month. Although March 24 and 25 has been set aside, he said, the conciliation could take longer. It is not open to the public. Fact finding lasted several days.
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