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City, sewage plant union finalize agreement
(by Sue Reid - May 18, 2011)
City, sewage plant union finalize agreement
By SUE REID
Solon City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Monday amending the Teamsters Local 436 collective bargaining agreement, which in turn resulted in no layoffs at the sewage treatment plant.
Mayor Susan A. Drucker called it a "great step" for the city.
"This is a fine example of how the city and union can come together for the betterment of our community," she said.
Two areas of the plant's operations remained in negotiations after the city sought bids for outsourcing in an effort to cut cost.
Based on that agreement, Mrs. Drucker's administration recommended rejecting the bids associated with the outsourcing of the two remaining areas, lift station maintenance and waste-water sample analysis, which could have resulted in the loss of up to four full-time jobs.
Instead, with the intent of precluding layoffs and saving money, Mrs. Drucker and the city's negotiating team reached an agreement with the union on seven conditions which will result in a net annual savings of nearly $350,000.
For one, the city is offering a $10,000 retirement incentive for employees in the bargaining unit who are eligible to retire this year. Human Resource Director Thomas Cornhoff said three employees have agreed to that. Three layoffs have been offset by those retirements, according to the agreement, and a savings of approximately $297,000 resulted.
"That was the most significant impact without question," Mr. Cornhoff said. He noted that those three employees had not indicated they would retire, although they were eligible.
"In my opinion, there would definitely not have been three retirements without the incentive," he said. The savings are composed of those employee salaries, benefits and employers contribution to the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System.
Additionally, the city agreed to include a post-retirement health care plan in the current collective bargaining agreement. The current commercial driver's license bonus remains available to bargaining unit members, but an equity adjustment shall be made from each member's pay in the amount of 25 cents an hour on Feb. 1, 2012.
The city and union agree to remove last chance agreements, which are usually due to a disciplinary matter. "We have two employees who are on last chance agreements, and those agreements are over 2 years old and will be removed," Mr. Cornhoff said.
Another condition is that the administration and City Council reserve the management right to contract out or transfer work. However, they committed to no further layoffs in the laboratory up to Dec. 31, 2012.
Also, the union agrees to not to file grievance, arbitration, litigation or unfair labor practice, including sludge hauling, and to withdraw all pending grievance, arbitration, litigation or unfair labor practice issues or initiative petitions regarding the settlement.
Finally, the director of the treatment plant commits to presenting his reorganization plan in outline form to the bargaining members and to have discussion regarding the plan with members of the bargaining unit at a regular labor management meeting. This plan includes the laboratory being reduced to one full-time employee and the lift station duties being reduced to one full-time employee.
"The administration is thankful for the cooperation of the Teamsters and all of the employees in the water reclamation department," Mr. Cornhoff said. "We're grateful for their effort and cooperation."
Councilman Richard A. Bell also thanked all involved in the negotiations, as well as the plant's employees "I'm glad to see we could come to a successful resolution," he said.
"It seems like everyone is headed in the same direction together," Joseph W. Koelliker, a union steward and lab analyst at the plant, said following the meeting. "We've all come to an agreement to get to a common goal.
"Not having anyone laid off is a big thing," he said.
Mr. Cornhoff said Mr. Koelliker was "invaluable" in his opinion in getting the issue resolved.
"It was a true team effort on both sides," Mr. Cornhoff said. "It just shows what can happen when a bargaining unit and an administration both give in on certain issues. In this case it resulted in saving jobs while at the same time reducing costs at the plant. It's a win-win situation."
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