Summit County Council has called a special meeting on Monday to decide whether to give raises to county service and maintenance workers in the engineer’s office.
The county council will vote on whether to accept or reject a fact finder’s report that is recommending no wage increase this year for 55 employees in the engineer’s office and a 1.5 percent increase starting April 1, 2014.
The service workers who hold a variety of jobs in the department are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Ohio Council 8 & Local 1032.
The only stalemate issue submitted to the fact finder in the union contract negotiations was wages. The parties had agreed to a wage re-opener for the second half of 2013 and in 2014, the third year, of the agreement.
The engineer’s office called for no increase this year and a 1.5 percent raise in 2015. It recommended the bargaining unit accept the pattern in bargaining with all the unions in the county.
The union asked for a 4 percent increase beginning April 1, 2013 and a wage re-opener in the third year of the agreement pointing out that some 14 non-union workers in the engineer’s office will receive a 2.5 percent increase. The union contends the engineer’s budget is in better financial shape than the county general fund.
The fact finder’s report states the non-union 14 employees receiving the 2.5 percent raise had no increase in pay since 2008 so it was not comparing “apples to apples.”
The union workers in the engineer’s office are the last to negotiate with the county.
County council had to call a special meeting because it must vote within seven days of the release of the fact finder’s report.
The invoice for the arbitrator/mediator fact finder’s report is $1,979.70. The engineer’s office and union will split the cost.
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.