YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Meeting 45 minutes behind closed doors, more than 160 members of the Youngstown State University chapter of the Ohio Education Association unanimously voted to authorize a strike if an agreement on a new contract cannot be reached with the university.
“We are not confident at all. That's why both parties scheduled fact finding, because we are not confident that we will reach a common position on Oct. 28 [the next scheduled negotiating session],” said Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, chief negotiator for YSU-OEA.
A hearing will be held Nov. 10, after which a fact-finder will have 14 days to prepare a report. Then, the faculty and the administration will have a week to accept or reject the fact-finder's recommendation, said Ron Cole, director of university communications. If the two sides can't come to an agreement, the union is able to give notice of a strike.
In August, the university and YSU-OEA reached a tentative agreement on 30 of the labor contract's 31 articles. Faculty negotiators did not accept only Article 5, which covers health insurance. OEA is looking to keep the current sliding scale of payment for premiums in which faculty members who earn more will pay more “as long as it adds up to 15%,” Palmer-Fernandez said.
The university has suggested a flat 15% premium for all OEA members.
“They're not the same. Tacking on a flat 15% to everybody yields an unconscionable result. A clinical instructor making $41,000 per year will pay, on that plan, an additional $960 dollars in the first year alone. We find this unconscionable,” Palmer-Fernandez said.
He added the current sliding scale works well for members.
“We will look at 15% on the sliding scale. That's what we have now. Why would you want to mess with it? Any faculty, any employee making $60,000 or less will pay for it,” he explained. “[On a flat rate,] the less you make, the more you pay. That's upside down.”
OEA members also issued a resolution of no confidence in the YSU Board of Trustees and administration, citing a failure to “effectively manage the university's finances … interact with faculty in the spirit of collaboration, cooperation and transparency,” and a demonstrative “lack of respect for faculty.”
“Our faculty have been disrespected for a very long time. Our faculty are demoralized and they are tired of giving a lot of concessions and getting nothing. That's what the resolution was about,” said YSU-OEA president Annette Burden.
The university administration is committed to negotiating a new labor contract, Cole said.
“The university administration remains committed to resolving this contract, to providing fair pay and benefits for all of our employees and to doing so in a financially responsible manner that reflects the significant budget constraints that continue to face the university,” Cole said. Hopefully the two sides can reach a settlement “without any disruption to the university's operations and to the education of our students,” he added.
Cole declined to comment on the university's stance on the flat 15% premium, saying, “Those are best left to the bargaining table.”
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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