Tuesday, December 24, 2002
A union official threatened to file a complaint.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Township trustees failed once again to unanimously recommend a tentative agreement reached last month with Teamsters Local 377, which represents six township employees.
Judy Bayus, the sole trustee to vote against the contract, gave a thumbs-down for a second time. Bayus said trustees were not given adequate time to scrutinize the contract and she was not comfortable recommending its ratification.
Chris Colello, president of Teamsters Local 377, asked Bayus if she would sign the contract in spite of her vote should clerical and roads and zoning department employees vote to ratify the contract.
Bayus said she was not prepared to respond to that question.
Threat of complaint
In response, Colello threatened to file an unfair labor practice complaint with the State Employment Relations Board on Thursday if workers vote to ratify and Bayus fails to sign.
The current contract expires Jan. 1.
"When we negotiated the tentative agreement last month, we asked the trustees if they would recommend it, and all of them said yes," Colello said. "Failure to execute an agreement [should employees vote for it] is against the law," he added. "Unfortunately, I don't live in Canfield. But if I did, I'd be calling for her [Bayus'] resignation."
The tentative agreement was reached Nov. 26.
In other business, trustees voted to rehire the same emergency snow-removal workers and to increase their pay from $11 per hour to $12.50, and to authorize the clerk to transfer up to $15,000 into a contingency fund to pay road-department expenses through the end of the year.
kubik@vindy.com