YOUNGSTOWN City teachers OK tentative pact

The board will consider the agreement Tuesday.
YOUNGSTOWN -- City schoolteachers belonging to the Youngstown Education Association have ratified a three-year contract featuring 4-percent annual pay increases.
Teachers approved the tentative agreement Tuesday evening by a majority voice vote, with only a handful voting against it, said Sherri Morgan, the union's immediate past president.
Will Bagnola, president of the 820-member YEA, called the majority in favor "overwhelming."
Under the agreement, effective July 1, teachers will not have to contribute toward their health-care premiums, Morgan said.
Union president's view
"It's a very good agreement for the teachers. I think the board's satisfied with it, and the whole process was done very professionally. Both sides worked very hard to come to the agreement," said Bagnola, who would not discuss terms of the agreement..
Superintendent Benjamin McGee said the board will consider ratification of the pact at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"I think it's a fair contract. It provides the district with some things it needs. I think it's fair to the bargaining unit members," said McGee, who declined to elaborate on details of the contract.
In February, the board approved contracts with its nonteaching employees represented by crafts unions and AFSCME, giving them raises of 5 percent, 4 percent and 4 percent, respectively, in each of the next three years. Those workers are not making contributions toward their health-care premiums.