CONCILIATION Local cases

Here are details from several recent local conciliation cases:
CASE: Boardman Township trustees and firefighters (1997).
ARGUMENTS: Trustees proposed annual raises of 5 percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent and asked firefighters to pay some insurance costs. Firefighters asked for annual raises of 5.5 percent, 5 percent and 5 percent and said they wouldn't pay insurance costs. They argued that they were paid less than police and had agreed to a wage freeze when the township was facing financial difficulties in the past.
RESULT: Conciliator agreed with trustees on the wage issue and the firefighters on the insurance issue.
CASE: Springfield Township trustees and Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (2000).
ARGUMENTS: Police said they were paid less than officers in other local communities and deserved an annual 5 percent raise. Trustees said they do not have as much money as those communities and proposed an annual 3 percent raise.
RESULT: Conciliator awarded police an annual 4.75 percent raise.
CASE: International Association of Fire Fighters Local 283 and the City of Salem (2002).
ARGUMENTS: City officials had proposed annual raises of 3 percent, 3.5 percent and 3.5 percent, which was what other city employees had received. The city also proposed creating a contract provision reducing the minimum number of firefighters required to work a shift if firefighters are laid off. Firefighters argued that staffing levels are a safety issue and shouldn't be reduced, and that they deserved annual raises of 3 percent, 3.5 percent, and 4 percent because until the morning of the conciliation hearing, city officials were offering much smaller raises.
RESULT: Conciliator agreed with the city on the wage issue and the firefighters on the staffing issue.
CASE: City of Campbell and Campbell Professional Firefighters Association (1998).
ARGUMENTS: The city proposed having firefighters work 24-hour shifts to provide better emergency service and offered annual raises of 2.5 percent, 3 percent and 3 percent. City officials said their financial situation was bleak. Firefighters argued that the city wanted to increase the hours they worked while decreasing their hourly wages. They asked for annual raises of 3 percent.
RESULT: Conciliator agreed with the city on both issues.
Source: State Employment Relations Board