Union objects to changes in contract

The union said the package terms aren't the same as found in their tentative agreement.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State University Board of Trustees ratified a three-year contract with the university's classified employees union, but union officials said there's a problem with the pact.
The university unilaterally has altered some of the terms of the early-retirement incentive package negotiated as part of the contract, said Christine Domhoff, president of YSU's 400-member Association of Classified Employees union.
The trustees, meeting in special session Friday, ratified the contract but indicated the specific terms of the early-retirement package won't be voted on until the Oct. 4 trustees' meeting.
The trustee board's Finance and Facilities and Internal Affairs committees, which met just before the trustee meeting, voted to endorse a draft version of the early-retirement package that Domhoff said wasn't approved by the ACE membership.
Just before the vote, she addressed the committees, warning that the draft document wasn't agreed to and totally changes the contract agreement.
The committees made the endorsement anyway, and the full board is set to ratify it Oct. 4.
ACE members went on strike Aug. 16 but reached a tentative pact Aug. 29.
They went back to work and formally ratified the agreement Sept. 7.
The early-retirement deal is an important issue for employees, Domhoff said, adding that trustee approval of a version other than the one contained in the tentative agreement signed by both sides would constitute an unfair-labor practice.
What's planned
John Habat, YSU vice president for administration, said the administration has asked for a meeting with ACE representatives Monday.
"We believe we will be able to resolve these issues," he said.
Domhoff said the union will meet, but it won't renegotiate the tentative agreement.
The early-retirement package is part of the ACE contract, but the board of trustees must adopt a specific plan to implement the program, and the plan must be approved by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.
The committees' vote directed the draft plan be submitted to OPERS and ACE, he said.
Domhoff said the union has problems with what it sees as unilateral changes in some of the early-retirement terms, specifically citing changes in how much unused sick leave employees will be paid for, a clause stipulating that an early retiree won't be allowed to return to work at YSU, and a requirement that a retirement date be mutually acceptable to the retiree and the university.
The latter two issues aren't in the tentative agreement, she said.
Habat said the university realizes this is an important benefit and wants every eligible employee interested in taking early retirement to do so. The university, however, must be able to maintain its basic services during those retirements, he said, noting that more than 30 percent of the ACE union is eligible.
What's in package
The early-retirement incentive package will be available only from March 1, 2006, until Dec. 31, 2007.
It provides that the university pay the cost (as determined by OPERS) of up to two years of service for eligible retirees, allowing them to retire two years early or get a larger pension.
Habat told the committees that as many as 131 ACE members are eligible for the program, and, should they all retire during the window of opportunity, the cost to YSU will amount to $6.12 million over the next three years.
By replacing veteran employees with entry-level workers and implementing some department restructuring, however, the university also will save $5.96 million over that same period, he said.
By 2009, the university should be realizing a permanent base annual savings of $2.7 million, he said.
Domhoff questioned the figures, contending that state law requires that the early-retirement package be offered to all YSU employees who contribute to the OPERS system, not just ACE members.
That could bump the number of eligible retirees in excess of 200, she said.
Habat said the university is willing to talk to other unions about the early-retirement package as they bring it up.
In addition to the early-retirement incentive, the ACE contract provides annual raises of 3 percent, 3 percent and 3.5 percent, requires employees to begin paying part of their health-care costs Aug. 15, 2006, and provides a lower pay scale for newly hired employees.
The university has said the contract will cost about $2.15 million in additional money over the next three years.
gwin@vindy.com