Police union files charge of unfair-labor practice

A sick leave retirement buyback provision is at issue.
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, which represents the Boardman police patrol officers union, has filed an unfair-labor practice charge against Boardman pertaining to a three-year contract for the union.
The charge was filed last week with the State Employment Relations Board. It contends that the township has refused to execute the contract.
At issue is a provision of the pact approved in March that deals with sick leave retirement buyback for the union members.
Township officials have said that the provision negotiated was to mirror that in the contracts of other township employees.
Those contracts allow employees who retire with three years' notice to the township to buy back 60 percent of the remaining 50 percent of their accumulated sick time. With two years' notice, the rate is 40 percent of the 50 percent accumulated sick time; and with one-year's notice, it's 20 percent of the 50 percent accumulated sick time.
What happened
But when the tentative agreement was written, the 50 percent wasn't included, so that the provision reads that the patrol union members can buy back 60 percent, 40 percent or 20 percent of their remaining accumulated sick time depending on the notice given to the township.
Township officials have called it a typographical error.
But union officials said the union approved the pact with the language as is.
Members approved the pact in March by a 22-20 vote.
The three-year contract, which was to run from Jan. 1 of this year through Dec. 31, 2008, also called for 4 percent raises each year. Union members also were to contribute toward hospitalization costs, with 5 percent co-payments this year and 7.5 percent and 10 percent in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
The new contract also was to add 1 percent in the newly created senior patrol officers steps. Those steps start with 10 years and go up in five-year increments to 25 years on the job. The 1 percent is added for each step.