Road department, trustees reach contract agreement

The workers also will get longevity and hazardous-duty pay.
NEW SPRINGFIELD -- After more than a year of negotiations, the two-man Springfield Township Road Department and the township finally have a contract.
Trustees approved the pact Wednesday with the workers, who are with Teamsters Local 377. Trustees Gerald Guterba and James Holleran voted in favor, and Trustee Robert Orr abstained. Orr would not say why he abstained. The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2006.
Guterba said the three-year contract provides raises of 6 percent, 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
The hourly rates for the road superintendent will be 19.88 for 2006, 20.48 for this year, and 21.30 in 2008. The assistant superintendent hourly rates will be 17.74, 18.27, and 19.
Contract wage rates were higher than the recommendation of the fact finder, who suggested that the superintendent receive 19.55, 20.14 and 20.74 and the assistant 17.38, 17.90 and 18.44 over the three years.
The fact finder, James E. Rimmel of Canfield, had reviewed wages of similar workers in surrounding communities as well as economic conditions in the area in making his recommendation.
Other provisions
The workers also received annual longevity pay, which ranges from 200 for five to nine years of service to 650 for 20 or more years, and hazardous-duty pay. The pact also provides vacation ranging from one week after one year to six weeks after 28 years and an increased clothing allowance.
Guterba said the road department gave up one holiday, and the contract contains a no-strike clause.
Road Superintendent Richard Kennedy and Eric Mace, the assistant, have been with the township 24 and 22 years, respectively. The two-man department was recognized as a Teamsters bargaining unit in January 2006 after fighting for union recognition for more than three years.
The negotiations had reached an impasse and were turned over to Rimmel late last year. He issued his report Jan. 16. The report was accepted by trustees, but rejected by Kennedy and Mace. Trustees then authorized Guterba to work out unresolved issues with the workers.