Boardman strikes union deal

The union also agreed to reduce its members’ uniform allowance.

ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

BOARDMAN — The 27 township union road department employees have a new three-year contract that includes a wage freeze and higher cost for health care, but Trustee Kathy Miller said she voted no on the deal because it doesn’t cut costs enough.

Twelve of the workers were among the 30 full-time employees laid off last month in response to budget problems.

Trustee Chairwoman Robyn Gallitto said one provision of the contract, however, puts three laid-off mechanics into a new subclassification so that they could come back to work in the near future. The move won’t cost any additional money, Gallitto said, because having the mechanics back will pay for itself.

Gallitto said township officials could meet as soon as Monday to work out the details of bringing the mechanics back. Their absence has been problematic for trustees since the layoffs began because outside companies have had to handle their work at a higher cost.

The cost to have work done at a local car dealership is higher than having in-house workers do it, Gallitto said. One reason is that in some cases the vehicles have to be towed.

“We have vehicles down, sitting there waiting,” she said, noting that the mechanics’ responsibilities include servicing 55 police vehicles. The three mechanics were all among the least senior members of the union, the Township Workers Association, which is why they were among the 12 to get laid off, Gallitto said.

Gallitto and Trustee Larry Moliterno approved the contract Thursday. The union ratified the deal Wednesday, said Road Superintendent Larry Wilson.

The pact’s biggest components are for the wage freeze and for employees to pay an uncapped 10 percent of their health-care costs, Gallitto said.

But it also includes a reduction in the amount of accrued sick time to a maximum of 480 hours, creation of part-time positions for the first time, and a progressive reduction in the amount of money per year for uniform allowance. The allowance drops from $700 to $600 the first year, $500 the second year and $400 the third year.

The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1 this year, when the old pact expired.

Wages for the department’s foreman, inspectors, operators, truck drivers, laborers, mechanics, utility workers and groundskeeper are from $14 to $23.50 per hour, Gallitto said.

Gallitto praised the union members for cooperation in cutting costs in their department. She called the contract a “significant step toward major restructuring” of the agreement with the workers, but she added more restructuring is likely to occur three years from now when it expires.

Miller, however, said a state performance audit made it clear the road department costs the township too much money.

The cost per mile is more than double the average cost of similar townships [including Austintown] because of staffing levels and “generous bargaining unit contracts,” Miller said. The department is overstaffed by 11 employees, she added.

“I appreciate the effort the employees gave to recognizing the need to control future costs. However, one of my goals was to achieve equity in benefit packages for all of our union employees,” she said, adding the road contract does not do that.

She said she does not support returning the three mechanics to their jobs before knowing how much that will cost.

Mark Bestic, president of the workers union, did not return phone calls seeking comment, nor did Jason Loree, township administrator.

runyan@vindy.com