Law firm used in Mahoning County talks riles unions

By Peter H. Milliken | March 4, 2011 at 12:10a.m.

Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally

YOUNGSTOWN

Leaders of labor unions representing Mahoning County workers bashed a law firm the county has been using to assist in labor negotiations.

Though the union leaders commended the county commissioners for their opposition to Senate Bill 5, they also lamented delays in their negotiations.

They questioned the need for an outside firm, and they complained about the county’s use of the Downes, Fishel, Hass and Kim law firm.

“This is a Republican law firm from Columbus with strong ties to the Kasich campaign and Senate Bill 5,” said John Michaels, president of the 71-member independent labor union at the county sanitary engineer’s office, whose contract expired last March 31.

“This particular law firm has a strategy to put off and string out contract negotiations for as long as they can,” he said at Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting.

“We have had six sessions and still do not have any proposals in writing,” he said, adding that the law firm has cost the county nearly $150,000.

Michaels cited a circular from the firm to its clients urging delay and avoidance of long-term contracts pending the outcome of SB 5.

“If the county commissioners are truly against this Senate Bill 5, we urge you to get rid of this law firm, come to the table and get our contracts done,” Michaels said.

“We don’t respond to opinions and comments that are not related to the representation of the client,” said Atty. Jonathan J. Downes, a partner in the Columbus firm. “A law firm leaves politics at the door when representing a client.”

SB 5, which would restrict public-employee collective bargaining in Ohio, cleared the Ohio Senate by a 17-16 vote Wednesday and now goes to the House of Representatives.

John A. McNally IV, chairman of the county commissioners, told Michaels the county is advertising for a human-resources director “to bring some of these issues back into our office or into the fold of Mahoning County and give some people some better advice on a day-to-day basis.”

Jeannette Droney, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3577, which represents employees of the county’s child-support enforcement agency, also complained of an expired contract for her members, stalled negotiations on a new contract and her inability to schedule bargaining dates with the firm.

Sam Prosser, president of Teamsters Local 377, said his members “stand in solidarity” with other unions representing county workers and understand their frustrations about stalled negotiations.

The Teamsters represent employees in the county’s engineer’s and treasurer’s offices and supervisors at the county’s child-support enforcement agency.

“It’s been our goal to try to arrive at a new contract,” said Bill Coleman, office manager in the sanitary engineer’s office.

Coleman said, however, talks have been delayed by a study of the office’s finances. The department is funded entirely by water- and sewer-user fees and has recently suffered from recession-induced declines in water and sewer use among other things.

Labor talks resume March 15 and 16 in the sanitary engineer’s office, Coleman said.