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After SB 5 protests, law firm dumped
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Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally
YOUNGSTOWN
A week after union leaders protested Mahoning County’s use of a Columbus law firm in labor negotiations in its sheriff’s and sanitary engineer’s offices and Department of Job and Family Services, the county commissioners fired the law firm.
On Thursday, the commissioners terminated the services of the law firm of Downes, Fishel, Hass and Kim, effective in 30 days, by passing a resolution rescinding the commissioners’ May 13, 2010, resolution to hire the firm.
Under last year’s resolution, attorney fees were to be $210 per hour for the firm’s partners and $170 per hour for its associates, plus expenses.
“All three commissioners had concerns about the cost of the firm” and “some concerns about SB 5 (Senate Bill 5) and that firm’s involvement in the creation of SB5,” said John A. McNally IV, chairman of the commissioners. “We don’t really see it as an impediment to negotiations moving forward,” McNally said of the dismissal of the firm.
SB 5 would restrict public-employee collective bargaining.
McNally noted that the county is seeking a human resources director to bring personnel and labor-relations issues back into the commissioners’ office. The application deadline for that job is 4:30 p.m. today.
State Sen, Joseph Schiavoni, D-33rd, of Canfield, who opposes SB 5, attended Thursday’s meeting. He blasted a provision of that bill that would place final arbitration of public-employee labor disputes in the hands of county commissioners, city councils and school boards, instead of a neutral third party.
Such a legislative body can’t be a fair final arbitrator of a contract to which it is a party, Schiavoni said. “That’s going to put you in a difficult position,” he told the commissioners.
Last week, leaders of unions representing county workers descended on the commissioners’ meeting to commend the commissioners for their opposition to SB 5, to question the need for an outside firm and to complain about delays in their negotiations.
John Michaels, president of the 71-member independent union at the county sanitary engineer’s office, called the firm a Republican law firm with strong ties to the election campaign of Gov. John Kasich and to SB 5.
Michaels complained that the county has spent nearly $150,000 for the firm’s services and accused the firm of stalling negotiations. The sanitary engineering staff’s union contract expired last March 31, and no management proposals came to the union in writing after six negotiating sessions, he said. Talks resume next week.
Jeannette Droney, president of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3577, which represents employees in the county’s child support enforcement agency, also complained of an expired contract for her members, stalled negotiations and her inability to schedule bargaining dates with the firm.
Atty. Jonathan J. Downes, a partner in the law firm, declined to comment on issues he said were unrelated to representation of the county, but he said his firm “leaves politics at the door” when representing the county.