Thursday, October 23, 2014
By ROBERT CONNELLY
CANFIELD
Canfield Township officials continue to negotiate a contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 377 after it expired nearly a year-and-a-half ago.
Trustees Marie Cartwright and Stephen Maszczak both have commented over the past few months on the fact that there is no current contract.
During fiscal officer Carmen Heasley’s expense report this month, both trustees were surprised by the amounts that the health- care coverage had increased, even more than what the Teamsters have been asking for.
Cartwright explained that the township is being asked to pay between $229 and $238 per week per employee versus what they are negotiating, $220.
“The amount that is in the proposed contract that we are currently trying to negotiate is not the amount that we are now being asked to pay, and it is exceedingly more,” she remarked.
According to the previous contract between the township and Teamsters, which ran from May 1, 2010, to April 30, 2013, the township contributed $182 per week per employee to the Teamsters’ Health and Welfare Fund.
That amount would fluctuate on a semi-annual basis on Sept. 1 and March 1. Heasley said this latest increase began Sept. 1.
“So Carmen is now asking us to go ahead and pay for something that we haven’t negotiated yet,” Cartwright said of approving expenditures at the Oct. 14 trustee meeting.
However, Heasley noted, “When negotiations complete and there is a discrepancy in the amounts, the employee will have to pay it, and it would have to be paid before the year is out.”
She continued, “That’s going to be an issue — but we can’t stop making payments on it because if their health care is canceled, we can be open for liability.”
Greg Shadle, vice president of Teamsters 377, said it does not comment on ongoing contract negotiations, but said “hopefully, we are close to finishing up.”
The township also has received results of a fact-finding report. Cartwright said township officials will go into executive session during a scheduled budget discussion Wednesday to discuss the negotiations.
“I think we will know for sure [where the negotiations are] following our meeting next Wednesday,” she said.
There are six employees listed in the previous Teamsters’ contract for the township – assistant public works maintenance foreman, public-works maintenance worker, zoning inspector, deputy zoning inspector, clerical specialist and operations support specialist.
The entry-level, full-time salaries, according to the previous agreement that expired April 30, 2013, are: $43,952, assistant public-works maintenance foreman; $30,154, public-works maintenance worker; $35,104, zoning inspector; $26,485, deputy zoning inspector; $20,091, operations support specialist; and $29,091, clerical specialist.