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Owens, Faculty Agree on New 3-Year Contract

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By Kim Bates, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Dec. 14--A year after members of the Owens Faculty Association threatened to strike but later agreed to a one-year contract extension, the union and Owens Community College reached a new three-year contract yesterday.

The pact, which replaces a contract set to expire in February, calls for 4 percent raises annually for the more than 200 faculty members. Employees, in turn, will be asked to pay a total of $1,200 annually toward their health coverage - the first such contribution in the union's history.

Angela Ondrus, president of the union, said 98 percent of those members who cast a vote agreed to ratify the contract, which she described as fair and equitable. The college's board of trustees unanimously approved the contract.

After a strike was feared last year, the faculty union and administration ultimately agreed last December to a contract extension that called for employee raises of 5 percent retroactive to February, 2004, and a raise of 4 percent in February of this year.

In addition to the health and pay changes in the new pact, Gene Lapko, vice president of human resources at Owens, said the agreement calls for the creation of a mutual interest forum to field employees' concerns on an ongoing basis. The purpose is to help avoid issues before they rise to a grievance level.

Last month, college leaders approved a three-year contract with members of its support staff bargaining unit. It included raises of 3 percent annually for the 82 members.

Mr. Lapko said the college is still negotiating a contract with the Owens Federation of Safety and Security Employees. The current pact expires this month.

Meanwhile at the University of Toledo, members of the American Association of University Professors yesterday joined another union on campus in agreeing to a strike authorization. Of those voting, 80 percent said they favored the authorization, Harvey Wolff, the union's president, said.

That vote stems from ongoing talks for new health-care packages for the three unions at UT, all of which have financial contracts in place but who bargain together for health care. The Communication Workers of America, Local 4319, passed the same strike authorization last week.

The two unions' votes do not mean a strike is imminent, and the unions would be required to give a 10-day notice before striking.

Jim Sciarini, associate vice president of human resources at UT, said yesterday that talks are continuing and there's no time line for cutting off discussions. The parties are expected to meet on Friday to continue their talks on health care.

The largest sticking point pertains to a proposal to force employees' spouses in certain cases to seek insurance from other sources.

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Source: The Blade

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