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Union at Metro Rejects State Report

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Jul. 12--The union representing Metro Regional Transit Authority mechanics and other workers has rejected a state report that recommends a freeze in wages and additional outsourcing of work.

Metro employs 42 people who belong to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The company has not received a strike notice from the union, Metro Executive Director Robert K. Pfaff said Monday.

The State Employment Relations Board issued its fact-finding report Wednesday, and the union voted Sunday to reject it, according to Metro officials.

A union representative could not be reached for comment Monday.

The union's contract with Metro expired Jan. 31, 2004. Negotiations continued through spring 2005, and two fact-finding hearings were held over wages, the dates of the contract, health care, outsourcing and other issues, the report says.

Metro's board will review the report at a special meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

In 1983, the Transport Workers Union, which covers drivers and other employees, struck for 37 days, causing Metro to halt service, Pfaff said.

It is unclear what would happen if the Machinists went on strike, he said. The drivers' current contract, approved in March, does not permit the 240 workers to walk out in support of another union, Pfaff said. The contract is expected to save Metro $360,000 in the first year through wage freezes and having workers pay more for health care.

The fact-finder's report says the Machinists want 3 percent raises in each year of the three-year contract, while Metro wants a 3 percent wage cut.

The top hourly rate for Metro's union machinists is $22.01 per hour, while the top rate for its union drivers is $19.97, said Molly K. Becker, Metro's director of marketing and communications.

Additionally, the Machinists seek a wage hike if Metro collects more from its local funding -- a 0.25 percent county sales tax that generated $17.5 million in 2004, a 4.5 percent increase from 2003. The fact-finder recommends giving Machinists 17 cents more per hour when fiscal year collections are up.

Pfaff said Metro is trying to hold down costs, and that its proposals would result in a small saving.

Fuel and insurance costs have doubled for transit systems, even as funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation has again been reduced, Pfaff said in a letter sent to state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, during the 2005 state budget debate. Metro has cut routes, raised fares and eliminated 50 jobs over the past four years, he added.

The union opposes any contract changes that would allow further outsourcing, the fact-finder says.

Metro wants to hire outsiders for snowplowing, bodywork and bus painting.

It also wants to have buses towed without a mechanic escort and to increase the amount of transmission and engine work done by outside shops.

The fact-finder recommends the changes as long as at least 38 mechanics and building maintenance workers are in the union and none are on layoff.

The union proposes eliminating employee contributions to health-care insurance, the fact-finding report says. The union workers pay about $20 per month, an amount the report supports keeping, while Metro would lift the cap on employee contributions.

The fact-finder says the union has a well-managed health and welfare fund that costs Metro less than what it offers other employees.

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Source: Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

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