By Mike Sever
Record-Courier staff writer
Union employees at the Portage County recycling center in Brimfield have authorized a strike, but have not yet set a date.
"At this point we're contemplating strike action against the employer," said David Richards, vice president for Teamsters Local 24, headquartered in Akron.
"I don't know if we've going to be able to avoid a strike," he said. A committee was to meet Tuesday afternoon to decide whether to set a strike date, Richards said.
The three-year pact expired Oct. 31. Commissioners rejected the fact-finders report on March 13.
Bill Steiner, director of the waste management district, said the district has a contingency plan to continue curbside and drop-off collections.
"We would not process materials here. We'd stockpile it or have it hauled to another facility," Steiner said.
The union represents some 30 to 35 material processors, equipment operators, drivers and mechanics at the recycling center on Mogadore Road. The center not only sorts recyclables picked up throughout the county on curbside routes, but also materials that are brought in from 16 drop-off locations in the townships.
The union local authorized a strike last week after county commissioners, who also sit as commissioners of the Portage County Solid Waste Management District, rejected a fact-finder's report on a new three-year contract over health care language.
The report gave workers a cap on health insurance premiums. The fact-finder recommended that the premium share not exceed the current 8.7 percent in the first year of the contract, not exceed 9 percent in the second year and not exceed 10 percent in the third year.
"The employer wants language that would allow them to change benefit levels and employee contribution portions at will," Richards said.
"We don't mind paying a little bit more, but we wanted to make sure we knew what health care was going to cost us."
County commissioners have held fast to wanting identical language on health care in all its labor contracts. The county says having the same language is the best assurance of being able to manage health care costs for all employees.
Health care language was the last stumbling block in a group of contracts with public safety employees at the county sheriff's office.
Those contracts were hung up for several months waiting for a State Employee Relations Board conciliator's report, which finally came in last month and included the language wanted by commissioners.
If they prevail, the Teamsters pact would be the only county contract with different language.
"It seems, like us, no one was happy with this language (proposed by the commissioners). I don't think any union agreed to this language willingly," Richards said.
"We're just looking for some security of what portion we would pay," he said. "Without the caps and benefit levels, we won't know what we're going to pay."