Monday, November 5, 2012
Under the new agreement, Solon firefighters will receive raises over the next three but have to pay more for their health care.
Solon City Council approved a new collective bargaining contract with the firefighter's union. The proposed three-year agreement would give firefighters raises each year but require them to pay more for their health insurance. The agreement spans from Jan. 1 until the end of 2015. Firefighters with Local 2079, from beginning firefighters through battalion chiefs, will receive 2.25 percent raises each year during the agreement. But along with those raises, firefighters will also pay more for health care. The details mirror those of the police patrolmen's contract recently ratified by the city council.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Solon's correction officers will receive raises in the next three years but will pay more toward their health car.
Solon has reached a three-year collective bargaining agreement with its correction officers. The agreement will give the officers raises over the next three but they will have to contribute more toward their health care, according to the agreement. The new deal is effective Jan. 1 and runs through the end of 2015. The agreement was approved by Solon City Council on Monday night. Correction officers, which work in the Solon jail, will receive wage increases of 2.25 percent in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Employee health care costs such as out-of-pocket deductibles and prescription fees will increase. The agreement is basically the same one approved by the patrolmen in February. Mayor Susan Drucker thanked the members of the Ohio Patrolmen's …
Thursday, February 23, 2012
After only one meeting and without needing to hire lawyers, Solon Police reps and city officials reached a new collective bargaining agreement.
Collective bargaining agreements usually take time and involve a number of lawyers. But Solon Police and the city were able to reach a new deal for patrol officers, sergeants and lieutenants without needing any lawyers and after only one meeting. The result, a three-year deal that includes wage increases for officers but requires them to pay more for health benefits, has city officials pleased. Solon Police union rep Robert Bozak asked Mayor Susan Drucker if they could negotiate without lawyers. Drucker consulted the Police Chief Chris Viland and Law Director Tom Lobe, who agreed. After one meeting, they had a deal. That agreement was approved by city council Tuesday night. Drucker said the move saved the city money in legal fees and that …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Solon City Council will vote on a collective bargaining agreement for sergeants and lieutenants and patrol officers at tonight's meeting.
Under a new three-year collective bargaining agreement, Solon's lieutenants, sergents and patrol officers would receive annual wage increases but have to pay more out-of-pocket for their health benefits. The proposed agreement, which would run from January 2013 to the end of 2015, will be voted on by city council at tonight's 7:30 p.m. meeting in City Hall. Under the proposal between the city and the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, sergeants, lieutenants and patrol officers would see pay increases of 2.25 percent each year. That will bring the pay range for sergeants from the a low of $38,210 and a high of $79,477.84 this year to a low of $40,848.20 and a high of $84,964.26 in 2015. For lieutenants, the current low-end pay of $42,…
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Gov. John Kasich is expected to attend the Nov. 3 rally being organized by the Southeast Republican Club.
Gov. John Kasich is expected to attend a Nov. 3 rally in Independence to support Issue 2, the governor's plan to reform collective bargaining for public workers. The rally, organized by Pro-Issue 2 group Building a Better Ohio, is set to begin at 5 p.m. at the Independence Civic Center. Issue 2 is by far the biggest issue facing Ohio voters on Nov. 8. Debate over the collective-bargaining law also known as Senate Bill 5 has engulfed Kasich's first year in office and received national attention. In the run-up to the vote, Kasich has been attending rallies to talk about Issue 2. Supporters of the bill argue that it will help governments better control costs, therefore saving jobs and keeping taxes down. But opponents believe Senate Bill 5 is…
Thursday, October 20, 2011
With less than three weeks until the Nov. 8 election, the campaigns for and against Issue 2 are seeking to persuade voters to join their cause.
Supporters and opponents of Issue 2 are waging full-scale war to win your vote. In union-strong Cleveland, police officers, fire fighters and teachers march through the suburbs, knocking on doors and telling voters that Issue 2 will undermine their way of life, union member or not. In Southern Ohio, voters file into town halls to hear conservatives say Issue 2 is necessary if Ohio’s local governments are to keep taxes down. And in living rooms across the state, campaign ads bombard channel-surfing Ohioans with images of proud teachers, stressed families trying to make ends meet and one angry great grandmother. Issue 2 is the ballot referendum that will decide the fate of Senate Bill 5, Gov. John Kasich's controversial proposal to restrict …
Friday, September 30, 2011
A round-up of your thoughts on Ohio's Issue 2, which Patch will be covering through the November vote
The November election is a little more than a month away, and already Ohioans are clamoring at the chance to vote yes or no on Issue 2, also known as Senate Bill 5. The issue restricts collective bargaining rights for the state's roughly 360,000 public-sector employees. Not one Democrat voted for the bill when it passed the GOP-controlled legislature in March. We ran our first article on Ohio's Issue 2 on Sept. 17, and ever since, Patch readers have been debating the pros and cons. We've received hundreds of comments, but here's a sample of some of the viewpoints our readers have been discussing. Several people said they won't vote for Issue 2 because they say it will raise taxes, to which several commenters responded: Carol Lara says: …
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The opinion poll by Quinnipiac University shows that more people remain negative about Gov. John Kasich and Senate Bill 5, but they are both gaining in popularity
Senate Bill 5 is still viewed negatively but is becoming more popular with voters, according to a poll released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University. According to the poll results, 51 percent of voters surveyed want to repeal SB 5, the bill championed by Kasich to limit collective bargaining, and 38 percent support the law. In July's poll, 56 percent of voters wanted to repeal SB 5, while 32 percent wanted to keep the law. Kasich's own popularity is increasing as well, with 40 percent of voters surveyed approving of Kasich's performance. In July, his approval was at 35 percent. The poll shows that both Kasich and SB 5 still aren't looked at favorably by most voters, but they are moving in a positive direction. But while Kasich has three years …
Monday, September 26, 2011
Ohio voters prepare for intense and historic campaign over collective bargaining for public workers
John Morris walked down the tree-lined streets of Shaker Heights, knocking on doors and buttonholing residents. An English teacher at the high school, Morris had a simple message to share: "We are dealing with cutbacks like every other citizen," Morris said. "We just want a place at the table." Get ready, Ohio. Morris, and many others like him, will be coming soon to a door near you. Thanks to Issue 2, this will not be a sleepy off-year election. On Nov. 8, Ohio voters will decide on the controversial law, championed by Gov. John Kasich and originally passed by the GOP-dominated Legislature as Senate Bill 5, to dramatically restrict the collective bargaining rights of the state's public workers. Ohio residents will have front-row seats to …
We take a look at Senate Bill 5 to drill down to the facts of how Ohio's new collective bargaining law would affect public employees
Senate Bill 5 In A Nutshell: Right now, public employees have a wide range of things they can bargain for with their employers: wages, benefits, working conditions, staffing levels and much more. Senate Bill 5 restricts the range of topics that can be haggled over. Who is Affected: State employees, public university employees, school district employees and local government workers. The law does not apply to private sector union members. What Stays: According to the law, collective bargaining is still permitted on wages, hours and "terms and conditions" of employment. But it's not so simple as that, of course. According to Politifact Ohio, the law "effectively wipes out salary schedules in past labor contracts and directs cities and unions …
Regular Guy
2:14 pm on Tuesday, February 28, 2012
When companies and municipalities all across the country holding public employee pay steady, Solon continues to throw increases at all city employees. Next, they fret about revenue being down. We need some adult leaders. more ›