City union files unfair labor practice claim

10/1/2010

Teamsters Local 20, which represents city of Toledo refuse and sewer plant workers, filed an unfair labor practice complaint Friday with the State Employee Relations Board, alleging Toledo City Council violated Ohio law when it voted Thursday to impose a new contract upon the union.

Council voted 8-4 to force Teamsters Local 20 to accept a contract several days after most of those unionized workers rejected the pact. The two sides are fighting over whether council properly rejected a previous contract that stems from a fact finder report.

This week, the Bell administration filed an unfair labor practice complaint with SERB against the union, alleging it engaged in nearly four weeks of “bad-faith negotiations” after council rejected a fact finder's recommended terms. City leaders said Toledo couldn't afford the terms.