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Legal adviser warns council against amending negotiated FUE contract; member proposes changes
Summary
Council legal adviser Selwa told members he does not believe the council has authority to amend the negotiated FUE contract (026-26) and said he could not represent the council if it pursued that route. Council member Lohnes said he would present amendments and could support the contract if amendments passed.
Selwa, a staff member, told the council that his research indicates the labor group involved may not be covered by the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) but could fall under the National Labor Relations Act, and he cautioned that Council lacks authority to alter a contract negotiated in good faith by two other parties.
Lohnes, a committee member, said he would like to present amendments to the FUE contract (026-26) and that, if those amendments were adopted, he would be prepared to support passage. Lohnes argued the council is required to "approve or reject" the contract rather than simply accept it as-is. Selwa responded that he "doesn't believe he will be able to represent Council because he thinks it's against his legal opinion," effectively warning that continuing to seek amendments could create a conflict for the council's counsel.
The exchange included discussion of SERB — the State Employment Relations Board — and whether SERB recognition is dispositive of union status. Selwa said he had not seen a SERB letter denying recognition in the specific matter described and emphasized that non-recognition by SERB does not by itself mean a group is not a union. Lohnes questioned whether Selwa was referring to Ohio Revised Code Section 4117 when discussing SERB-related rules; Selwa said he did not have the code citation memorized and reiterated his view that the matter could instead involve the NLRA.
No formal motion to amend the contract appears on the record in the provided segments; Lohnes said he wanted to introduce amendments for council review, debate and vote, but the transcript does not record any submitted amendment text or a vote within the available segments.
