Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Dispute topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Job & Family Services workers press commissioners to return to bargaining as clients face service interruptions
Summary
Unionized Job & Family Services staff and union leaders told the commissioners that phone lines are down, SNAP cases are being closed and Medicaid and other applications are delayed amid an ongoing labor dispute. Workers and community partners urged the board to return to mediation and negotiate a contract to restore services.
Employees and union leaders from Lorain County Job & Family Services told the commissioners on March 24 that staffing and pay disputes are causing service failures that affect vulnerable residents.
"You, Mr. Moore have publicly called your employees greedy, unreasonable, dramatic and irrational," union spokesperson Tammy McGinnis told the board, summarizing her view of the public rhetoric and calling for a return to negotiations. Staff and advocates described operational failures: disconnected phone lines, SNAP interim reports not processed, delayed Medicaid applications and backlogs in Adult Protective Services. Several speakers said they had received calls from community partners and worried about clients missing benefits.
An agency employee, Ashton Werling, described years of service and low pay: "After, nearly 11 years training others and caring the system I make $21.81 a hour and that is the highest classification under the contract, almost 11 years in." Workers said the county's latest offer would create wage inversions that pay new hires more than experienced staff, exacerbating turnover.
Gina Jones, who identified herself as chairperson for JFS, and other speakers said misprocessed benefits are already harming recipients and asked the board to return to the bargaining table. Several speakers asked the commissioners themselves to attend bargaining or mediation rather than delegating; staff representatives asked the board to prioritize a fair contract so casework and client services can resume on a stable footing.
Commissioners noted that mediation and legal proceedings were scheduled; the meeting record shows the board agreed to proceed to mediation on outstanding unfair-labor-practice claims while other routine business continued. No final settlement was announced at the meeting; speakers urged immediate return to bargaining to restore full service levels for county residents.
