TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - A heated contract dispute between the City of Toledo and its largest union ended on Wednesday when members of AFSCME Local 7 voted yes on a negotiated contract agreement.
Councilman Steve Steel says council refusing to impose concessions and forcing the mayor's office back to the table proves the current collective bargaining process works.
"Our largest union just approved a concessionary contract to the tune of $3 million. The current law works. Senate Bill 5 wasn't needed and should be repealed," Steel.
However Mayor Mike Bell says the Local 7 situation proves why S.B. 5 needs to move forward because money was left on the table through the current process.
"If we had not gone back and re-negotiated against ourselves, we would have gained about $1.5 million. It worked, but who did it work for?" said Bell.
TPS Board Member Lisa Sobecki also points to the district working out deals with its unions as a reason to leave the current process in place.
"Over a 4-year time frame TPS working with our unions through collective bargaining we had to cut over $100 million from our budget," said Sobecki.
Don Yates with the Toledo Association of Administrative Personnel echoes that sentiment.
"Our folks through negotiations gave up salary, increased our health care costs in recognition of the hard economic times," said Yates.
With the mayor appearing on ads in support of State Issue 2, he says it's something he doesn't regret.
"When we see cities heading toward fiscal emergency and moving in a direction that is negative to the taxpayers, we realize something has to change inside the system," said Bell.
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