Cincinnati State Trustees
Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown City Government
Forum Name: Economic Development
Forum Description: Local government efforts to develop the local Middletown area economy.
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5808
Printed Date: Apr 29 2024 at 1:57am
Topic: Cincinnati State Trustees
Posted By: Vivian Moon
Subject: Cincinnati State Trustees
Date Posted: Jul 24 2014 at 5:45am
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Posted: 12:00 a.m. Thursday, July 24, 2014 Cincinnati State trustees reject factfinder’s report
By http://www.journal-news.com/staff/michael-d-pitman/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer The Cincinnati State Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to reject a fact-finder’s report concerning a proposed contract with one of its labor unions. Cincinnati State President O’dell M. Owens stated in a news release issued Wednesday that the college had hoped to come to an agreeable settlement and is disappointed that an agreement was not reached. “Concerns about the financial and operational ramifications of the fact finder’s recommendations were behind the decision to reject it,” he said. The administration has been involved in negotiations for nearly a year with the Service Employees International Union chapter at Cincinnati State. The union represents a handful of employees at the college’s Middletown campus, which is the only community college campus in Butler County. In August 2013, the Cincinnati State and SEIU negotiating teams began a review of the existing contract and in December tentatively agreed on a proposed set of revisions to that collective bargaining agreement. That proposal was rejected by SEIU members in December by a vote of 53-51. Following that vote, a deal couldn’t be reached through negotiations that lasted to May. The matter then went to the fact-finding process. The college received the fact finder’s report July 18. Trustee Chairwoman Cathy Crain said the college desires an agreeable settlement. However, she said, “the fact-finder report contained recommendations that the college believes are not in the college’s best interests both from a financial perspective and from the perspective of improving efficiency of operations in order to better serve students. |
Replies:
Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Jul 25 2014 at 6:00pm
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Updated: 4:59 p.m. Friday, July 25, 2014 | Posted: 12:00 a.m. Thursday, July 24, 2014 Cincinnati State trustees reject fact-finder’s report
By http://www.journal-news.com/staff/michael-d-pitman/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer CINCINNATI — Cincinnati State’s rejection of a http://www.seiu1199.org/files/2014/07/CinnStateSEIUFFR7-17-14.pdf" rel="nofollow - could result in a strike as the college’s chapter of the Service Employees International Union District 1199 almost unanimously voted to approve that same report. The board of trustees with Cincinnati State Community & Technical College rejected the report concerning a proposed contract with the service employee union, which has 143 members at the college, including eight at the Middletown campus. Cincinnati State Middletown opened in August 2012 and is Butler County’s first and only community college. “For nearly 12 months, we have been working with the college to bargain a fair contract that preserves quality services for students, staff and visitors of Cincinnati State,” said Dawn Wilkie, SEIU chapter president at Cincinnati State. “We were shocked and appalled by the decision of the board to reject the fact-finding report and to turn back the clock on decades of cooperation and collaboration between staff and management.” The union voted Thursday to accept the fact-finder’s report and Anthony Cauldwell, District 1199 spokesman, said the next step for the union is to hold a full membership meeting on Wednesday at the Clifton and Middletown campuses to vote to authorize the union to send a 10-day notice of an intent to strike. Cincinnati State President Dr. O’dell Owens stated this past Wednesday that the college hoped to come to a settlement and is disappointed that an agreement was not reached. “Concerns about the financial and operational ramifications of the fact finder’s recommendations were behind the decision to reject it,” he said. According to the Journal-News media partner, WCPO 9 On Your Side, Cincinnati State’s http://www.wcpo.com/news/education/cincinnat-state-tightens-its-belt-in-wake-of-enrollment-dip-and-state-funding-cut" rel="nofollow - Owens attributes a number of converging factors for the school’s recent decisions, including: a growing economy, which is likely to prompt more people to seek work immediately than investing in an associate’s degree; less state funding, which is expected to continue to drop; and fewer high school graduates, according to WCPO. “We’re going through a real cultural shift,” http://www.wcpo.com/news/education/cincinnat-state-tightens-its-belt-in-wake-of-enrollment-dip-and-state-funding-cut" rel="nofollow - . “We’ve put so much emphasis on the first semester in the past. Now we’re going to put that same intense focus on each of the three semesters.” In August 2013, the Cincinnati State and SEIU negotiating teams began a review of the existing contract. A proposal that was presented to the members of the SEIU was narrowly voted down by a 53-51 vote. A deal couldn’t be reached through continued negotiations that lasted until May before it was sent to a fact-finder. http://www.seiu1199.org/files/2014/07/CinnStateSEIUFFR7-17-14.pdf" rel="nofollow - . Trustee Chairwoman Cathy Crain said the college desires an agreeable settlement, but said “the fact-finder report contained recommendations that the college believes are not in the college’s best interests both from a financial perspective and from the perspective of improving efficiency of operations in order to better serve students.” SEIU District 1199 President Becky Williams sent a letter to Owens asking to discuss the rationale behind rejection and to call for continued talks. “The workers of Cincinnati State are committed to working with college executives to bargain a fair contract that preserves the dignity, rights and respect they deserve,” Williams said. “(Wednesday), I reached out to President Owens and encouraged him to honor the process of collective bargaining in the best interest of the college and to explain why they felt it was necessary to reject the independent fact finder’s report.” |
Posted By: 409
Date Posted: Jul 31 2014 at 11:11am
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From MJ: Cincinnati State workers issue strike notice Union members committed to avoiding a strike want to continue negotiations with college administrators. By Michael D. Pitman Staff Writer CINCINNATI — A union that represents nearly 150 clerical, technical and support staff at Cincinnati State is issuing a 10-day notice of their intent to strike. Members of the Service Employees International Union District 1199 on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of the measure, which comes days after the Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Board of Trustees voted in public session to reject an independent, third-party fact-finder report. “With the fall semester just weeks away, workers are committed to sitting down and continuing conversations with Cincinnati State administrators that would avoid a strike and any disruption to services to the students, staff and visitors of the college,” said Becky Williams, president of the SEIU District 1199. “We will meet with our negotiating committee to discuss the effective date of the strike notice over the next week and are fully committed to working out an agreement between workers and the college.” Williams said she sent a letter to Cincinnati State President O’dell Owens asking to sit down and discuss the rationale behind the board of trustees’ decision to reject the report and to call for continued talks between the parties last week, but calls and emails to Owens have not been returned. ------------- Every morning is the dawn of a new error... |
Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Jul 31 2014 at 12:26pm
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Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Jul 31 2014 at 2:14pm
Now wait a minute Vivian. Do you mean to tell us that Cincy State, the catalyst to fill the empty sidewalks downtown, might not meet the projected goals of 5000 in 5 years, or 3000 in the next 3 years or whatever the latest and greatest numbers are now. They've changed the target so many times after seeing they don't have a chance of reaching those numbers, none of us have been able to keep up. I guess they are operating under the premise that if you keep adjusting the numbers lower, without causing much of a stir, they will eventually find the right combo to match the actual situation. This program might be called "sweeping the dreams under the rug so as to not embarrass ourselves later on". ------------- I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over. |
Vivian Moon wrote:Posted By: Vivian Moon
Date Posted: Aug 11 2014 at 11:45am
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Posted: 10:52 a.m. Monday, Aug. 11, 2014 Cincinnati State, union to resume negotiations as strike looms
Staff Report CINCINNATI — Negotiations are set to resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday between Cincinnati State and the union representing nearly 150 service employees in hopes of avoiding a strike about two weeks before the new school year begins. Members of the school’s chapter of Service Employees International Union District 1199 — which represents clerical, technical and support staff — http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/cincinnati-state-workers-issue-strike-notice/ngrcy/" rel="nofollow - after Cincinnati State’s board of trustees rejected http://www.seiu1199.org/files/2014/07/CinnStateSEIUFFR7-17-14.pdf" rel="nofollow - . “We applaud college administrators for agreeing to come back to the table,” Becky Williams, president of the SEIU District 1199, said today in a press release. “Workers remain committed to working out a fair contract that is in the best interest of all parties involved, including the staff, students and visitors of the college.” Cincinnati State President Dr. O’dell M. Owens told the Journal-News on July 31 that he was disappointed members of the college’s chapter of the SEIU voted to authorize a strike, but he remains optimistic an acceptable agreement can be reached. “Even though the recent fact-finder’s report contained recommendations that were financially unacceptable to our board of trustees, we are convinced a fair agreement is within reach,” he told the Journal-News. Cincinnati State’s fall semester for the 2014-15 school year is set to begin Aug. 25. Of the 143 members of the SEIU chapter at Cincinnati State, eight work at the school’s Middletown campus, which opened in August 2012 and is Butler County’s first and only community college. Owens and Cincinnati State Trustee Chairwoman Cathy Crain previously said the rejection of the fact-finder’s report happened because the administration had concerns about its findings involving the school’s fiscal health and improving operational efficiencies. http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/local/cincinnati-state-trustees-reject-factfinders-repor/ngmdf/" rel="nofollow - . Union officials said it is policy that totals in union votes are not publicly released. If an agreement cannot be reached, the bargaining committee said it “may have no choice but to move forward with their plans to issue a 10-day notice of their intent to strike,” according to the press release. |