Union says it stays strong during strike

As the Job and Family Services strike ends its fourth week, UAW Local 2192 members say they remain strong.

As the Lorain County Job and Family Services strike ends its fourth week, the members of United Auto Workers Local 2192 say they remain strong.

Standing along Elyria Avenue in front of the facility on the chilly morning of Oct. 20, the members seemed energetic calling out slogans, shouting at those crossing the picket line and playfully heckling security guards wandering around the parking lot.

Karen Williams, 56, of Elyria, has been an income maintenance caseworker for the department for 20 years. She said, just like everyone else on the line, that the issue that led her to strike was the spousal carve out for health insurance.

Both the union and the Lorain County commissioners have said the carve out is the solitary issue stalling a contract for the 160 workers represented. Before striking, the workers had been operating without a contract for a year.

“My husband is employed, he does have an option for medical (insurance), however it’s very expensive and it has, like, a $3,000 to $5,000 deductible; that’s not helpful,” Williams said. “With this proposal, this carve out that the commissioners want to do, he would no longer be able to be on (my) medical insurance.

“Well, that much money going out plus a high deductible is not going to do us any good,” she continued. “He wants to remain on the medical (insurance) with us; that’s the biggest issue.”

Williams added that she’s not alone. She estimates about 50 others on the line would also be affected.

“We do free medical and Medicaid for people all day long, why are they messing with ours?,” she said.

Kelly Fields, chairperson of the union, said the group is still very united though some of the members are out of town. While speaking to The Morning Journal, a non-union worker pulled into the parking lot drawing screams of “Scab!” from those walking the line.

“Do you see him laughing at us?,” Fields said. “We just want a fair contract and they’re just taunting us.”

Despite this, Fields said her people are strong and won’t be broken.

Barbara Phillips, 54, has been with the department for almost 14 years working as an investigator for the child support division. She said the union has not been keeping proposals from negotiations secret.

“We have been notified of every action that’s come between the commissioners and the union,” she said. “I stand with my brothers and sisters here today.”

Otis Lovejoy, 36, of Elyria, has been with the department for two years. He said he left a job that paid better because he couldn’t afford the medical insurance. As a divorced father of three he came to the department because of the benefits.

He said the commissioners are out of touch.

“They don’t understand what it’s like to be us,” he said. “We’re already under the eight-ball because we come here for the benefits and because we want to do a service for our community. A lot of these people can go somewhere else and get better jobs. A lot of these people have degrees. The problem is the benefits.”

In a series of releases throughout the strike, the commissioners have maintained the spousal carve out is necessary and has been agreed upon by other bargaining units.

In an Oct. 18 release, County Administrator James Cordes wrote that in a series of meeting Oct. 12 and 13 representatives of both sides made proposals and counterproposals but none have been accepted.