Strike by Children Services workers hinges on emergency hearing today

Whether a strike by Montgomery County child welfare workers presents a clear and present danger to the public is the subject of an emergency hearing this afternoon in Columbus.

A judge temporarily halted the strike that began Friday, and the county’s Children Services division and the union representing the striking workers were summoned to appear before the State Employment Relations Board.

The 3 p.m. hearing is open to the public in SERB’s 12th-floor office at 65 E. State St. in Columbus.

Children Services requested the hearing from SERB Friday afternoon after Montgomery Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Skelton issued a restraining order shutting down the Profes- sionals Guild of Ohio strike for 72 hours.

Each side will have 60 min- utes to present arguments to the board, which may allow extra time for rebuttals, according to the meet- ing notice.

If t he SERB m embers determine a clear and pres- ent danger exists, Children Services may return to court and seek a 60-day extension of the 72-hour injunction, according to state law.

The striking workers han- dle child protective services cases and monitor foster care and adoption cases for more than 2,000 children in the Montgomery County child welfare system. About three-quarters of the 270 employees in the bargaining unit are caseworkers.

The parties were unable to reach an agreement on wages during a mediation session Thursday and the employees quit working and started picketing Friday morning outside the Haines Children’s Center, the division’s headquarters on North Main Street in Harrison Twp.

Children Services worke rs are under c ontract through March 31, 2020, but the agreement included a “re-opener” clause to negotiate wages for the third and final year of the contract.

The union asked for a 6% wage increase consistent with one the county recently gave workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The most the offered by the county has been 3%, the union says.

Contact this reporter at 937225-2442 or Chris.Stewart@ coxinc.com.

BY CHRIS STEWART / STAFF PHOTOS Members of the Professionals Guild of Ohio, which represents about 270 Montgomery County Children Services positions, picket outside the Haines Children’s Center on Friday.

Montgomery County Children Services employees are seeking a wage increase equal to the 6% raise given to county workers represented by the AFSCME union.