Striking Lorain County JFS union, county headed to mediation on March 25

ELYRIA — Representatives of union workers at Lorain County Job and Family Services and county officials will meet again March 25 for state-mandated mediation to try and work out an agreement, the two sides said Wednesday. United Auto Workers said in a news release Wednesday that it will be the first time the county has sat down with striking workers in Local 2192 since Feb. 18. Workers are striking for better pay, staffing and health care considerations. Commissioner David Moore on Wednesday dismissed a union announcement of the mediation date as well as any possibility that mediation would change things. "Nothing is going to come of it," he said. "The strike is going to continue." The parties filed dueling unlawful labor practice charges last month. The union said Wednesday that county commissioners "provoked" the strike by refusing to negotiate in good faith after rejecting a neutral fact-finder's report in January. The goal of mediation is "to get back to the table for the residents that rely on our vital services," UAW Local 2192 JFS chairperson Gina Jones said in a news release. "This is an opportunity for the county commission to settle this crisis. JFS workers want to be back at work serving the people of Lorain County, but they can't do that if they can't even afford to feed their own families. All we're asking for is a $1 per hour raise," Jones said. That $1 per hour raise came up again later, when Moore accused the union of "disrupting county government" by sending the county 4,000 emails at 9 a.m. Wednesday demanding the $1 per hour raise. Moore said the county was talking to state authorities about what he called a "stunt," that it bypassed the proper negotiators and that the county was looking forward to presenting that and other evidence at the mediation hearing. "We have been clear with the county commissioners that we want to settle this strike and get back to work," Jones said when asked to respond to Moore. "Many members of the community support us in that mission, and they are making their voices heard." JFS workers manage Medicaid and SNAP benefits, investigate elder abuse, inspect home day cares and administer other social welfare programs for Lorain County residents. Union workers said they make so little money that they qualify for the very programs they administer. Striking workers are picketing JFS headquarters on North Ridge Road in Elyria Township and the County Administration Building in downtown Elyria. More than 100 of the 144 members of the union walked out on Feb. 18. Most JFS funding comes from federal and state sources, so a raise would "cost the county's general fund nothing," the union said Wednesday. Commissioners said the county has made its last, best and final offer for a new contract to replace the three-year contract that expired in September. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.