UAW rally calls for approval of JFS union demands, opposition to commissioner

SHEFFIELD — Union members, elected officials and residents came together Tuesday to proclaim their support for striking county workers and call on the Lorain County commissioners to come back to the bargaining table and offer the union what they called a fair contract. Many speakers also explicitly called for the ousting of Commissioner Jeff Riddell, who is facing a Republican primary challenge for his seat by Will Schlechter on May 5. Employees of Lorain County Job and Family Services, who are represented by the United Autoworkers Union Local 2192, have been on strike for nearly two months seeking a new contract. Union officials and elected officials who spoke said that the commissioners had not negotiated with the union in good faith, and were now refusing to negotiate due to the union asking for a $1 per hour rate increase for JFS workers. Multiple elected officials spoke at an event at the UAW Local 2000 hall in Sheffield on Tuesday to announce their support for the striking workers and call on the commissioners to meet their demands. Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker said that he had negotiated multiple union contracts in his many years with the city, and he said that the commissioners had not been willing to work with the union as he and the city of Elyria had been. "Not one time did we go to arbitration, not one time did we have someone threaten to go on a strike," Brubaker said. "Do you know why? Because when we came to the table, we came to the table with a fair and honest deal, and both parties were willing to work together to get it done. I never came to the table with a sloppy fish, and said 'This is the best you are going to get.' Because that is not how you negotiate." Brubaker, Lorain County Clerk of Courts Tom Orlando and County Auditor Craig Snodgrass all said that the work that JFS employees do, which includes child support services, managing Medicaid and SNAP benefits, overseeing child support and investigating elder abuse claims, is critical to the quality of life in the county. "That is kind of embarrassing to me that what we are talking about is $1," Brubaker said. "That we can't come to the table over $1. The work that you folks provide to our residents in this county, Mr. Snodgrass talked about it, Mr. Orlando talked about it, is second to none. ... You are asking to be able to afford to live in the cities and the county that you work in, that is all you are asking for." County Recorder Mike Doran, the only Republican elected official who spoke at the meeting, recounted his own childhood in Cleveland, during which his family relied on the same benefits that JFS manages in Lorain County. "I am standing here today because people in your shoes made sure that five kids in Cleveland had a fighting chance," Doran said. "I know what it is like to be on the other side of that desk, I am the result of the stability that you provide. … Right now, there is an empty table in this county, and as long as that table is empty, the most important work we do is at a standstill. Getting back to that table is not a political move, it is a professional duty. It is a recognition that the families waiting for your help, and those families that you go home to, deserve a resolution." In a telephone interview after the meeting, Riddell said that the county is unable to return to the table as long as the strike continues. "We reached an impasse, and the problem is that once they are on strike, we can't really talk to them," he said. "There are rules and regulations that you have to follow, and they are asking us to break those very rules and regulations, I don't really know how else to say it. … They obviously have the ability to get back to work and then work on their issues while they are working." Both the county and the union have filed unfair labor practice charges against one another. Also taking the stage on Tuesday was David Green, the director of UAW Region 2-B, which covers all of Ohio and Indiana. Green said that he believed the striking JFS workers were fighting not just for a livable wage, but to shine a light on "corruption and mishappenings" in Lorain County. Green pointed to the support of Riddell and the other Lorain County commissioners for the proposed 622-acre "mega site" business development in New Russia Township as an example of this mismanagement, saying it was being forced through over the opposition of residents. Several New Russia Township residents who have been vocal opponents of the plan also spoke at the meeting, saying that their own dealings with the county had led them to support the striking JFS workers. "We have been fighting for a while, and there have been moments — you get tired. You get so tired," resident Andrea Barlow said. "Don't get tired, because that is what they (the commissioners) are counting on. They are counting on you to give up, they are literally waiting for all of you to get tired and for this to stop. That is when you need to, like, pull up your boot straps and say 'let's go.' Depend on each other, come together. This is amazing, this today is awesome, to see you all here." Riddell said that he believed it was the job of the commissioners to drive badly needed business development in Lorain County and that the mega site project would be a crucial part of that, even if it had opponents in the county. "I believe our job is economic development," he said. "Our job is to lead the county. To provide jobs for those that are coming, plus the 40 percent of the unemployed that are between the ages of 25 to 40. They are looking for work, and that is our job. They may not agree with the process, but that does not mean that we are mismanaging (the county). They just don't agree with the process, that's all." Green said that he believed it was crucial for members of the union and their supporters to get involved in the political process to drive policy that would be beneficial to workers. This included, he said, ousting Riddell, and he called on those in attendance to work toward that goal. "We have the power to change our own future," Green said. "We have the power to elect people who are going to put constituents first… But the power we have isn't some kind of magic, it takes a lot of hard work and it is not easy. We have go to knock on doors, right? We have got to make phone calls, we have got to talk to our neighbors, we have got to talk to our family and friends and expose the truth. That is all we are doing here, exposing the truth of the corruption that is happening here in Lorain County." Green called on attendees to sign up to canvas with the UAW in the upcoming election on May 5, and to encourage their friends and family to do the same. "That's the process," Riddell said in response to the efforts to oppose his reelection. "Everybody gets to go to the polls and cast their vote; that is the way it works." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.