More than 600 cooks, electricians and custodians threatened to picket on Friday unless Ohio University inks a new contract with their union before March 1.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 1699 - which represents workers in Dining Services, Facilities and other departments - gave 10-days notice of the strike after months of unsuccessful negotiations.
Early in the negotiations, OU rejected the union's request for a one-year contract extension, offering a shorter agreement set to expire in July - when few students would be on campus and the union's bargaining power would be reduced.
OU's proposal also required union members to pay more for health insurance. Today, union members pay less than faculty and staff, said Becky Watts, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis. Attempts to reach union president Dave Logan over the weekend were unsuccessful.
Both sides agreed not to discuss negotiations this week and have scheduled three meetings. If the union does strike, OU could hire temporary workers to clean dorms and keep dining halls open.
It's pretty pro forma that you do this ... It's just part of the process
Watts said, adding that both sides need to plan for the possibility of a strike. We continue to hope we don't need to implement the contingency plan at all.
In a university-wide e-mail, the senior director of Human Resources assured OU faculty, staff and students that the university is prepared for a strike.
Our main priorities are to provide vital services to our students and ensure the health and safety of all employees and students Linda Lonsinger stated.
The Local 1699 issued a similar threat in 2007, but reached a three-year agreement with the university before the deadline.
This article has been corrected. Previous versions misidentified the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
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Emily Grannis
