Budget Update: Union leaders work to minimize damage to agency programs, jobs

March 12, 2008 - Weeks after Gov. Strickland announced a budget shortfall and subsequent cuts to state agencies, OCSEA is working with several agency union leaders to try to delay or minimize the damage.

President Eddie L. Parks together with MH/MR/OVH Assembly President Monty Blanton recently wrote a letter to Gov. Strickland explaining the impact of losing 191 Developmental Center beds and the folly of divesting in the best, most experienced staff in the MR/DD system.

MRDD Chapter President Tim Watson and leadership at the Cambridge mental health hospital are also offering up a plan to scale down operations at the facility, but keep it open as a residential unit with fewer non-essential staff.

The Dayton MH leadership has joined with a coalition of physicians and other members of the medical community to convince the governor of the need to keep the Twin Valley facility open.

Leaders in ODJFS, including Assembly leaders Tommy Jones and Ronna Harding, devised a plan to help save jobs by forming a joint labor/management budget committee to research and discuss cost saving approaches. The Assembly is asking members to send their money-saving ideas immediately to odjfstaskforce@ocsea.org, or go to www.ocsea.org/odjfs to learn more.

Some of the impact will be lessened by agencies offering Early Retirement Incentives Plans, not filling vacancies, cutting middle management and creating other administrative efficiencies.

ODNR Division of Parks, for instance, will be cutting positions, particularly management positions, and will further consolidate their parks administration from 26 to 20 “super parks.”

DR&C will consolidate administrative functions at several prisons including the Dayton Correctional Institution and the Montgomery Education and Pre-Release Center. A committee composed of representatives from the DCI and MEPRC chapters, the Corrections Assembly and OCSEA staff will be engaging in “impact bargaining” over the details of the merger. Changes are also contemplated at the Franklin Pre-Release Center, and the Corrections Medical Center will be placed under the Bureau of Medical Services. No decision has been made about whether impact bargaining will occur.

MR/DD, MH, JFS and DR&C are all offering a one-year ERIP that may help minimize the need for layoffs. Most agencies either have or will begin making those offers soon.

In fact, the union recently received a layoff rationale from the Department of Mental Health, notifying the union of job abolishments at the Cambridge and Dayton hospitals and gives interested employees until June 30, 2008 to accept an offer of early retirement.

Leadership in MR/DD and JFS expect to see layoff rationales and accompanying early retirement proposals sometime in April.

In agencies with significant numbers of senior employees like DR&C and MR/DD, it is hoped that the one-year ERIP will help minimize the layoff numbers. For example, in MR/DD, 330 employees have already expressed an interest in taking the buyout, a figure that would come very close to its goal of eliminating 390-400 positions.

However, even with the buyouts, the union has serious concerns about the lack of a succession plan in many agencies. OCSEA also cautions that the loss of employee experience and expertise, will likely hurt service delivery, quality and consistency of care.

See Related

TAKE ACTION: Stop MRDD cuts; Email your legislators

TAKE ACTION: Urge legislators to stop MH hospital closings

TAKE ACTION: Share ideas to ease JFS budget squeeze

State Budget Resources

FAQ: Early Retirement Incentive Plans