union leaders in odot approve highway Maintenance worker agreement

A recently signed OCSEA Letter of Agreement (LOA) with the Ohio Dept. of Transportation provides Highway Maintenance Workers a path to the Highway Technician series. The LOA also eliminates extra probationary time for those moving up from a Highway Maintenance Worker 1 position to a Highway Technician 1 position with the required Class B Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).

According to the agreement, when a HMW1 position is posted externally pursuant to Article 17, that external applicant will be reclassed to a HT1 upon receipt of a Class B CDL. This is a move from a Pay Range 5 to a Pay Range 6. Also included in the LOA, the probationary period for external permanent HMW1 hires who become HT1s will be one year from the original date of hire as a permanent HMW1. The probation period WILL NOT reset with the reclass to HT1. Please note, however, no probationary credit will be given for prior temporary HMW service. This is for permanent, union HWM1 hires only. Also, if an employee does not make it through the one-year probationary period, the employee will not have rights back to the HMW1 classification or appeal rights.

“This is a move that we hope will help with retention within the bargaining unit and give a path for promotional opportunities among union members. It gives these employees a reason to stay on and build a career with ODOT,” said OCSEA ODOT Assembly President Sabrina Bell.

The agreement is only through the life of the current contract, which expires in 2024. The language in the LOA will be re-evaluated at ODOT agency-specific bargaining before the expiration of the contract.

More on ODOT: Infrastructure Bill to ensure $50 million annually for Ohio Bridge repair

Ohio plans to spend an additional $50 million a year for the next five years to fix or replace bridges around the state, increasing the total annual expenditure to $112.5 million. The $47.5 million comes from $104 million in bridge funding the state will receive from the recently passed bipartisan federal infrastructure bill, according to ODOT. With the funding support of the federal infrastructure bill, the state expects to spend a combined $407.5 million on local bridges over the next five years. ODOT funding for bridges maintained by the state’s 88 county engineers is expected to increase from $34 million to $74 million annually, and municipal-owned bridge funding will increase from $11 million to $18.5 million each year. Read more.