Labor leaders Tuesday asked for a court order requiring Baltimore County administrators to return to the bargaining table and resolve disputes over proposed cuts to employees? retirement and pension plans.
Union leaders representing about 93 nurses and 1,700 general employees ? including correctional officers, public works employees and clerical assistants ? have reached an impasse with county administrators, who imposed a Thursday deadline on contract negotiations. They asked Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Daniels to allow “fact finding” or nonbinding arbitration, which county officials have refused on grounds that they need time to prepare a budget by mid-April.
“All we?re asking is that the process we?ve adhered to for years simply be followed, and the county not be allowed to strong-arm us into accepting proposals members do not want to accept,” said Terence Cooper, a spokesman for an umbrella organization for the county?s Federation of Public Employees and Public Health Nurses.
The parties have today to locate a fact-finder who can render a decision by Monday, union attorney Keith Zimmerman said. If they succeed, Daniels said he will consider prohibiting the county from closing its budget process until an agreement is reached. County spokesman Don Mohler said union leaders are refusing to let members vote on the current offer, which includes cost of living increases and salary upgrades. He said he believes a vote would prove most members support the offer.
“This is not a hardball tactic,” Mohler said. “I hope cooler heads prevail.”
In addition to increased health care costs for employees, county officials want to extend the minimum retirement age from 60 to 65 for employees with less than 30 years of service. The proposal would require about half of the union?s members to work beyond age 60 to receive full retirement benefits, excluding correctional officers who received a separate offer.
