The Oberlin Review
<< Front page News September 17, 2004

OCOPE talks to continue

The College and OCOPE are planning to meet sometime next week with a federal mediator after the union rejected the College’s contract offer147 to 8 in a vote on Tuesday.

“The College is extremely disappointed about this vote,” said Vice President of College Relations Alan Moran. “We’re optimistic that a mediator can bring the contract to a sucessful conclusion.”

The Cleveland office of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a service that provides free arbitration between labor unions and employers, will provide the mediation.

According to Moran, both parties had agreed to begin the mediation process.

“As far as I know it’s a done deal,” he said.

OCOPE said they had been contacted.

“Our attorney has been contacted by the College about negotiating with a mediator. We had not been contacted before the e-mail from the President,” said an OCOPE negotiator via e-mail.

The news that the mediator was being brought in was released to the Oberlin community in an e-mail from President Nancy Dye on Wednesday morning. This was only the second time the President has made a statement to the entire campus community on the negotiations.

“Labor negotiations are always difficult, especially in these hard economic times but we are confident that these matters will be resolved,” read the letter.

The letter also described the College’s offer to the union as “fair and generous” and that “although the College is in good financial health, we must exercise fiscal restraint in all areas to keep costs down.”

According to OCOPE a letter was sent to Director of Human Resources Ruth Spencer on Tuesday informing her that the contract had been rejected. Members of the union also picketed outside the general faculty meeting in the Science Center on Wednesday afternoon. They also picketed outside Cox and around campus on Thursday.

“Council for both OCOPE and the College have contacted the federal mediator and have tentatively discussed Sept. 23 as a potential date to meet,” Moran said.

OCOPE representatives were not available to confirm or deny this date.

Moran saw progress in the College’s ongoing negotiations with the United Auto Workers as well.

“The College plans to continue to work with the UAW to resolve the remainging contract differences,” he said.


 
 

   

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