The Ironton Education Association might file unfair labor practice charges against the Ironton Board of Education over undisclosed issues with current negotiations.

Wednesday, June 14, 2000

The Ironton Education Association might file unfair labor practice charges against the Ironton Board of Education over undisclosed issues with current negotiations.

No complaint has been filed with labor relations authorities, IEA president Mary Ann Philabaun said this morning.

"Am I going to? If they don’t fix it, yes," she said.

Mrs. Philabaun said she could not release details because of legal questions over what could be disclosed publicly.

The union did talk about the situation with Ironton superintendent Steve Kingery and the district’s negotiating team during contract discussions Monday night, she said.

"We have stated at the negotiation session we intend to file some unfair labor practices against the board," Mrs. Philabaun said.

Kingery could not be reached for comment this morning but board president Rayetta Waldo said the district has received nothing official from the union.

"There’s been nothing official filed," Mrs. Waldo said. "There certainly could be from any type of board action the union thinks impacted their rights "

But there is no official action with respect to the union filing an unfair labor practice, she said.

Talks for all teacher and staff contracts began in May while board members were discussing the retirement and rehiring of coaches Bob Lutz and Mike Burcham.

Lutz and Burcham announced earlier this year that they wanted to retire as teachers and remain in their athletic positions for several more years, which touched off a community and school board debate over procedures for their rehiring and the creation of new positions.

Board members said they considered several proposals from the coaches, with varying new salary ranges, and insisted they had to wait until the coaches’ official retirement and had to negotiate salaries with the union before making a decision.

Kingery stated at several meetings that the board could not unilaterally change conditions of the coaches’ supplemental contracts because those contracts were part of the union’s bargaining unit contracts.

The coaches eventually agreed to return to their existing supplemental contracts at existing salaries. The board took that action at its meeting Thursday.

Also Thursday, the board created new athletic positions to be posted, including a part-time facilities director’s job, a supplemental physical training position and a supplemental assistant athletic director’s job. Board members expected the coaches to apply.

The process of creating those new positions could be at the center of the possible unfair labor practice charges, but neither union or board officials would confirm that possibility.

In meetings this year, the union has stated it has no problem with the coaches returning to their current supplemental contracts.

However, salaries must be negotiated and proper procedures within the IEA’s contracts must be followed, Mrs. Philabaun has said.