LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — A strike deadline is looming as contract negotiations stall between Lorain County Commissioners and the county's Department of Job and Family Services.
On Monday, UAW National President Shawn Fain traveled to Lorain County to meet with UAW Local 2192, while the group discussed preparations ahead of the strike deadline.
The union represents about 120 Lorain County Job and Family Services workers.
Watch the press conference:
"It’s no different wherever you go, take it a corporation or a county administration, whatever, they’re making the same decisions," Fain said. "When they want to do something, when they want to invest, they find the money. But when it comes to the workers, it’s always the same story: ‘There’s not enough for you.’”
UAW Local 2192 said that over the past five years, JFS has experienced a turnover crisis, with 90 workers out of 140 positions having quit.
Workers said the attrition has led to larger workloads for employees and longer wait times for clients.
"The fact is, we're understaffed, overworked, and they're sitting on hold because we have such a limited amount of people doing the job, caring for the entire county," said Otis Lovejoy, a JFS expedited food assistance worker. "A lot of times you end up with individuals leaving our county to go to other counties because for the same job, they can go somewhere else and make more money."
Additionally, the union said the county has increased JFS workers' health insurance by 50%, while average salaries remain below those of other job and family services in Ohio.
"I’d like to see our employees not qualify for the benefits we give the public,” said Alexandria Wircham, a child support accountant for Lorain Co. JFS.
On Friday, the Lorain County Board of Commissioners approved what it said was its "best and final" contract proposal.
It included an initial 4.5% general wage increase, followed by a 3.5% increase in September 2026 and a 4% raise in September 2027. The proposed contract said base wages would range from $14.01 to $29.02.
The UAW was requesting a 26% raise over a three-year period, in what it said was an effort to match other county employee wages across the state.
County Commissioners said the union is requesting money it doesn't have to spend.
Board president Commissioner Dave Moore told News 5 that health insurance has cost the county an additional $10 million over the past five years. He said the county has not increased costs for employees in three of the past five years.
The negotiations also come as the county navigates financial challenges. After voters rejected a proposed sales tax increase, commissioners said they had to trim nearly $11 million from the annual budget.
In late January, Commissioner Marty Gallagher addressed criticism from the Lorain County Auditor after budget cuts forced the auditor's office to close on Fridays.
"Unfortunately, we had to make those tough decisions. We have to hunker down, we have to budget our money better," Gallagher said at the time.
The commissioners were not available for interviews Monday, but Commissioner Dave Moore told News 5 over the phone that the board was not planning to entertain more contract negotiations.
On Monday, UAW leaders said they were bracing for a strike and expected it could impact benefits processing for JFS clients.
"If [our members] are outside on the line, the people that are inside, which are going to be very few in management, are going to be the ones who have to pull in the whole workload,” said bargaining unit chairperson Gina Jones.
Moore said the county has a contingency plan in the event of a strike. He declined to share details, but said he did not anticipate disruptions to benefits processing.
Both parties said they'd prefer to avoid a strike, but the county said it plans to hold its ground and the UAW said it cannot accept the terms of the current offer.
"These are the last people who want to see families in this community go without what they deserve," said Fain. "But it is a shame that we're standing here today literally over getting the same treatment that every other county in this state provides."
