Amherst News-Times, 1999-12-15

              Community Chorus to sing — Page 2        Garden habitat is safe haven — P<;
Amherst News-Time
_■
Wednesday. December 15, 1999
Amherst, Ohio
Union tries to negotiate for Nordson jobs
by STEVE BARRY
News-Times reporter
I
Officials of Nordson Corporation
have turned down a union counterproposal that would keep 125 jobs
at its Amherst facility.
Nordson notified the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1802, which
represents Nordson's hourly employees, that their proposal did not
meet their goals for Action 2000,
and gave the union a list of things
that could meet those goals and save
the jobs.
Action 2000, according to Nordson, is a 24-month company-wide
initiative to realign Nordson's management structure for optimum performance, consolidate business operations, streamline manufacturing
processes, stimulate the development of innovative products, provide access to new markets through
both internal growth and strategic
acquisitions, and accelerate financial growth.
According to a Local 1802 document, Nordson's suggestions to the
union to meet the goals for Action
2000 include the following:
• All hourly employees will give
up the 29 cents an hour cost of living allowance, and all future cost of
living increases.
• All non-skilled employees
would give up between $2.25 and
$3 an hour from their wages.
• Shift premium reduction (a shift
premium is an increased rate of pay
for people who work second or third
shifts) from 74 cents to 35 cents an
hour. *
• Hourly personnel would "pick
up" five minutes of their non working time, and surrender it back to
the company.
• All hourly employees would
sign up under a different insurance
program.
• Allow the company to end the
stock option benefit program given
to hourly employees.
• Employees would renegotiate a
five-year contract with the
company.
According to union president
Joseph Chaszar, the whole issue for
union members is they way the
company is going about cost cutting
measures to meet Action 2000
guidelines.
"I feel like they want us to line
someone else's
said.
MDMM—_i',
SJkWmmt'
According to the union president,
what troubles the union most is that
Nordson seems unwilling to give up
anything much less meet them halfway to make the company more
profitable. Union members, would
like to see management paychecks
reflect similar concessions.
The  unions's  counterproposal
CONTINUED on page 2
Trip around the country
takes classroom place
by STEVE BARRY
News-Times reporter
I
! Ryan Krase, a 1998 graduate of
Marion L. Steele High School and
now a student at Baldwin Wallace
College, has just returned from the
college's newest education program,
an exploration series entitled the
USA Study Tour.
"If there is a theme for this program, it is preparing our students to
live in a bigger world," explained
B-W sociology professor Margaret
Brooks-Terry.
Krase, along with a troupe of
other B.W. students left the college
on Aug. 23 in four full-sized vans
and returned on Nov. 23. in three
full-sized vans, compliments of a
very successful car thief in Juarez,
Mexico.
There were 14 core credits to be
gained, four in religion, four in sociology, one in physical education
and five for their independent study.
Students who wanted to take
home momentos or take in shows
not on their itinerary had to pay for
it out of their own pockets. For
nearly everything else, the college
picked up the tab.
Each member was given a debit
card, to pay for meals and toiletries.
Every week or so the college would
deposit money into the account. The
daily food allowance was $5 for
breakfast, $10 for lunch and $15 for
supper.
Ryan Krase gives the former First Lady a hug
after meeting her and former President Jimmy
Carter in Georgia.
Ryan Krase finishes up some of his assign-     Library,
ments while working at the Amherst Public
Full-time fire chief sought to aid city's growth
position a full-time job and has sent
_   that recommendation to the floor of
council for approval.
Fire chief Ralph Zilch submitted
Council committees last week    the proposal.
discussed making the fire chiefs       According to Zilch, "At this time
by STEVE BARRY
News-Times reporter
it is the only way we can go, to give
the services to the Amherst Fire Department, and the city...I've gone as
far as I can go as a part-time chief
with what has to be done."
Zilch also said that there are new
regulations on both state and on federal levels that require an increase in
paperwork.
For cities the size of Amherst,
both the fire and police chief are
normally on par with one another,
both in responsibility and salary.
"The city keeps annexing new
lands, each new house you put up
creates a problem for us, each new
commercial building you put up creates a nightmare for us. In Lorain
County's 22 fire departments, we
are fourth in size. We cover the
largest populous area of the township and 15 miles of the Ohio Tum-
CONTINUED on page 14
I
CC, administration
will get pay raises
City council is discussing
several ordinances concerning
raises for city officials.
Mayor John Higgins for example, currently draws a
yearly salary of $17,107 as a
part-time city official. His
position has been made full-
time and the ordinance will
give hint step raises to total a
yearly salary of $51,248 by
2003.
The auditor and treasurer
'currently make $13,830, and
by 2003 they will make
$16,025.
The safety/service director
presently draws a $9,215
yearly income, and by 2003 it
will reach $10,679.
These ordinances will reach
j the floor of council just after
the city has finalized the readjustment to its budget 2000,
f a re-adjustment caused primarily by the possibility of lay
offs at the Nordson
Corporation.
The potential loss of revenue sent the administration
back to the drawing board
with its budget.
Company CEO Ed Campbell has assured Amherst officials that the Amherst facility
will remain open and remain
Nordson's primary manufacturing site.
The promise by Nordson
relieved a lot of tension at
City Hall, and took some of
the prffcsure off the budget
trimming, enabling the mayor
to go ahead with some of the
original capital improvement
plans and re-adjust some
salaries.
A request to make the secretary for the building department a full-time position was
tabled by council until the
2000 city council convenes.
>
Present
______
__1
2002
20Q3
Mayor
17,107
46,000
47,610
49,277
51,248
Auditor
13,830
14,384
14,888
15,409
16,025
Treasurer
13,830
14,384
14t888
15,409
16,025
Safety/Service Director
9,215
9,584
9,920
10,268
10,679
4
Council President
4,665
4,873
5,044
5,221
5,430
Council at Large
4,395
4,571
4,731
4,897
5,093
Ward Council
4,395
4,571
4,731
4,897
5,093
Law director cries
foul over new plan
to restructure job
The city law director's office is getting an overhaul,
much to the chagrin of Alan
Anderson, who lost the race
for law director in the'
November election to Kennth
Stumphauzer.
"I think it unconscienable
on the part of city council, to
consider reorganizing the
compensation of the law director and his department after the election — waiting to
see who won the election and
then reorganizing this and setting it up that way, doubling
the law director's salary, doubling the prosecutor's salary,
and doing that after the election after you've seen who
has won — I think it's unconscienable," Anderson said
last week during council committee meetings.
"I think it's absolutely terrible," he said, after discovering that council was in the
process of overhauling the
law director's office.
According to city auditor
Diane Eswine, the city spent
more than $134,000 in outside
legal consulting fees last yew,
and that was just with figures
she could immediately lay
hands on.
"I think Mr. Anderson isn't
telling the full truth here. I
mean, we took out of his
budget all the benefits this
year, under this proposal, that
he received," he said.
CONTINUED on page 10