City Workers in Cuyahoga Falls Approve New Contract

Local 399 members celebrating their contract ratification.

Electric workers employed by the City of Cuyahoga Falls in Ohio ratified a new three-year agreement in February that includes annual percentage increases (retroactive to July 1, 2021) and a $1,500 ratification bonus.

The city-owned municipal power company employs 35 line and substation workers represented by Local 399. The old contract expired July 1. Dave Powell, who was elected local president just as negotiations started in spring 2021, said it took several months to reach an agreement because the city negotiates with multiple unions simultaneously. He, along with the local’s vice president, Tyler Cammel, steward, Jeremy James, and Region III Representative Frank Meznarich, Sr., (and Rich Cossell before him) were on the bargaining committee.