The American Federation of Teachers has announced that faculty from Central Ohio Technical College presented a petition at the board meeting on June 17. The petition calls for legal compliance following allegations that the board unlawfully withheld and concealed the signing of their new labor contract.
According to the faculty union at Central Ohio Technical College, the Board of Trustees failed to release meeting records from May 20. During this closed session, trustees allegedly rejected a binding labor contract, which they claim violates open meetings laws. The union argues that the refusal to provide these meeting minutes, which are public records, further undermines transparency and accountability.
On June 6, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the state labor board. They said that the Board declined to sign the agreed-upon collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and acted in bad faith. The Board claimed that the contract conflicted with parts of Senate Bill 1, a new law not set to take effect until June 27. The union maintains that this reasoning lacks legal basis since the bill is not yet enforceable.
The petition, supported by union faculty, insists that the college honor the contract reached in March and ratified by the union on April 29. Under Ohio law, once presented with an agreement, the Board had 30 days to vote on it. Since no action was taken within this period, the agreement became binding by default. The union claims that the Board's attempt to reject the contract on May 20—after this deadline—violates §4117.10 of the Ohio Revised Code.
United Faculty/Central Ohio Technical College, Local 4729 is part of both the Ohio Federation of Teachers and American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a national union affiliated with AFL-CIO representing 1.8 million members. Founded in 1916, AFT includes educators, school staff, government workers, healthcare professionals, and retirees across over 3,000 local chapters. It is led by elected officers and a 43-member executive council with policies determined during its biennial convention.
