The Norton City Schools Board of Education said Friday it has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union representing teachers in contract negotiations.
The board said it had filed the charge with the Ohio State Employment Relations Board, which acts as a neutral party in carrying out state law on public employee collective bargaining.
In its statement, the board said the Norton Classroom Teachers Association negatively presented a tentative agreement, reached on July 12, that led to members voting against the deal.
"...the NCTA presented the deal to its membership in a negative light using a PowerPoint presentation and the sabotage effort resulted in the Union’s membership rejecting the deal," the school board's statement reads. "In the charge the Board of Education asserts that the Union acted in bad faith when it did not advocate for ratification of the tentative agreement that they authorized when they initialed the deal."
Union President Amber Wheatley could not be reached immediately for comment.
Board calls rejected deal 'most generous financial offer'
In its statement, the board said the two parties are scheduling another bargaining session, which could come in September.
In a prepared statement, the board said it believes the union acted in bad faith when it presented the deal to its membership.
More: Negotiations sputter as Norton teachers contract is set to expire
Board President Jennifer Bennett called the ratification process "shocking" in the prepared statement.
"The deal rejected by the Association was the most generous financial offer to Norton teachers in decades," Bennett said. "It is (the) first time in history that Norton teachers did not ratify a tentative agreement reached with the Board by its bargaining team."
Norton teachers union asks members to contact board, administration
On Monday, the Norton teachers union released a statement on its Facebook page that called upon the board and district administration to act to retain and attract experienced staff, maintain reasonable working conditions and "regain respectful relationships in order to build collaborative classrooms."
The union called on its members and followers to contact the school board and administrators to advocate for those goals.
The union represents about 150 teachers and certified personnel. Its contract with the district ran out at the end of June.
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at www.facebook.com/alan.newsman.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Norton school board files unfair labor charge after teachers union rejects tentative deal
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