Following five months of negotiations on a contract that expired on December 31, the members of the Association of Cuyahoga County Employees for Special Students (ACCESS) met on February 16 to review the current status of contract negotiations. At the meeting, the members of ACCESS overwhelmingly voted to authorize its negotiations team to issue a 10-day strike notice to the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Throughout the negotiations process, ACCESS members have continued to advocate for policies that a.) retain and build staff to fully support individuals with developmental disabilities from infancy through senior years, b.) promote a work environment that allows our skilled professionals to spend the necessary time with individuals and families and help them thrive, and c.) allow members the ability to use their expertise and experience to best serve the residents of Cuyahoga County. The county board’s human resources department and its general counsel have responded to ACCESS’s forward-looking vision with either silence or proposals that would actually erode ACCESS members’ ability to serve their individuals and families. ACCESS spokesperson Anne Marie Trepanier, who has worked as a physical therapist for CCBDD for 23 years, said, “ACCESS has worked hard to maintain a positive professional approach in negotiations. Unfortunately, management has not yet demonstrated a sincere desire to reach a fair outcome. ACCESS has proposed innovative contract language that would strengthen our members’ ability to provide services to individuals throughout the county.

The result of today’s vote is that ACCESS can now file the Notice of Intent to Strike and Picket with the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the State Employment Relations Board at any time. Trepanier says, “We do not want to strike. We do, however, feel that it is long past time that the CCBDD listen to our voices and settle a fair contract so that we can help individuals and families in this county to live their best lives. We’re willing to work with this board to hammer out solutions and procedures that are fair and effective for the individuals and families in this county, but it takes both parties to make that happen.”