Representatives from two Oak Lawn employee unions say they've found ways to meet the village's
cost-cutting demands in an effort to rescue some jobs from the chopping block.

Good news for most of the 36 village employees facing the axe, right?

Not exactly.

Concession packages, including furloughs and raise deferments, recently were offered up by
leaders of Oak Lawn's fire union and Operating Engineers Local 150 only to be rejected by
the village.

Oak Lawn's three other employee unions say they aren't negotiating at all.

Local 150 represents more than 100 public works and clerical positions. The fire union
represents nearly 90 village firefighters.

Together, those union jobs account for 28 of the village's planned layoffs, scheduled to take place
Aug. 31.

Village manager Larry Deetjen "cannot place the blame for layoffs on the unions within the village
when we are holding up our end of the bargain and still being dismissed," Local 150 president
James M. Sweeney said in a statement.

Village officials said the proposals don't include the biggest step toward closing Oak Lawn's
estimated $2.65 million budget gap - an increase in the portion of health insurance costs paid
by the employees.

But those costs are locked in contracts and off-limits, union leaders say.

Other measures proposed by the village, including asking the firefighters to drop outstanding
grievances and unfair labor practice charges against Oak Lawn, go too far, they said.

"They basically opened up every section of our contract in their counterproposal," fire union vice
president Scott Tsilis said.

Members of both unions are expected to swarm village hall, 9446 S. Raymond Ave., in advance
of the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting at 7:30 tonight.

Deetjen said the village's budget woes require bigger financial commitments from the unions.

He said the scheduling changes proposed by the unions - furloughs for Local 150 and staffing
some firefighters on scheduled off days - were dismissed by department heads, Deetjen said.

"For the amount of days guys would have been off, it would have been hard to keep a workflow,"
said Steve Barrett, who heads the public works department.

Fire Chief George Sheets wouldn't comment on specifics, only to say he continues to deliberate
concessions with the union.

Deetjen said ultimately some concessions go too far, affecting service to residents.

"My job is not to minimize service to the public," he said.

But Tsilis said it's too late for that.

"Laying off employees is a cut in service to the public," he said. "Don't tell me you can get the same
amount of work done with less people."