EFFINGHAM - Workers at Heartland Human Services in Effingham have voted to end their strike.

And now their employer is deciding when they can come back to work.

Some three dozen members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have been on strike for a year at the facility, which provides counseling and mental health services for patients struggling with addictions and other problems.

The union local at Heartland balloted Thursday to go back to work and end the strike, which was sparked by issues ranging from pay to paid time off. Heartland management had not made any new offers or put forward any concessions. When the workers, ranging from counselors to support staff, arrived at the facility together Friday morning to resume their duties, management sent them home.

Heartland's executive director, Cheryl Compton, said Monday that management needed to discuss the development with their attorneys before they responded to the workers' move. "We're waiting on the attorneys to work out some responses, and when that's done, we'll issue a press release," she added.

Asked what issues needed legal advice before the workers came back to the job, Compton replied: "I'm not at liberty to discuss that. When decisions have been made, we will communicate them."

The union, meanwhile, described the return to work as a tactical move, not a defeat. It says employees will continue to bargain collectively. It says they have sacrificed much financial hardship and remained keenly aware of the hardship placed on Heartland clients who were not able to get the services they needed.

"Over the past year, only one striker crossed the picket line," said AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer. They intend to maintain that remarkable unity and determination as they continue to fight for fairness."

The union condemned Heartland for what it described as a refusal to bargain and also attacked the National Labor Relations Board, which it said had refused to intervene and hold Heartland accountable.

Tony Reid can be reached at treid@ herald-review.com or 421-7977.