Opponents rally to repeal SB5
High winds and heavy rains did not keep more than 100 people from attending the Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) rally at the courthouse in downtown New Philadelphia on Saturday, April 16. Those in attendance oppose the new law signed by Gov. John Kasich March 31 and carried signs and chanted “O-H-I-O, save Ohio,” repeatedly as many of those driving through the square honked their horns in support.
Rally participants included firefighters, steelworkers, teachers, nurses, teamsters and others that oppose SB 5.
SB 5 limits collective bargaining rights for public employees, including teachers, police officers and firefighters. In its original version, SB 5 included a ban on collective bargaining. After several days of protests at the Ohio statehouse, Senate Republicans agreed to amend SB 5. The recently enacted law now permits union negotiations for wages, hours and working conditions, but still bans collective bargaining for benefits. It also eliminates binding arbitration and prohibits public employees from going on strike. Under SB 5, elected officials at the state and local levels would be given the authority to resolve contract disputes with public employees.
Opponents of the new law will ask that voters decide whether or not SB 5 remains law in the state by placing a referendum on the November ballot. To get a referendum on the ballot first requires collection of 1,000 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters submitted to the secretary of state and attorney general. The state has 10 business days to validate the signatures and approve the petition.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine issued certification of the summary language for one of the two referenda seeking the repeal of Senate Bill 5. The certification was issued April 15 in a letter delivered to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Signatures equal to three percent (231,149) of total voters in last year’s governor’s race must come from at least half of Ohio’s 88 counties by June 30. If the secretary of state determines enough signatures were collected, the law is put on hold until the ballot issue is decided in the Nov. 8 election.
Bryon Bell, a Uhrichsville resident and Kent State Tuscarawas student, said, “One of the things I don’t understand about this is why there is so much opposition from working people. As a society, we have never accomplished anything by taking rights away from people. I read something the other day that said when women were fighting for the right to vote, they didn’t try to take the right to vote away from men because they didn’t have it. They fought so that everyone would have the right to vote. Taking union rights away from one of the last sections of society that still has them is not going to do anyone any good. Why aren’t the union workers opposed to this fighting to increase their union rights? Only then we will see an increase in wages and benefits.”
Several rally participants took the time to speak, including Kendra Rothrock, a Claymont fifth-grade teacher and the Claymont Education Association president. “There is a lot of misinformation out there. An April 4 editorial in the Times Reporter was quoted as saying public employees only contribute 10 percent of their salaries to their pensions while private sector employees were contributing close to 50 percent. That is an outright lie. Public employees contribute 10 percent of their yearly salaries and that is 42 percent of what’s going into our pensions,” said Rothrock.
Josh O’Farrell, a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, said, “I am here to stand with our police officers, firefighters, teachers and middle class Ohioans and voice our opposition to SB 5. These issues are important. They affect the everyday lives of middle class Ohioans who teach our children, the police officers and firefighters who keep us safe. It is their livelihood. These are the people who sacrifice throughout their lives to make our communities a better place to live. I understand their frustration. I understand why they are upset. To be mischaracterized as people who have taken advantage of the system, which have only, throughout their lives, given back to that system, is discouraging. It is unsettling. It is great to see so many people out here and I am proud to be out here with them.”
Jim Lindon, a Tusky Valley 12th-grade English teacher, has been teaching for 36 years. “I am here today for my students. There is nothing in SB 5 that helps my students. I am here for the same reason I teach, to help my students.”
Longtime members of the Communication Workers of America, John and Susan Elvin of Dover, said, “Collective bargaining is something that simply can’t be done away with. We have been able to retire comfortably because we had the right to bargain.”
Questions or comments regarding the referendum can be directed to Kathleen Kelley, field coordinator for the Northeast Ohio Area Labor Federation, at 330-612-5573.
Rally participants included firefighters, steelworkers, teachers, nurses, teamsters and others that oppose SB 5.
SB 5 limits collective bargaining rights for public employees, including teachers, police officers and firefighters. In its original version, SB 5 included a ban on collective bargaining. After several days of protests at the Ohio statehouse, Senate Republicans agreed to amend SB 5. The recently enacted law now permits union negotiations for wages, hours and working conditions, but still bans collective bargaining for benefits. It also eliminates binding arbitration and prohibits public employees from going on strike. Under SB 5, elected officials at the state and local levels would be given the authority to resolve contract disputes with public employees.
Opponents of the new law will ask that voters decide whether or not SB 5 remains law in the state by placing a referendum on the November ballot. To get a referendum on the ballot first requires collection of 1,000 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters submitted to the secretary of state and attorney general. The state has 10 business days to validate the signatures and approve the petition.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine issued certification of the summary language for one of the two referenda seeking the repeal of Senate Bill 5. The certification was issued April 15 in a letter delivered to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Signatures equal to three percent (231,149) of total voters in last year’s governor’s race must come from at least half of Ohio’s 88 counties by June 30. If the secretary of state determines enough signatures were collected, the law is put on hold until the ballot issue is decided in the Nov. 8 election.
Bryon Bell, a Uhrichsville resident and Kent State Tuscarawas student, said, “One of the things I don’t understand about this is why there is so much opposition from working people. As a society, we have never accomplished anything by taking rights away from people. I read something the other day that said when women were fighting for the right to vote, they didn’t try to take the right to vote away from men because they didn’t have it. They fought so that everyone would have the right to vote. Taking union rights away from one of the last sections of society that still has them is not going to do anyone any good. Why aren’t the union workers opposed to this fighting to increase their union rights? Only then we will see an increase in wages and benefits.”
Several rally participants took the time to speak, including Kendra Rothrock, a Claymont fifth-grade teacher and the Claymont Education Association president. “There is a lot of misinformation out there. An April 4 editorial in the Times Reporter was quoted as saying public employees only contribute 10 percent of their salaries to their pensions while private sector employees were contributing close to 50 percent. That is an outright lie. Public employees contribute 10 percent of their yearly salaries and that is 42 percent of what’s going into our pensions,” said Rothrock.
Josh O’Farrell, a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, said, “I am here to stand with our police officers, firefighters, teachers and middle class Ohioans and voice our opposition to SB 5. These issues are important. They affect the everyday lives of middle class Ohioans who teach our children, the police officers and firefighters who keep us safe. It is their livelihood. These are the people who sacrifice throughout their lives to make our communities a better place to live. I understand their frustration. I understand why they are upset. To be mischaracterized as people who have taken advantage of the system, which have only, throughout their lives, given back to that system, is discouraging. It is unsettling. It is great to see so many people out here and I am proud to be out here with them.”
Jim Lindon, a Tusky Valley 12th-grade English teacher, has been teaching for 36 years. “I am here today for my students. There is nothing in SB 5 that helps my students. I am here for the same reason I teach, to help my students.”
Longtime members of the Communication Workers of America, John and Susan Elvin of Dover, said, “Collective bargaining is something that simply can’t be done away with. We have been able to retire comfortably because we had the right to bargain.”
Questions or comments regarding the referendum can be directed to Kathleen Kelley, field coordinator for the Northeast Ohio Area Labor Federation, at 330-612-5573.
Published: April 20, 2011
