The Republican majorities in both houses of the Ohio General Assembly have now passed Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) and Governor Kasich has signed it into law. The bill, as most of you know, dramatically reduces the rights of public employees in Ohio to bargain collectively with their members’ employers. Reduced to its simplest form, SB 5 is a blatant power grab, an attack on all unions, and an effort by Republicans to defund campaign contributions by unions who traditionally favor non-Republican candidates. Public opinion has been overwhelmingly against the Republican attack on working men and women and their unions here in Ohio.
Fortunately, Ohio allows the people of the state to decide in an election whether these anti-worker measures will be allowed to become law. In the next several weeks, petitions will be distributed and circulated statewide and if we are successful in securing enough signatures, the issue of SB 5 will be on the ballot in the November, 2011, election.
At a time when some of the country’s biggest corporations are making record profits and paying virtually nothing in taxes, it is simply wrong to put further burdens like SB 5 on the backs of working men and women. Families in Ohio deserve better treatment than this!
While the big corporations certainly have the money and also apparently control of the Republican Party, we must always remember that corporations don’t vote.
PEOPLE VOTE! Can we count on you?