Published 21 Mar, 2011
Despite the cold and the rain, tens of thousands of middle class Ohioans showed their resolve by rallying in towns and cities across the state on March 15 to protest Senate Bill 5 that would strip public workers of their collective bargaining rights.
With signs in hand and wearing TWU ponchos, TWU members from rail and transit locals joined fellow union members at a rally in Akron, Ohio at the Tri County AFL-CIO headquarters as part of the statewide day of action. The crowd of 500 activists listened to speeches, chanted slogans and called on the state legislature to kill the bill. Should SB 5 pass, Ohioans are prepared to launch a campaign to put the bill on the ballot for citizens to vote on through a referendum. Once the bill is filed with the Secretary of State, it does not go into effect for 90 days. If supporters collect the signatures needed to put the referendum on the ballot before the 90 days are up, the law will not go into effect unless and until it is upheld by citizens’ referendum.
Workers’ human rights supporters are confident about the referendum, as the people of Ohio are on the side of working families and preserving the middle class. The public opposes taking away collective bargaining rights and a majority of Ohio voters would prefer a Democrat in the governor’s office to Republican John Kasich, according to a recent poll by Public Policy Polling. Clearly, Kasich and the anti-worker politicians have gone too far.
The unpopular SB 5 has passed the Senate and is currently being debated and amended in the House. The bill would eliminate collective bargaining, taking away the right to strike and end binding arbitration.
This rally was just one of the many that took place in the last few weeks across the nation as workers’ rights have been threatened by state governments.