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Columbus Dispatch...
Ohio House passes
Senate Bill 5
Collective-bargaining
bill sent back to Senate
By Jim Siegel
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Bob Robinson photo,
Memorial Hall, Greenville, Ohio, earlier this month.
After hours of debate, the Ohio House voted 53-44 today to pass Senate
Bill 5, sending the controversial collective bargaining measure back to
the Senate, which is expected to give it a final concurrence vote this
evening.
House Speaker William G. Batchelder called it an end to three decades
of no changes to collective bargaining in Ohio, which have led to
“expensive, overly restrictive union contracts which are simply
unsustainable.”
“This state cannot pay what we’ve been paying in the past,” the Medina
Republican told reporters prior to today’s House session. “Local
governments and taxpayers need control over their budgets. This bill
will give control back to the people who pay the bill.”
Summing up the sentiments of House Democrats who voted against the
bill, Rep. Dennis Murray, D-Sandusky, called it “union busting
masquerading as cost control.”
The crowd in the gallery erupted with yelling and chants after the vote.
The bill will soon be on its way to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.
Rep. Mike Duffey, R-Worthington, and Rep. Anne Gonzales, R-Westerville
voted for the bill. Senate Bill 5 would weaken collective bargaining
power for about 360,000 public workers, including safety forces,
teachers, school cooks, and corrections officers. If things go
relatively smoothly in the House, the Senate may give the bill final
concurrence this evening, sending it to Gov. John Kasich.
About 700 opponents were on hand for the denouement, including those
who got the 180 first-come, first-come vouchers for seating in the
House gallery. Demonstrators also were spread through the Rotunda,
atrium and west plaza of the Statehouse.
Batchelder warned those in the chamber several times for cheers and
jeers of House members who on the measure.
House Republican leaders also are gearing up for an expected statewide
ballot campaign, where Democrats and union supporters will ask voters
in November to overturn the law, which they say is an attack on
middle-class families.
Republicans have started a new web site, www.SB5truth.com, that they
say will combat the misinformation unions have been putting out about
the bill, which prohibits public worker strikes and bans safety forces
from using binding arbitration as a way to settle contract disputes.
“There is a great deal of misrepresentation and outright fraud in this
area,” Batchelder said.
A television screen behind the Republicans leadership team said the
bill is saving the middle class. Batchelder agreed the referendum fight
will largely be about whether Ohioans believe that, or believe the
Democrats, who say it will drive down middle-class wages.
“You have people who are presently in a position to control their pay
and control their benefits... and other people are not in that
position,” he said. “They’ve got to take what’s left over when their
employer runs out of money.”
Batchelder added: “There is no coherence between the statement that’s
being made about the middle class and union recognition.”
The bill also would require public workers to pay at least 15 percent
of health insurance costs which would impact many local workers; limit
the types of issues that could be bargained, taking away items such as
staffing levels and building assignments; no longer make longevity the
key factor when determining layoffs; and allow the governing body to
pick its own last offer to settle a negotiation impasse.
Bill opponents also talked to reporters before today’s session. Mahalia
Woods of Columbus, a seven-year corrections officer for the Franklin
County Pre-Release Center, said she joined the public sector as an
opportunity to make a career, care for her kids and develop a good life.
“Senate Bill 5 would dry these opportunities up,” she said.
“Senate Bill 5 makes me feel like I did something wrong by becoming a
public employee. Now we are being blamed for a budget gone bad.”
AJ Smith, a city councilman in Middletown, added: “Politicians cannot
fix budget problems on the backs of working people.”
Asked about concerns from workers that they will see pay cuts under the
bill, particularly with local governments and schools facing major
state budget cuts over the next two years, Rep. Louis Blessing,
R-Cincinnati, said it’s better than layoffs.
“They shouldn’t be concerned about their level of pay,” he said. “They
should be concerned about the fact that they have a job. We’ve got 10
percent of people without jobs. Be glad you have a job.
“Would you rather have no job or a pay cut of 4 percent? That’s
basically what we’re telling public employees. Congratulations, you’ve
done a great job since (collective bargaining) was enacted 27 years
ago, but the party’s over. We can’t afford it anymore.”
In addition to measures that Republicans say will help governments save
money as they deal with pending state budget cuts, the bill also would
no longer allow union contracts to require nonunion members to pay dues
through “fair share” a provision where nonunion workers pay to help
cover the cost of negotiating and upholding the contract, because they
are generally covered by the provisions of the contract.
Republicans argue workers should not have to pay if they do not want to
be in a union. Union supporters argue the provision weakens their ranks
and allows workers to get a free ride from those who pay to negotiate
the deals.
The bill also would no longer allow for automatic payroll deductions
for union money directed to political action committees. Blessing said
such deductions could still me made if workers sign individual
statements asking that the money be paid.
Unions see the provision as a direct attempt to weaken them
politically. The vast majority of public union political donations go
to Democrats.
Read it at the Columbus Dispatch
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