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Dayton
Business Journal...
Wisconsin protests
spill into Ohio
by Joe Cogliano, DBJ Staff Reporter
Monday, February 21, 2011
A massive protest rally similar to those in Wisconsin is planned for
Tuesday in Columbus as Ohio considers a bill that would trim union
benefits.
A massive Wisconsin-like rally at Ohio’s statehouse in Columbus is
being planned for Tuesday to protest Senate Bill 5, which would abolish
collective bargaining rights of state employees.
The mobilization is expected to be much larger than last Thursday’s
turnout, where an estimated 4,000 people filled the statehouse atrium,
rotunda and West Lawn to oppose the measure, according to a news
release from the AFL-CIO. Among its other provisions, Senate Bill 5
requires workers to pay more toward health insurance premiums and
switch to a merit-based pay system.
Massive protests in Wisconsin relating to a similar measure there have
dragged on for days, with some rallies drawing more than 20,000
protesters in that state.
Proponents of the measure say the changes are necessary as part of an
effort to get Ohio out of a financial crisis. The state faces an
estimated $8 billion shortfall in its next two-year budget.
Speakers at the press conference will call out Senate Bill 5 as a
misguided measure that will hurt all workers in Ohio and how it will
affect private sector workers. They will hold a press conference at the
statehouse at noon followed by the rally at 1 p.m.
Representatives from the United Steel Workers, United Auto Workers,
Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council, United Food and
Commercial Workers 1059 and Utility Workers Union of America are slated
to attend.
This morning, a small group of protesters were at the Dayton Convention
Center to rally against the measure.
Read it in the Dayton Business Journal
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