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Guest Column from State Representative Jim Buchy
Reflecting on Public
Forums
Recently, I held three public forums, one in each county of the
district. I was pleased by the willingness of nearly 450
constituents to discuss the issue of Senate Bill 5 and other bills,
both for and against. Throughout this process I have been open
with my support for this measure and will continue to explain what has
led me to this position. The bill is currently in the amendment
phase in the House and the ideas of constituents in this district have
been relayed to my colleagues working on the bill.
The first event was at the St. Clair Memorial Hall where I was joined
by Senator Faber, the local Greenville Education Association and other
kind volunteers that allowed the event to take place without
problems. At that event constituents were most concerned about
dispute resolution provisions and administrator accountability.
At that event we heard from many good people and it set the stage for
success at the two latter events.
The Coldwater event was met with an increased amount of displeasure
most of which was fueled by residents of neighboring districts.
The Coldwater event was hosted at the Coldwater American Legion by the
Mercer County Liberty Group. The audience was comprised of
interested constituents in favor and opposition to SB 5. In
Coldwater it was evident that the existing provisions of step schedules
and collective bargaining are not working for schools in my
district. The constant pressure of national and state labor
unions to ask for more from our taxpayers is not popular amongst local
public employees. The public employees of my district just want
to be treated fairly and I am carrying that message to Columbus.
The right of employees to organize is important and they should bargain
for wages, hours, terms and conditions. However, we need
increased accountability for administrators.
At the final event in Eaton I was met by protestors in the rain.
I invited them inside for the event and many came in. This event
was held in the Eaton High School gymnasium. The discussion was
lively and many people in the crowd reiterated they were interested in
hearing what was happening in Columbus. I am dedicated to
communicating with constituents by face to face meetings, phone calls,
letters, emails and through columns such as this. I will continue
to make every effort to hear the concerns of those who came to the
forums or could not make it. If you are concerned about the
reasons SB 5 is needed in Ohio or you have suggestions to improve the
bill I want to hear them.
Soon, there will be changes offered-up to SB 5 in the House and I look
forward to examining those changes. Currently, SB 5 will allow
for public employees to collectively bargain for wages, hours, terms
and conditions. It will remove step pay increases for all public
employees and replace those pay increases by a locally determined merit
system, except for teachers who will be paid based on a locally
determined performance system. Public employees will continue to
have leave time and will be asked to pay a percentage of their
healthcare costs. We have viewed the Governor’s budget proposal
and it is evident the local entities and state government need tools to
manage labor costs. We cannot and will not balance this budget on
the backs of the middle class. This bill and others will ask
administrators to make wise decisions and cut costs universally.
I consider these changes an important part of putting Ohio back on her
feet and I hope you will too.
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