The March 1
demonstration against Senate Bill 5 comes at a critical moment. A
vote on the bill could come as early as March 2, and this protest
will show the world that the people of Ohio are against eliminating
basic rights like collective bargaining.
The Ohio bill is
even worse that the Wisconsin bill. It completely bans 61,500 state
and higher education workers from bargaining over wages. In addition,
the bill would ban 300,000 local government workers from bargaining
on health insurance and other benefits. No other Ohio workers are
banned from bargaining on these issues.
Public workers
provide key public services and they are paid on average even less
than their counterparts in the private sector. Generations ago, it
took a struggle to force the government to provide public services.
It was a necessary struggle because the private sector is only
concerned about profit.
Public workers
provide education at all levels. They remove snow and maintain
streets. They work in mental health clinics, unemployment offices,
facilities for the developmentally disabled, child protective
services, transportation, animal control, parks, schools for the deaf
and the visually impaired, veterans’ homes, coroner offices and as
public defenders.
Every Ohio resident,
whether in a union or not, has a stake in this battle. If the rights
of over 350,000 of the most organized workers can be cut back, then
everyone will lose. Millions of Ohio workers—from the unorganized
workers at Wal-Mart to Kroger’s union employees, from the heath
care workers to JP Morgan workers—will lose because their employers
will feel freer to cut wages, rights and benefits. Taking away the
rights of public employees will only whet the appetite of large and
small employers across the state to take rights away.
The fight to win
collective bargaining took decades
Unions represent the
unified voice of the workers and collective bargaining is the means
to get that voice heard at the workplace. Since 1947, the right wing
has tried to silence the voice of Ohio public workers by banning
union contracts and union actions. But in 1958 the people of Ohio
dealt the right wing a resounding defeat when they voted against a
ballot measure to undercut union power—defeating the “right to
work for less” law.
By the late 1960s,
even though collective bargaining for most public employees was
illegal, the strength of the movement had led to contracts in most
major cities. In 1975, the courts finally ruled that education
employees could bargain. In 1983, a law was signed certifying that
public employees in general had the right to bargain.
Now the right wing
wants to eliminate what took decades to gain. In the face of this
attack, the beautiful and powerful demonstration by AFSCME, SEIU,
Teamsters, the Ohio AFL-CIO and many students and community activists
showed the world that the Ohio’s workers will not take this lying
down
On Feb. 22,
thousands stood outside for hours in freezing temperatures when they
were refused entry to the hearings that so deeply affected their
future. Organizers from the ANSWER Coalition and the Party for
Socialism and Liberation participated. They passed out leaflets for a
March 19 protest against the war and pointed out the connection
between the war abroad and the budget crisis at home.
Tax the rich and
corporations
Ohio corporations
get away with paying one of the lowest tax rates in the country,
while the people of Ohio suffer because state and local budgets lack
funds to pay for needed services. The budget crisis could easily be
solved by taxing the rich and the corporations.
GE is one of the
largest employers in Ohio. It would have had to pay at a 22 percent
tax rate in 2009, but it can deduct massive profits that they make
overseas. GE has $84 billion in overseas income held outside the
United States. So, it paid no federal income taxes that year and may
have gotten over $1 billion as a refund.
While the right wing
is trying to use the budget crisis as the excuse to batter the people
providing essential services, the truth is that the working people
did not cause the crisis. The budget deficits come from actions by
banks and the money spent on wars for Big Oil.
Wisconsin shows
the way
Last Saturday, well
over 100,000 people filled the streets of Madison, Wis. to defend the
right to collective bargaining.
On Sunday, thousands
stayed in the capitol building, resisting orders to leave, insisting
on the right to protest and demand justice. Their voices and
determination were so strong that the police finally allowed them to
continue to occupy the capitol overnight.
The fight in Ohio is
just heating up and even more is at stake. The labor movement in Ohio
has a proud tradition of fighting bravely and winning basic rights.
Everyone in Ohio who is looking at Wisconsin is thinking—it could
happen here. We can act powerfully together to make the politicians
do the right thing.
