Blog.AFL-CIO:
....Following the lead of Gov. John Kasich, the Senate leaders are trying to shift the blame for the state’s economic woes onto the state’s public employees and their unions. The State Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the bill, SB 5, on Wednesday, and working people are mobilizing to stop it in its tracks.
If you live in Ohio, you can take action now. Click here now to urge your state to focus on addressing our jobs crisis instead of scapegoating workers for our economic problems.
Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga tells members in an e-mail:
Senator Jones, Governor Kasich and their political allies continue to blame workers for problems they did not create. Workers are not the reason tens of thousands of jobs have been outsourced from Ohio to China or Mexico. Workers did not create the economic recession that increased joblessness and pushed working families out of their homes. Workers are not the cause of Ohio’s $8 billion projected budget deficit....
The Republicans are playing with people's lives and they are going after teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, state employees, and others. The Ohio Republicans are moving to end collective bargaining for public employees. The AFL-CIO suggests that teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees contact their State Senator to voice you opposition to SB5.
Here is the list of members of the Ohio Senate: http://www.ohiosenate.gov/directory.html
or you may use this from the Ohio Senate site:
Contact your state senator directly or call the toll-free legislative hotline at 1-800-282-0253 (466-8842 in Columbus) to get information about pending legislation.
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* The people in Lancaster are going to see some major cuts to an important program.
Lancaster Eagle Gazette:
The Lancaster Public Transit system has lost a $1.2 million grant to expand its public transit system countywide....
....During former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation pledged $150 million to assist Ohio transit agencies during the next three years.
But Gov. John Kasich’s newly-appointed ODOT director, Jerry Wray, announced Tuesday the program would be reduced to $40 million in 2011, $20 million in 2012 and $20 million in 2013. The other $70 million will be used to pay down the department’s debt, Wray said....
Why are Wray and Kasich so against public transit?