** Isn't it curious that State Rep. Nan A. Baker (Republican) supports and voted for SB 5 but has not suggested that members of the Ohio Senate and Ohio House of Representatives take pay cuts? Isn't she interested in "shared sacrifice" or does that only pertain to
other people? In her opinion piece in the
Westlakebayvillageobserver, Baker said that passing SB 5 will have a "....
positive impact it will have on public employees...."
Really? Is Baker is trying to convince voters that firefighters, police officers, teachers, nurses, and public employees will feel good about no longer having a voice in their workplaces? Does it make Baker feel better to be responsible for pushing forward a bill that takes away the rights of workers to discuss their own safety and staffing? Shame. Shame. Shame.
* What do you know?
CBS MoneyWatch has a report about Ohio's public employees:
Opponents of Ohio's embattled new collective bargaining law rolled out evidence on Tuesday that they say shows public employees already have saved taxpayers more than $1 billion since 2008 by giving up raises and some benefits.
A report commissioned by Protecting Ohio Protectors — a coalition of police and fire unions — says state employees alone saved Ohio $350 million with wage freezes, furlough days and increased health care payments.
"The report shows that collective bargaining works," said Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio president Jay McDonald....
Obviously, the money that was saved is not enough for Ohio's Republicans and the governor. They want to humiliate public workers and use them as the scapegoat for Ohio's economic problems. The GOP wants Ohio's public employees to take cuts in pay, lose benefits, lose workers' rights, and lose seniority. This is all part of the Republican agenda being pushed by those right wing big contributors. In taking money away from Ohio's public employees, the governor will be able to give more corporate tax breaks and pay his staff even more.
In fact, the prime reason Ohio is in such a difficult situation is because of the domino effect caused by the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008. When Lehman collapsed, the banks, and financial firms followed the downward trend. Wall Street trading on toxic assets and unethical behavior caused people to lose their retirement funds and businesses to lose everything.
If SB 5 stands, everyone loses. Your schools will lose the best teachers. Communities will no longer have the superior fire and police protection they now enjoy. Nurses will be working longer hours and patient care will suffer. Getting anything done through the state will take even longer.
What else will happen? Churches will lose income because their members that are public employees will need to reduce their contributions. Charities will suffer because public employees contribute their time and money to local institutions, charities, and events.
Are you willing to risk all this just to keep Kasich and his corporate friends happy?
Vote NO on Issue 2.