Public employee bargaining rights are under attack in several states, and much of the national attention has focused on the dramatic events in Wisconsin, where we’ve seen rallies as large as 100,000 people and more, a weeks-long occupations of the capitol building for weeks, state senate Democrats deny Republicans a quorum, and most recently, an end run by Republicans around the law to ram through their union-busting bill. UE members from around Wisconsin and the Midwest have journeyed to Madison battle. Wisconsin union members are now mobilizing to use the state’s recall procedure to remove anti-union politicians from office.
But the fight in Ohio is just as important and has also included some dramatic twists and turns. It looked as if Republicans would easily pass Senate Bill 5, Governor John Kasich’s union-busting proposal. The GOP holds large majorities in both the Senate and House, so even if the Democrats walked out, Republicans would have quorums and could pass whatever they want. But union members are fighting back, with mass rallies in Columbus and more mobilizations being organized in cities around the state – and this is changing the political dynamic.
With public opinion strongly against the anti-worker attack, Republican leaders in the Ohio Senate ran into resistance even within their own ranks. Before they could get the bill to the Senate floor for a vote, it had to be approved by two committees. But to do that, Republican leaders removed some of their own members from committees – Republican senators who said they’d vote against SB 5 – and replaced them with reliable anti-union votes. When they finally got the bill to the full Senate, Republican leaders barely managed to pass it by just one vote, with six Republican senators voting against it.
The bill was then scheduled for what was expected to be an easier vote in the House the week of March 7. Republicans control the house 59-40. But the House speaker recently announced that the House will conduct three weeks of hearings on the bill, during which it might be amended. Some House Republicans want to make this horrible bill even worse – if that happens, it will have to go back to the Senate again, where the outcome is uncertain. Even if the legislature ultimately passes the bill, the fight is not over. If union supporters gather enough signatures within 90 days, they will force a ballot referendum on SB 5. That would mean the voters of Ohio get the final say, and can overturn the bill. (Read more about the Ohio complications in David Dayen’s article, “Not So Fast".)
Jeff Nicewanger is the president of UE Local 718 and a maintenance worker at Ralston Foods in Lancaster, OH. He and Bob Kishler, another Local 718 member, attended a mass rally March 1 on the grounds of the state capitol in Columbus. “The Republicans are getting tons of emails opposing this bill. The issue is on the front page of our local newspaper (in Zanesville, where he lives) about every day, and there are tons of comments on the newspapers website, about 90 percent of them in favor of leaving the current law as it is. The public’s getting more educated about why things are so upside down. It’s not our fault that the stock market took a turn like that.”
At the Columbus rally, tens of thousands filled the capitol grounds, and union leaders and members spoke. But Nicewanger was most impressed by the presence of church leaders on the podium. “They pointed out that even biblically, it’s wrong for the executives to trample on the little guy. It’s just not right.” Another speaker was a Columbus sanitation worker who admitted that last November, he had voted for Kasich – who did not mention his plans to attack workers’ rights during the campaign. Nicewanger said that some members of his own family had ignored his advice and voted for Kasich, but they now realize they’d been deceived “and they won’t forget.”
More rallies to defend workers’ rights are scheduled in the days ahead, not only around Ohio and Wisconsin but across the country. Says Chris Townsend, UE’s political action director, “Things are happening very fast. I urge every UE local to get in touch with other unions in your area, your Jobs with Justice chapter, or the local labor council to find out what rallies or protests are planned. Then grab as many UE members as you can, put on your UE jackets and caps, make some signs, get out there and join the fight. This is the most important union battle of our lifetimes.”