Amid threats that state Republicans may revive the very same Right to Work legislation that died in the legislature earlier this month, Ohio unions say the scare has galvanized them in their fight to defeat what the anti-union legislation.
Rallied behind recent victories, the defeat of 2011’s Senate Bill 5, and the two recent bills, union groups are now more determined than ever to band together in a show of solidarity and strength.
“It’s time for us all to stand together and beat this thing,” said Stacey Chamberlain, longtime IUOE member. “We all need to join hands and fight as if our lives depend on it, because they do.”
In what proved to be a successful show of power, hundreds of workers gathered at the Capitol to protest the proposed Right to Work measures. The bills were struck down by Republican leadership citing more pressing issues.
“The last round of fighting really had the potential to shake us up,” said Pat Sink, IUOE Local 18’s business manager. “Luckily, we’ve been prepared and we came out of last week’s ‘drill’ ready to continue the fight.”
Seemingly undeterred from their recent losses, Ohio Republicans are pursuing Senate Bill 47, which contains language that greatly limits signature-gathering efforts to put unpopular legislation up for repeal. Reducing the amount of time collectors would have to obtain the signatures, the bill puts tremendous pressure on efforts to stop “workplace freedom” and right to work initiatives.
Opponents of the right-to-work bills, sometimes called “Workplace Freedom,” have long believed that the initiative’s true purpose is to kill unions and worker protections, leading to a weaker middle class.
Stripping workers of their rights and freedoms would allow business owners to lower worker pay, reduce worker benefits and ignore worker rights.
The Keep Ohio’s Heritage organization released a short video in March that explained to voters the dangers of the “Workplace Freedom” movement and what its passing would entail.
For more information on the “Workplace Freedom” movement, please visit the website, www.protectohiosmiddleclass.org.
For more information:
Glenn Selig
PR firm: The Publicity Agency
Email:
Phone: (312) 546-3034
Website: www.ohioworkplacefreedom.org
SOURCE: Keep Ohio's Heritage
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