Teachers and Public Workers Voice Opposition To Senate Bill 5

Protesters said they were fighting for education, rights and their living at a rally against Senate Bill 5 in Strongsville yesterday. Representatives from Westlake, Avon, Avon Lake, Lakewood and North Olmsted joined hundreds of others to protest legislation that, among other things, would ban strikes, get rid of automatic pay raises, change the process for contract disputes and eliminate collective bargaining for health care, sick leave or pensions.

The protest was one of 13 across the state organized by Stand Up for Good Jobs and Strong Communities.

Some local rally attendees stopped to say why they turned out to protest the bill, which narrowly passed in the Ohio Senate and is now in the House of Representatives.

Wynne Antonio - retired teacher, Lakewood

“We’re in a fight for our lives for the working class, and I’m just amazed at how many people really get it that our whole economy is on the line. However, Senate Bill 5 is not the answer because it affects working conditions for teachers, which directly affects students. We have caps by collective bargaining on how many students are in a class so that we can do an adequate job, and with no caps we’ll be back to having over 40 students per class and that’s simply unacceptable.”

Patrick Corrigan - insulator, Fairview Park

“I’m here to support collective bargaining amongst the middle class. The governor is trying to strip all that out and it would decimate the middle class. Senate Bill 5 hamstrings the working people against the entities that they’re bargaining with, making it a one-way demand not a two-way negotiation.”

Burt Fassett - teacher, Fairview Park

“These collective bargaining rights are things that have been fought for since we’ve become an industrialized society, and it’s always a give-and-take between industry and labor. Right now, the industry thinks they have the upper hand and labor has to come back and strike a balance by working to defeat Senate Bill 5.”

Rich Yowler - City of North Olmsted municipal worker, LaGrange

“The unions impact more than just the cities. It really spreads out into the wider job markets because non-union workers are earning pay that’s comparable to union workers. Unions keep salaries competitive, whether you’re in a union or not. What do you think will happen if unions lose major pieces of their collective bargaining rights? Everyone will suffer, except for the (Ohio) legislators.”

Dennis Harczik - electrician, Strongsville

“I think the state government is misguided. I think that Gov. Kasich and his legislators ought to learn some economics lessons, particularly the velocity of money theory as it applies to the spreading around of wealth. If our wages are tampered with, we won’t be able to spend money and support our small businesses and we all know how much big government loves small business…If Kasich brings us down, we won’t be the only ones struggling to keep our heads above water.”

Latrice Tramble - teacher, Cleveland

“If Senate Bill 5 passes, you’ll have fewer teachers, and it’ll shrink the talent pool. It’s awful because what will happen to our students who will suffer in the long run? This bill is not the means to an end to fix the deficit. If it starts with us now, then who’s next? There are no winners here, particularly when it comes to students, families and the middle class.”

Steven Lucas - City of Strongsville employee and Union Stewart for Teamsters Local 52, Strongsville

“Senate Bill 5 takes away our collective bargaining rights and collective bargaining rights are human rights. Public employees didn’t cause the problem in Ohio. We’ve already made concessions and now it’s time for the government to make concessions.”