Copyright 2012 -Teamsters Local 17. All Rights Reserved.
Grandma 1 - Governor 0
Middle class is fed up with anti-worker legislation!
The defeat of Issue 2 and SB5 in Ohio was because Grandmothers who teach in public schools, fathers who put out fires and husbands who police our streets, got out and helped fill petitions to get this thing repealed. Grandma 1 - Governor 0.
On behalf of all of the staff, agents, officers and members of Teamsters Local 17, we hope all of you have a great holiday season.
MICHAEL A. SIMEONE
Principal Officer and
Secretary - Treasurer of Teamsters Local 17
November 27, 2011
It took about a year but things are starting to change. In Ohio, where Issue 2 was defeated on November 8th, voters sent a clear message to the republican controlled house and senate in that state. Issue 2 was brought before the voters after 1 million signatures were collected on petitions to repeal
this anti-worker, anti-middle class law.
Senate Bill 5 (SB5) would have restricted collective bargaining rights and set minimum levels for public employees' contributions toward their health care costs and retirement benefits. And that was just to start.
Many community leaders expected SB5 to be repealed anyway and never made the effort to calculate it into their future budgets. Instead, they looked to the unions for concessions to help them. They got it!
Colerain Township firefighters agreed to no pay hike in 2012 in exchange for the township's leaving their health care contribution at 15 percent. In April, with Norwood, Ohio facing a $2.6 million year end deficit, police and fire fighters gave up $1 million a year in concessions. This was all done through collective bargaining.
More people voted against Issue 2 - about 2.1 million - than voted for Governor Kasich in 2010 when he picked up 1.89 million votes and won by only 2 percentage points.
Even the White House weighed in on election night with a message of support for Ohioans who voted to repeal SB5. "The president congratulates the people of Ohio for standing up for workers and defeating efforts to strip away collective bargaining right, and commends the teachers, fire fighters, nurses, police officers, and other middle class workers who took a stand to defend those rights," White House press secretary Jay Carney.
And for those who supported SB5 in Ohio and similar legislation in other states… Feel free to move to a rabid, anti-union, stomp on the worker states like South Carolina or Mississippi where you can enjoy your 20-25% drop in your salary, a weak school system, uneducated work force, poor public services and inadequate funding for police, fire fighters and public safety workers. Since those states rank last on funding, you can't blame organized labor for that train wreck!
This sets the stage for 2012. With an election year looming around the corner, Governor Kasich of Ohio and other Republican governors need to take notice that if you're going to slip your union busting amendments in your state's budgets during a presidential election year, go for it! Many republican law makers are up for re-election in 2012 and since the SB5 debacle many of them will be tossed out next election. This issue is not going to go away; the republicans now own it and they will be held accountable if they continue to push for implementing any or all of their anti-middle class agenda.
MLK MARCH AND PARADE (MARADE) January 16, 2012
Teamsters Local 17 was proud to participate in the MLK march and parade (Marade) on January 16, 2012.
You can view the brief slideshow of our members, agents and officers joining in the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by clicking HERE.