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Thought Wisconsin's anti-union laws were bad? Look what they are doing in Ohio

Jeff Albertson

The Republicans in Ohio are pushing through even worse laws which will target any public sector worker’s right to strike and limit the powers of union to negotiate over sick pay and pensions, writes Jeff Albertson

While everyone is watching and waiting to see what is going to happen next in Wisconsin, major battles are taking place in the east corner of the mid-west: namely, Columbus, Ohio. While the numbers of protesters have been smaller in relation to what we’ve witnessed in Madison, the determination of those unionists and community members rallying in defense of their rights is by no means any less intense.

Upwards of 20,000 people converged on the State House to block the recently passed Senate Bill 5, an undisguised union-busting measure that incorporates and builds upon a great number of provisions favored by Scott Walker and his Republican cohorts in Wisconsin. Not only will collective-bargaining rights for Ohio’s 350,000 public-sector workers be monstrously restricted, with strike action being made illegal and financial penalties being imposed on any workers who participate in work stoppages and walkouts, but mainstays like prevailing wages and “project-labor agreements” effecting construction workers are under assault. “Unionized workers would only be able to negotiate wages, hours, and conditions but not health care, sick time, or pensions,” reported the Huffington Post. Automatic pay raises would be off the table for discussion; “Merit Pay” would supplant it.

Even more insidious are the privatization schemes and methods of handling contract disputes outlined in the bill. Both the prison system and the Ohio Turnpike would be turned over to run for private profit. The same would go for the Job-Development Agency. Binding arbitration – where a third-party assumes the role of decider between the state and workers’ representatives – would become a thing of the past. The state will now be the sole arbiter. So if workers and elected officials cannot agree, those same elected officials can just render judgment as they see fit, making the whole process of negotiation a sort of superfluous affair.

Even some Republicans demonstrated some compunction on this issue. Sens. Tim Grendell of Chesterland and Bill Seitz of Cincinnati spoke out against this proposal. Grendell stated that process would “turn workers into beggars before city councils and other officials who oversee them.” “No one can judge and advocate in their own cause…that’s called ‘heads I win, tails you lose,’” said Seitz. For his efforts, Seitz was removed from the panel on which he served, prompted by the need of Republican leaders to get the bill out of committee – where disagreements threated to railroad it – to the Senate floor. With its narrow passage in the State Senate (17-16 in favor) – where six Republicans voted with the Democrats – it goes now before the House committee on its way to the very advantageous, from the point of view of the bosses, House floor – where Republicans have a solid majority of 59-40. If it gets through committee, then it could easily be passed by the end of the week, with Republican Governor John Kasich just waiting to put his John Hancock on it.

Obviously the defection of a number of Republicans who voted against the bill speaks a lot about the situation in Ohio. A union-strong state that has been influenced by what has been taking place in Madison is a danger to budget-cutting politicians. The movement could very well spill over into neighboring states, particularly Ohio, and even become more militant and defiant in the face of even more brutal, sweeping attacks. Yet unlike in Wisconsin, union leaders are not taking any initiative to put a stop to what is about to happen. Instead, they have chosen to sit back and wait to brand House members who vote for the bill as enemies to working families, allowing for the application of future pressure during an upcoming election season. Spokesperson for the Service Employees International Union Anthony Caldwell stated that he hopes “that the members of the House will understand the valuable role working families play in their districts. “The House is a two-year body. Whatever happens people are going to remember that. This isn’t just about union issues, this is about working people,” he announced.

This is a dangerous and fatalist position to take, seeing how the battle is really not at all over. There are still thousands attending regular protests. Individuals organized in private-sector unions continue to stand in solidarity: 400 Teamsters for instance, made their presence known. Students, religious groups, and veterans are also regularly involved.

Not to mention, if this bill goes through, there might not be much to fight for next time around. Collective bargaining itself might be discontinued. So, there really isn’t a moment to waste. Union leaders need to take immediate steps to prepare actions to halt the bill going through. The removal of fellow Republicans from committee just to get it to the Senate floor shows just how anxious they are to get the whole thing over and done with. Faced with such determination, the workers and their allies will need to match up and take their struggle to the next level. They will have to force Kasich and Republicans back down.

Many union representatives in Wisconsin have already endorsed the idea of strike action and even a general strike. Their counterparts in Ohio should do the same and make serious attempts to achieve it by linking up with the unionists, youth, and mass of protesters across both states and building joint anti-cuts assemblies and committees drawing in all those participating in the demonstrations to bring both Walker and Kasich to their knees. But workers should not rely on their leaders to do so; when push comes to shove, they may need to act without their leaders if necessary if and when they refuse to do their jobs and defend their members. For they will undoubtedly attempt to play the “illegal card” when confronted with such a proposal, leaving the successful prosecution of the struggle to chance.

Mass protests have rocked the mid-west for weeks, but now the struggle is at a crossroads. Victory in Ohio, like in Wisconsin, is possible. If such organs of struggle can be built, than Walker, Kasich, and the Republicans will find themselves marginalized and immobilized in the face of a general strike spanning and linking two states along with mass demonstrations. The power of the working class will prove too much for them. If this should occur, then it could very well signal the beginning of nationwide struggle to defeat similar plans and measures brewing in every state and ram the bosses cuts right back down their throats.

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