firefighters

GrannyGate

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The pro SB5 campaign, building a better Ohio, is now at the center of a political firestorm, now being dubbed "GrannyGate", for airing one of the most deceptive and dishonest ads in Ohio political history. The ad has been deemed so dishonest that major TV stations WSYX, WTTE, WCMH in Columbus; WSAV, WCHS, and WVAH in Charleston; WTAP in Parkersburg; WTRF in Wheeling; WDTN and WBDT in Dayton and WTOL in Toledo are all refusing to air it

First reported on political news blog Plunderbund, the story has now gained mainstream attention, such as this report from WKYC 3

Marlene Quinn, the grandmother being illegally misrepresented by Building A Better Ohio had this to say

"I think it's dishonest and downright deceitful that they would use footage of me to try to play tricks and fool voters. It's insulting to the brave firefighters that saved the lives of my grandson and my great-granddaughter Zoey.

I'm outraged. They did not ask my permission. I feel violated.

I want to stop Senate Bill 5. Everyone should vote No on Issue 2.”

Cincinnati firefighter Paul Weber, one of the firefighters who rescued Marlene's granddaughter also had a strong rebuke

Despite all the negative news reports the Better Ohio campaign are now receiving, they continue to be unapologetic about their disgraceful actions.

Join the Future believes that this kind of campaigning has no place in the body politic of Ohio, and Better Ohio should immediately cease and desist from airing this, and all other misleading, dishonest ads and issue an unequivocal apology to Ms Quinn, the Cincinnati firefighters and the people of Ohio.

We are asking our supporters to contact Better Ohio's endorsers and politely ask them to request this course of action. It reflects badly on their organization to continue to support such disgraceful actions

Here's is a possible sample letter you can use or adapt.

To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you, because your organization has endorsed the Building A Better Ohio Issue 2 campaign. I wanted to make you aware of news reports regarding a dishonest TV ad that stations around the state are now refusing to air. While I am sure you are now aware of these reports, an example can be found here - report from WKYC 3.

As a concerned citizen I am requesting that your organization contact the Building A Better Ohio campaign and ask them to cease and desist from using this dishonest and deceptive ad, and apologize to the great grandmother they are using. This type of campaigning reflects badly upon supporters of Issue 2, and more broadly upon Ohio.

Thank you for your time and consideration

You can share any responses you receive from these organizations, in confidence, with us - admin@jointhefuture.org. You can also sign the We Are Ohio petition to request all TV stations cease airing this ad.

THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT

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Last night the President gave a speech and outlined his proposal to deal with the countries high unemployment. His plan is titled "THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT". You can read it all here, but we just wanted to highlight the sections dealing with education.

Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

Preventing Layoffs of Teachers, Cops and Firefighters: The President is proposing to invest $35 billion to prevent layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers, while supporting the hiring of tens of thousands more and keeping cops and firefighters on the job. These funds would help states and localities avoid and reverse layoffs now, requiring that funds be drawn down quickly. Under the President’s proposal, $30 billion be directed towards educators and $5 billion would support the hiring and retention of public safety and first responder personnel.

Modernizing Over 35,000 Schools – From Science Labs and Internet-Ready Classrooms to Renovated Facilities: The President is proposing a $25 billion investment in school infrastructure that will modernize at least 35,000 public schools – investments that will create jobs, while improving classrooms and upgrading our schools to meet 21st century needs. This includes a priority for rural schools and dedicated funding for Bureau of Indian Education funded schools. Funds could be used for a range of emergency repair and renovation projects, greening and energy efficiency upgrades, asbestos abatement and removal, and modernization efforts to build new science and computer labs and to upgrade technology in our schools. The President is also proposing a $5 billion investment in modernizing community colleges (including tribal colleges), bolstering their infrastructure in this time of need while ensuring their ability to serve future generations of students and communities.

Given the crippling impact of the recently passed budget on Ohio's public education system, this asistance would provide tremndous benefit to Ohio's students and teachers.

SB5 arguments language

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Here's the language for the yes and NO on issue 2 that will appear on the ballots

Argument and Explanation in Opposition to Issue 2

VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2, REPEAL SB 5 UNSAFE, UNFAIR AND HURTS OHIO'S MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES

UNSAFE

  • Issue 2 puts all our families' safety at risk—making it harder for emergency responders, police and firefighters to negotiate for critical safety equipment and training that protects us all.
  • Issue 2 will make our nursing shortage worse. It makes it illegal for nurses, hospital and clinic workers to demand reasonable safe staffing levels—so nurses will juggle more patients while their salaries and benefits are cut.

Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund, Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters say NO on Issue 2

UNFAIR

  • The same Columbus politicians who call for "shared sacrifice" exploited a loophole, giving a special exception to politicians and upper management.
  • Ohio's public employees have already sacrificed—saving Ohio taxpayers over $350 million through concessions, including pay freezes and unpaid furlough days.
  • It's not Ohio values to let firefighters, police and teachers lose their rights and see wages and benefits gutted, while insiders, politicians and people at the top sacrifice nothing.

HURTS US ALL

  • Instead of creating jobs to fix our economy, politicians like Governor Kasich gave away hundreds of millions in corporate tax breaks—draining our state budget while Ohio continues to lose jobs—and passed flawed laws like SB 5 to pay back their campaign donors.
  • Teachers, nurses, firefighters are not the reason Ohio's budget is in trouble. Big corporations. their high-paid lobbyists and the politicians they fund are blaming middle class Ohioans for a problem they caused.

Issue 2: Another example of the politicians turning their backs on Ohio's middle class.
Send Them a Message- Stop Working for the Special Interests. Start Working for We the People.
VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2

Official Argument and Explanation for Issue 2

Vote YES on Issue 2

A YES vote on Issue 2 will make long overdue reforms to unfair and costly government employment practices in Ohio, while helping to get government spending under control and making government more accountable to taxpayers.
Your YES vote on Issue 2 will:

Protect Good Teachers and Improve Our Schools

  • Issue 2 keeps the best teachers in the classroom by ending the unfair practice of seniority-based layoffs, which forces struggling schools to cut many of our best teachers first.
  • Issue 2 returns control of our schools to taxpayers by bringing increased transparency to teacher contract negotiations.
  • Issue 2 enables schools to retain and reward good teachers by allowing them to base pay raises on job performance.

Restore Balance and Ensure Fairness

  • Issue 2 ensures that government employees receive quality health care, but asks them to pay a mere 15% of their health insurance coverage, which is still less than half of what the average private sector worker pays (31%).
  • Issue 2 asks government employees to make a fair contribution (10%) to their taxpayer funded retirement plans instead of requiring taxpayers to provide these pension benefits for free. Many private sector workers get no retirement benefits at all.
  • Issue 2 allows good job performance to be considered when awarding pay raises to government employees. Private sector workers earn their paychecks by doing a good job, and so should government employees.

Get Spending Under Control, Retain Jobs, and Protect Taxpayers

  • Issue 2 will save our communities millions of dollars annually, helping them balance their budgets and retain jobs.
  • Issue 2 will protect taxpayers by giving them the right to reject unaffordable government employment contracts.
  • Issue 2 is the right change at the right time

Vote YES on Issue 2

Ohio Issue 2 arguments

OHIO SENATE BILL 5, AND WHY WE NEED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

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By James J. Brudney, the Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law, Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law

Ohio’s new law on collective bargaining, (Senate Bill 5) eviscerates rights for teachers, police, firefighters, and other public employees, rights that have been in place since 1983. In order to understand how this has happened, it makes sense to start with the question why should we care? Does access to collective bargaining really matter to us as Americans, beyond those workers who are represented by unions?

The short answer is an emphatic Yes. Collective bargaining is important to us as a nation for several reasons. First, there is our economic welfare. The growth of collective bargaining promotes a fairer distribution of resources and enhances mass purchasing power. For teachers, police, firefighters, health care workers, and others, it helps create and maintain a robust middle class. A sizable middle class enables these millions of Americans to contribute to economic well-being for the rest of us, by purchasing consumer goods, investing in higher education for their children, buying homes, taking family vacations, etc.

[readon2 url="http://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/ohio-senate-bill-5-and-why-we-need-collective-bargaining"]Read more...[/readon2]

Why We Care

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  • S.B. 5 is a jobs killer. It will only weaken the Middle Class by destroying good, working-class jobs that families and communities depend on.
  • S.B. 5 will hurt businesses. Stores, gas stations, restaurants and other merchants in communities across the state will be forced to lay off workers. Or worse, they’ll have to close their doors, because Middle Class Ohioans will no longer be able to afford to patronize those establishments.
  • Public Employees are our neighbors. They are firefighters, cops, teachers, prison guards, snowplow drivers, and social workers, to name a few. But they are also coaches, athletic and band boosters, church members, volunteer firefighters and charitable givers.
  • Public employees are taxpayers. Public employees pay their taxes just like everyone else. Every payday, they pay the same percentage of income tax as every working Ohioan.
  • S.B. 5 won’t balance the budget. Even if EVERY state employee was fired, it would barely save the state one-fourth of its gaping $8 billion budget deficit.
  • S.B. 5 is part of a larger agenda and public workers are scapegoats. It’s a fact! S.B. 5 won’t balance the budget. It’s clear that anti-worker forces are using this to harm the Middle Class and kill jobs and the union rights they depend on.

News for March 8th, 2011

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The Columbus Dispatch brings a report of not just teachers and support staff under attack and fighting back, but also police and firefighters too

About 4,000 police and firefighters rallied last night with the national presidents of their unions int Veterans Memorial.
[...]
Chuck Canterbury, national Fraternal Order of Police president, said in a statement, "Ohio has gone further to negatively impact police and firefighters than any other state currently considering collective-bargaining reform."

Gongwer reports on the planned Workers' Rally:

Opponents of the bill scheduled a demonstration on the West Plaza of the Statehouse from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, as Gov. Kasich speaks inside to a joint legislative session. "Let Governor Kasich know he cannot attack the middle class and balance Ohio's budget on the back of hardworking people," said a flyer from Stand Up For Ohio

You can follow todays' State of the State speech @jointhefutureOH on Twitter.