Ohio shouldn’t balance budget on backs of public employees
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I am writing to inform the people in our communities about the damage Senate Bill 5 will cause to the lives of your friends, family and neighbors who work for the state, counties, cities or townships of Ohio.
SB 5 was introduced by Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, and is supported by the GOP and Gov. John Kasich. It would eliminate collective bargaining for state and local employees, including higher-education employees. Workers could no longer negotiate for fair wages and benefits. SB 5 and the GOP want a merit-based system.
Senate Bill 5 also:
• Allows employers to hire permanent replacement workers during a strike.
• Takes away health insurance from being negotiated. Management would pick a policy, and employees would pay at least 20 percent.
• Prohibits public employers from picking up extra employee pension contributions.
• Removes from state law automatic pay increases for experience and education.
• No longer makes length of service the key factor when deciding layoffs.
Jones and other Republicans believe this will help to eliminate the deficit. According to the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, public employee salaries account for 10 percent of the state budget. You cannot balance the budget by targeting such a small percentage.
Ohio’s public employees have worked with previous administrations to keep costs down and to continue to provide quality services. Public employees have increased the amount they pay for insurance, have foregone raises and have taken furlough days to help save money. Yet the first step for Ohio’s administration is to attack the lower-middle-class public employees.
It isn’t fair to ask our public employees to give up more when Ohio’s administration has not looked at other areas where cuts can be made to balance the budget.
Say no to SB 5. It is an attack on the middle class.
KENNETH JOHNS,
MASSILLON
SB 5 was introduced by Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, and is supported by the GOP and Gov. John Kasich. It would eliminate collective bargaining for state and local employees, including higher-education employees. Workers could no longer negotiate for fair wages and benefits. SB 5 and the GOP want a merit-based system.
Senate Bill 5 also:
• Allows employers to hire permanent replacement workers during a strike.
• Takes away health insurance from being negotiated. Management would pick a policy, and employees would pay at least 20 percent.
• Prohibits public employers from picking up extra employee pension contributions.
• Removes from state law automatic pay increases for experience and education.
• No longer makes length of service the key factor when deciding layoffs.
Jones and other Republicans believe this will help to eliminate the deficit. According to the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, public employee salaries account for 10 percent of the state budget. You cannot balance the budget by targeting such a small percentage.
Ohio’s public employees have worked with previous administrations to keep costs down and to continue to provide quality services. Public employees have increased the amount they pay for insurance, have foregone raises and have taken furlough days to help save money. Yet the first step for Ohio’s administration is to attack the lower-middle-class public employees.
It isn’t fair to ask our public employees to give up more when Ohio’s administration has not looked at other areas where cuts can be made to balance the budget.
Say no to SB 5. It is an attack on the middle class.
KENNETH JOHNS,
MASSILLON
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