Confirmed: We Are Ohio's commercials are loaded with lies about Issue 2

The folks over at "We Are Ohio" have had a serious aversion to telling the truth.

In August, they outright lied about having had talks with representatives of Governor Kasich about a possible compromise regarding Senate Bill 5.

Next, they used our tax dollars to put their falsehoods on the official ballot arguments.

Then, the ads started. They've been a mixture of fear-mongering and a despicable injection of race into the issue. We've covered how misleading they are, and GOHP Blog has done so as well on several occasions.

In fact, the ads are so untrue, that even the Plain Dealer has called them out as liars in partnership with Politifact. Twice in 4 days!

First, they claimed that lawmakers who supported SB5 exempted themselves to the law. As the PD explains, this is untrue.

But keep in mind, elected legislators already were exempted from that pay schedule.

The other half of the claim, that "politicians exploited a loophole," underscores the commercial’s overall message, that state lawmakers used trickery to avoid playing by the same rules they’re forcing public workers to play by.

But the exemption is hardly a loophole. Lawmakers already were exempt from existing laws relating to the job classification plan and collective bargaining. SB 5 alters those laws while keeping the exemptions for elected officials and others intact.

Legislators’ salaries are set in state law. The Ohio Constitution prohibits lawmakers from in-term pay raises or decreases.

We Are Ohio tries to claim that the legislators should be judged on their merit, as well. Um, they are. They're called ELECTIONS. Duh. On the "Loophole" ad, Politifact and the PD rate it "mostly false."

Next, they took up the "Nurses" ad, where We Are Ohio claims that Senate Bill 5 makes it harder for nurses to give patients quality care.

We started by checking how many nurses belong to public unions and, therefore, will be affected by SB 5.

There are about 160,000 registered nurses in the state and between 6,000 and 10,000 of those are public employees, according to the Ohio Nurses Association. That means SB 5 would affect between 4 percent and 6.25 percent of Ohio nurses.

Aha. So only a tiny fraction of Ohio's nurses are even affected by SB5. We Are Ohio didn't mention that, did they? Politifact continues:

The current collective bargaining agreement that covers Turner, the nurse featured in the commercial, gives some insight into how SB 5 would affect nurses working conditions.

Turner, who works at the Ohio State University Ross Heart Hospital, is represented by the Ohio Nurses Association. The union’s contract with the university contains a clause that gives management the right to set staffing levels.

ONA’s contract with OSU says management has the right "to determine staffing and staffing patterns including, but not limited to the assignment of nurses as to the numbers employed, duties to be performed, qualifications required, and areas worked."

That sounds a lot like the rule that SB 5 would impose.

Catch that? The hospital where the nurse in the commercial works already has the authority to determine its own staffing levels. So in the ad, Turner is complaining about losing a "right" that she doesn't even have now.

But why let the facts stop the unions from scaring the public? Watch in the ad how they show Turner running down a completely empty hospital hallway! No other nurses, no doctors, no staff! Senate Bill 5 will force her to work the emergency room ALL ALONE! Ahhhh!! Talk about scare tactics! It's actually comical to watch.

Again, this commercial, being full of lies and mistruths, is rated "mostly false" by the Plain Dealer and Politifact.

Now you know the truth about these ads. Inform your friends and family, and encourage them to vote YES on Issue 2.

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