"This is Republicans waging a class war against the middle class."Since then, we're seeing it even more. It seems every time we hear from the anti-SB5 crowd, they liken this issue as determining the fate of the "middle class in Ohio".
"So the entire middle class is public-sector union members? And having them be back on an equal footing with their private-sector neighbors is "waging war"?"
"The idea that the bill is an attack on Ohio's middle class is one being repeated not only by Strickland but by other Democratic leaders and officials of the state's public-sector unions.Public sector workers make up 6.5% of Ohio's workforce. That's fewer than the number of people unemployed in the state right now. Yet the unions and Democrats continue to insult us with this inflammatory language about "attacking the middle class."
The assertion is a flat contradiction of reality.
Not only are the public-sector workers affected by Senate Bill 5 not representative of the majority of Ohio's middle class, but the comfortable wages, automatic raises, benefits, pensions, job protections, sick-day payouts and negotiating power enjoyed by many of these public-sector workers comes at the expense of the vast majority of Ohio's middle-class taxpayers. Most of these taxpayers have nothing remotely like these benefits nor the economic security that the public sector takes for granted and regards as a right."
"Senate Bill 5 will put government workers back on the same playing field as most of us in the private sector. It really is that simple.Yeah, the Dispatch agreed with that, too.
"They don't want to be on the same playing field as you and I. They want to keep their protected status. That's why they're going crazy."
"There is no question that Senate Bill 5 is about the middle class. But it is not an attack, it is an attempt to restore to Ohio's middle class the control of the government it pays for and elects.
"The few thousand public-sector workers who turned out to protest Senate Bill 5 yesterday were not looking out for Ohio's middle class. They were looking out for their own privileged status, one that is out of reach for most Ohio taxpayers."
Yes, Ted Strickland, you are a sore loser.The Columbus Dispatch concurs, with this rather blunt headline.
"The only thing Ted Strickland demonstrated today is that he still doesn't get it," Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine said. "If he had put this much energy into job creation during his time as governor, maybe today's event would have been a rally to welcome a major employer to the Buckeye State instead of a reminder of the failed policies of administrations past, especially his."It's pretty obvious to everyone isn't it? When it came to fighting for Ohio, Ted was a timid governor. Threaten the privileged status of his public union donors, and then he finds his fury.
The union line is “workers’ rights,” and job one is convincing workers the right they need most is collective bargaining. The AFSCME is in the collection business: in return for your (sometimes mandatory) dues you’ll receive union protection. In theory.
Here’s the snag in their solidarity shtick: unions like the AFSCME generally charge dues as a percentage of salary. Let’s say your salary is $30,000 — how important are you to the union? If your answer is anything besides “less than 1/3 as important as someone paid $100,000,” you might need to reconsider for a minute. Think the union bosses care more about your well-being than their income?
If so, disbursements to AFSCME officers and employees would probably be less than the amount paid into member pension and insurance accounts. Right?
| Public Union | Union Pay, 2009 | Benefits, 2009 | Benefits as a % of Union Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFSCME Local 4 (OAPSE) | $5,675,756.00 | $1,801,307.00 | 32% |
| AFSCME Local 11 (OCSEA) | $6,087,169.00 | $2,511,880.00 | 41% |
| AFSCME Council 8 | $6,190,855.00 | $1,920,227.00 | 31% |
AFSCME Local 4, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE), had 33,617 members in 2009. Local 11, the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA), had 30,870 members. Council 8 had 36,792 members.
In fiscal 2009, the OAPSE paid 21 employees and officers more than $100,000. AFSCME Council 8 paid 14 employees and officers more than $100,000. The OCSEA paid 3 employees more than $100,000. Altogether, the three paid 119 union employees & officers $70,000 or more (view spreadsheet).
But the unions can’t be that bad! After all, they’re universally supported by Ohio Democrats, and the Democratic Party always has the underdog’s interests at heart — right?
| Public Union | Contributions to Democrats, 2001-2010 | Contributions to Republicans, 2001-2010 | GOP contributions as a % of Dem contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFSCME Local 4 (OAPSE) | $2,848,216.25 | $250.00 | 0.009% |
| AFSCME Local 11 (OCSEA) | $1,054,561.42 | $41,000.00 | 3.89% |
| AFSCME Council 8 | $625,591.20 | $250.00 | 0.04% |
The AFSCME increases its reach with each additional unionized office, gains income with every pay raise a member receives, and spends millions in dues electing Democrats to support the mythology of collective bargaining as a fundamental right. If you aren’t near the top of the government union pyramid scheme, there’s no reason not to call your senator and ask ‘em to support Senate Bill 5!
Oh, and in case you’re wondering… the Ohio branch of the National Education Association is no better than our AFSCME locals.
Cross-posted at that hero.
Tuesday is bound to be an exciting day at the Ohio statehouse, with an alphabet soup of unions, Organizing for America, and every other leftist group you can name hauling their members downtown to demand that taxpayers prop up public unions into perpetuity. Wednesday will be fun, too, with the AFL-CIO, Ohio Federation of Teachers, and Progress Ohio flying beloved non-huckster Jesse Jackson into town!
What do the unions hate about Senate Bill 5 (other than “everything”)?
The radical measure to abolish the right, established in 1984, of public employees to bargain over wages, hours, working conditions, health care, and pensions, would also eliminate seniority as a basis for pay increases and layoffs, increase employee contributions to health care and pensions, abolish the right to strike and allow the state to permanently replace workers who do strike.
Sometimes knowing who supports a cause can tell you a lot about it; that quote, for instance, is from Communist Party USA. Note the conflation of union power with workers’ rights, and ask yourself whether the union position differs from the Communist Party’s in any way.
I’ve already thrashed the talking points from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which are thin gruel given the AFSCME’s massive budget. What lines are Ohio Education Association (OEA) bosses feeding the union’s membership? Here are the first 5 from an email sent out last week:
Teachers did not create the recession and stripping us of our rights won’t fix it. Stop fighting partisan battles of the past and stop the scapegoat of public employees.
So much wrong in two sentences. Fine, public employees didn’t create the recession – does that mean unionization is a net positive? The rights-stripping bit sounds awful, until you remember the unions must keep teachers dependent in order to get paid. The “partisan battles” stuff is a non-starter: the OEA had no trouble with partisan battles during the 2010 election cycle, when they were spending $1.6 million to keep their politicians in office.
SB5 will make teaching unattractive and will make it difficult for Ohio schools to attract and retain high quality teachers.
Unemployment in Ohio is above 9%. State records show 1,460 people paid more than $75,000 – plus benefits – in Columbus City Schools in 2010. 1,109 were paid over $75k in the Cleveland Metro district. 533 were paid over $75k in Cincinnati City Schools. Those numbers aside, has the OEA ever complained about high tax rates driving citizens away?
Collective bargaining works and is good for kids. It allows two groups to come together and discuss issues and come to a consensus on those issues. Teacher’s working conditions are student learning conditions.
Collective bargaining works for the unions. What would prevent teachers from discussing and resolving issues with their districts in the absence of richly compensated OEA officials?
States with strong unions and collective bargaining laws have higher ranked education systems than those who don’t.
Citation? Based on what metrics? How much higher ranked? At what cost? If I buy a $125,000 car, it’s probably going to be faster than one that costs $15,000. Fat lot of good it does me when I can’t make the payments.
Educators, like all public employees, are an integral part of the fabric of Ohio’s communities. Senate Bill 5 weakens Ohio. Rather than creating jobs, this legislation will hurt local communities, reversing Ohio’s positive economic outlook.
This one is repeated proudly by government unions from sea to bankrupt sea, and it’s my absolute favorite. Where do public employee salaries come from? If Ohio raises taxes to prevent pay cuts and gird unsustainable defined-benefit pensions, every dollar will come from a company or individual who would’ve spent or invested it without the unions skimming off the top. Dollars do not become more valuable simply because the government has moved them around.
The OEA must realize they won’t get enough mileage out of “but we’re really not paid that much!” in the current climate, so they mix in some Economics for Socialists to add a veneer of fiscal responsibility. With a little luck, Ohio’s Senate GOP will vote like grownups, recognizing the current temper tantrum as all bark – and SB 5 will remove the unions’ teeth.
Let’s close with this cheerful rally recap from Communist Party USA (emphasis mine):
[...] the unions answered by printing up and wearing red t-shirts reading “No on SB 5″ and “Kill the Bill” at the third hearing, and shouting “Red means No” as rightwing Tea Party representatives testified on the need to curtail “big government.”
I’d probably avoid red altogether if I were a Communist, but hey, I’m a buzzkill.
Cross-posted at that hero.
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur still wants a high-speed train along the Lake Erie shore, connecting cities like Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo and Detroit.Sigh. Let me repeat what I said months ago about Ted Strickland's 39-mph magic railroad to prosperity. Not enough people are going to ride it.
And she's convinced the Obama administration will help make it happen -- if it can.
A few days ago, Kaptur and other members of northern Ohio's Congressional delegation met with Ray LaHood -- President Obama's cabinet secretary of transportation -- to talk about trains.
Hood is "very enthusiastic" about high-speed rail, Kaptur said.
“We had an election and the people chose Mr. Kasich, but they did not give him a mandate to do what he is doing,” Mr. Strickland said. “He got less than 50% of the vote – he got more votes than I did, and I acknowledge that, and I’m not trying to be a sore loser here – but most of the people in this state did not vote to embrace his radical agenda.”Ted Strickland refused to make the hard decisions. He chose instead to take the easy way out, and patched up the state budget with dozens of one-time fixes, including free money from his friends in Washington.
“They did not vote for him to dismantle organized labor, they did not vote for him to become a tyrant and treat people they way I believe he’s treating them.”
And while "transparency" usually SOUNDS like a good thing, TOTAL transparency in this case would be counter-productive. Critics are saying that every dollar spent, and every meeting that occurs, should be easily accessible for all to see. But look at it from the other side. You are a business owner looking to move your business, or open a new plant. The team from Ohio is courting you, and you are seriously considering Ohio as an option. Then that becomes common knowledge before ANY deal is struck. Are you going to appreciate that any negotiations you make with Ohio are made public before you make your decision? Of course not. Why would ANY business want to show their hand to their competition, to the market, to their labor force, before making a decision? They wouldn't, which is why the noise the left is making is not valid criticism, just the same old politics.Well, that sentiment was echoed yesterday by new development director Mark Kvamme in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch.
Q: Ohio's public-records and public-meetings laws contain a number of exemptions. Wouldn't it have been less of a headache to just put JobsOhio into the current law and try to tweak it a little rather than try to create a whole new law?Exactly.
A: It wouldn't have worked. People don't trust us to hold their information secure. It's not just their proprietary information. The code is very specific what you can maintain as private and confidential.
For someone who is going to leave (the state) - if you're thinking about getting a divorce, are you going to tell your spouse you're seeing a lawyer? No. The problem here is, if you're thinking about leaving the state, but you're not sure, the last thing you want is for all your employees to know about it.
The way our laws work, the minute a company calls or e-mails us, that is public record. So, many times, we don't get called. The last thing we need is another NCR that leaves in the middle of the night, practically.
I've seen multiple stories about a company looking to move here from Wisconsin, and they filled out the paperwork, so it's all public. Who is the first call he gets? It's from the governor of Wisconsin.
Our competitors know what's going on. It's not you guys (the media) I'm worried about. It's the competition. Everything we do will be 100percent accountable and 100percent out there in the annual report.
To Republicans wary about Senate Bill 5 and hesitant to offend unions crying over "payback" for years of campaign spending, let me offer the following: Senate Bill 5 is payback.
SB 5 pays back the Ohioans who voted for a more fiscally-responsible Senate. It's payback to the hypocrites at the AFSCME and OEA who pay themselves millions of dollars every year to fight Ohio's local governments, school districts, and state agencies. It's payback for parents, teachers, and taxpayers whose voices are muted by the bullhorns of national organizations dedicated to failed Progressive policies.
GOP Senators, please review Matt Mayer's testimony from the Feb. 15th SB 5 hearing and consider my humble suggestions:
These changes would leave room to debate pay, insurance, and pension policies, undermining union rhetoric by creating a distinction between unionization and other rights. The 1983 law allowing government employees to unionize was a mistake, and only by removing the largest unions from the equation can Ohio hope to find a fair, sustainable middle ground. As I said last fall:
All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress.
Wait, that was another detestable small-government conservative - Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Academics hot for unionization should be challenged to list the protections a union offers which couldn't be extended through legislative means. Leftists quick to foist higher taxes on "the rich" should be asked to explain why union bosses - whose businesses chiefly produce lobbying, higher labor costs, and their own salaries - deserve taxpayer support. Government employees should explain why their benefits should remain insulated amid $8 billion in deficits and an unemployment rate above 9%.
If they're demanding even more of our tax dollars, shouldn't government unions be able to justify why they exist in the first place?
Cross-posted at that hero.
"Earlier this morning [Saturday] I engaged in a face book discussion with State Rep Bob Hagan [D, Youngstown]. Discussion is used loosely, as Hagan could not provide any facts or logic to defend his allegations.The friend appears to be a black man making his point in a completely civil manner. Hagan appears to call him "buckwheat", accuses him of making personal shots and tells him to "stick it where the sun don't shine."
"When I said he was only parroting the Ohio Democrat Party’s talking points he claimed to not know what his own Chairman, Chris Redfern, was saying. Chris might want to take a look at that.
"Anyway, a friend posted a thoughtful comment that Hagan didn’t like, and responded with a racist rant."
Unfazed by the failure of his stimulus bill, the judiciary’s decimation of his health care boondoggle, and the “shellacking” his party took in November, President Obama forges on with unaffordable proposals guaranteed to result in higher taxes. You know the old saying: spare the taxpayer, spoil the dead horse of Progressive policy.
Happily, the president still finds time to consider those of us in flyover country. After releasing a budget containing more of the obscene federal spending we’ve all grown to love, President Obama offered his centrist, sage insights into Wisconsin’s government union circus:
“Some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions”
With news that Obama’s team at Organizing for America is playing a role in Wisconsin protests – siding with unions in opposition to state leaders elected not six months ago – should we expect the same in Ohio? Yup:
Now folded into the Democratic National Committee, Obama's campaign group Organizing For America is already actively engaged in Wisconsin and is beginning to ramp up organizing efforts in Ohio, though observers say the latter process is about a week behind that in Wisconsin.
Columbus Business First notes that President Obama will be in Cleveland for a small-business summit next Tuesday, February 22nd. Though the topic is innovation and that’s not exactly a union trademark, look for the president to chime in on Senate Bill 5. Speaker Boehner suggested the Organizer-in-Chief butt out, saying, “Rather than inciting protests against those who speak honestly about the challenges we face, the President and his advisers should lead.” Anybody expect Obama and his people to take that advice?
The president’s campaign coordinators and fans have an impressive ability to describe DNC-organized agitators as “grassroots,” illegally striking teachers as “walking their talk,” and union monopolies as “workers’ rights.” But then, President Obama is a man who knows which side his bread is buttered on. As union boss Andy Stern of the SEIU has said, “we spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama — $60.7 million, to be exact — and we’re proud of it.”
Cross-posted at that hero.
"When t' video o' me talkin' t' t' me union crew and usin' me salty pirate language was made public, me secret was out. I cannot hide it any longer. I'm a buccaneer, and I love t' plunder your tax doubloons... I mean booty!
"Come now, do not act ye so surprised. I even have a pirate name. Redfern! Kinda like Blackbeard.
"Don't hate me because I'm a pirate though. Pirates aren't so bad! That John Kasich, though! He be a real scurvy dog now, and ye can't trust him. Remember me words!"
While the AFSCME is stuck acting like all its members are police and firefighters, the Ohio Education Association (OEA) has the ultimate defense: Think of the children! Too often, this line is all it takes to deflect criticism, allowing the OEA to resume talking about the terrible things that would happen to teachers absent unionization.
See, for instance, the OEA press release opposing Senate Bill 5:
“The Ohio Education Association (OEA) is gravely concerned that the Ohio Senate is not making Ohio’s children a priority. In a tough economy and facing a major budget deficit, Ohio must focus on the essentials, and nothing is more essential than giving our children a quality education that prepares them for good jobs.”
It’s tough to track proficiency test scores due to gaps in Ohio Department of Education data, but graduation rates fluctuated from 80-87% during the past decade while spending persistently increased. Federal data hardly support the “more money means more learning” school of thought. But, “giving our children a quality education” is a better pitch than “continuing unreasonable pay to tenured union members.”
Who but a union would insist merit pay is the wrong way to encourage hard work and reward the best educators? That anyone capable of enduring several years as a teacher should have a job for life, with longevity raises on top? That charter schools and vouchers should never be tried? As with AFSCME Council 8 & Local 11, the OEA stands between Ohioans and the services our tax dollars fund.
The OEA also found $1,614,690 in the couch cushions to donate to Democrat campaigns in the 2010 cycle, according to records from the Secretary of State.
It comes to this: should we buy the OEA’s sales pitch about outsized union influence being the route to effective education? Or should we resist demands to further increase taxes, disassemble the union machine, and allow teachers, parents, and school districts to make their own decisions? This is what an attorney might call a leading question.
If you need more convincing that public unions are no good for Ohio, see Matt Mayer’s 02/15/2011 testimony before the Insurance, Commerce, and Labor Committee of the Ohio Senate.
Cross-posted at that hero.
Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor is making quick progress in the development of Gov. John Kasich’s CSI Ohio: Common Sense Initiative to cut red tape and burdensome regulations to make it easier for companies to do business and create jobs in Ohio.This administration promised to make Ohio more friendly to business again. Looks like they meant it.
That progress is certainly being felt in Lorain County.
The first case being addressed by CSI Ohio involves Custom Culinary of Avon. The company uses wines, beer and spirits in the production of soups, sauces and other food products for restaurant chains. Current state liquor regulations, however, prevent the company from buying the spirits at wholesale prices. Employees are required to uncork bottles of wine and open containers of beer to make products, resulting in higher costs to the company.
Taylor was made aware of the company’s problem from a letter she received last week from Avon Mayor James Smith. Yesterday she toured the plant to witness the cost in money and man hours caused by a questionable state regulation. This week, Sen. Gayle Manning (R-North Ridgeville), who represents Avon, is introducing legislation in the Ohio Senate to resolve the problem and allow Ohio food manufacturers to reduce their costs to be just as competitive as those in other states.
The fight brewing in the Ohio legislature over Senate Bill 5 could be monumental, but it is necessary. Ohio laws governing collective bargaining for public employees and teachers-union contracts deprive public employers — that is, taxpayers — of essential management rights. At the core, they hamper public employers’ ability to decide how much tax money to spend on personnel, which makes up the bulk of most government budgets.
That was objectionable enough in flush times, but as state and local leaders grapple with crushing budget deficits, it is unsustainable.
The rules have to change, to free state agencies and local governments of many of the employment mandates that have burdened budgets and stymied innovation and flexibility.
"These lower wages and benefits are going to have an impact on our communities. In order to have a healthy community, you've got to have good jobs." - Bruce Wyngaard, Associate Executive Director, AFSCME Local 11Public union boss Bruce Wyngaard has a good job - to the tune of $94,337 in 2009. Lots of other American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 11 staffers have good jobs, too: the union paid its employees over $5.8 million in 2009. Taken from 30,870 members, that's the equivalent of nearly $190 per member.
“HB 1 allows Ohio to start moving at the speed of business,” said Phil Parker, president and chief executive officer of the chamber, in a statement. “As HB 1 is being considered in the legislature, businesses are making decisions on where to move and grow their operations. We need to be at the table for these decisions … we needed to be at the table yesterday.”
We face an $8 billion budget deficit and that makes everybody shudder, I guess, except for me. You know why? Because the fact of the matter is, we have to deal with it.
You want me to make us less competitive and raise taxes? It's not gonna be on my watch. Because I'm not gonna put Ohio further in the ditch. I will not be a part of it.
What we want to do is restructure this government and give a very clear message to the business community in our state and the business community around this country that Ohio is open for business and we mean to create jobs. Plain and simple.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) was one of the more vocal opponents, and cited a report that said the FBI has conducted thousands of warrantless searches using so-called "national security letters." These letters are a form of subpoena that the FBI and other agencies have used to demand records, and they are not subject to any judicial oversight.
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who sponsored the bill, replied in his own one-minute speech that the Patriot Act did not authorize national security letters, which were instead authorized in a 1986 bill authored by Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.).
Later in the debate, Kucinich said the Patriot Act expanded the list of agencies that are authorized to issue national security letters. But Sensenbrenner again responded by saying the authority for the letters was made permanent in 2006, and that the Patriot Act actually gave recipients of these letters the option of judicial review.
Ohio Reps. Tim Ryan and Betty Sutton, a Democrat and a Republican, introduced a bill Friday to retain the name of Mount McKinley, the same measure that a member of the Ohio delegation has introduced every two years for 30 years.
Introducing the bill means that legislation is pending about the name of the mountain and the federal policy is that the U.S. Board of Geographic Names doesn't consider name change proposals, such as the one to change the name to Denali, while legislation is pending.
President William McKinley hailed from northeast Ohio, which is why the Ohio lawmakers are interested in what the Alaska mountain is called. The bill is H.R. 247.
Overall, the public sector shrank by 118,000 jobs (0.5 percent of the January 2008 workforce). As a reminder, the private sector lost 7.2 million jobs (over 6 percent of its January workforce) during that time.The AFSCME site features several “fact sheets” rife with the sort of dubious logic I’m learning to expect. As with most talking points, there are great laugh lines among the sparsely-cited figures and bald assertions. From The Truth About State and Local Budgets:
With expiration of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which pumped billions of much-needed stimulus dollars into the economy [...]Much-needed stimulus dollars! From The Truth About Public Service Workers’ Pensions, a document which includes exactly zero citations:
Pension funds, unlike 401(k) plans, may be rebuilt over a period of decades because they cover a wide range of employees in terms of age and years of service.“Sure it’s a Ponzi scheme, but we’ve got all kinds of time!” Priceless. From The Truth About Collective Bargaining for Public Service Workers:
The public is best served by public employees whose first loyalty is to their job, not to a political party. In the public sector, collective bargaining insulates employees from politics and patronage.Insulates, indeed: the AFSCME gave over eighty million dollars to Democrats in the last campaign cycle. In the public sector, collective bargaining funnels taxpayer dollars to Democrats and gives politicians every incentive to patronize union bosses. Concluding that this best serves the public requires tortured logic, even by AFSCME standards!There are really only three facts these fact sheets establish:
“In 2007, when I was director of the Office of Management and Budget, we actually proposed a balanced budget over five years. That’s not that long ago,” Portman said. “Around this country, I think that you will see a lot of Democrats, independents and Republicans joining this effort and understanding that this is only common sense — we must stop spending more than we take in.”
