Teachers, local officials may lose ability to negotiate work contracts under bill (Ohio)

[pampango]

Source: Dayton Daily News

Teachers and local government employees would lose the ability to negotiate pay, benefits and working conditions under sweeping legislation that would also prohibit collective bargaining for some 40,000 state employees introduced by Republican lawmakers Wednesday. Senate Bill 5 also would basically end binding arbitration in stalled labor negotiations for police and firefighters, who are not permitted to strike. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Clearcreek Twp., and has support from Gov. John Kasich.

The bill also would:
• Ban public employee strikes.
• Weaken binding arbitration for police and firefighters.
• Limit a local union’s right to bargain for health insurance.
• Eliminate automatic pay increases for public employees.
• Strip teachers of the right to pick their classes or schools.

Joan Hunter, a corrections officer at the Dayton Correctional Institution and a member of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, called the bill a “jobs buster.”

Kasich, a Republican, stopped by the hearing briefly. Asked if he was good with the bill, the governor said: “Of course.”

Read more: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/teachers-local-officials-may-lose-ability-to-negotiate-work-contracts-under-bill-1077540.html

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GOP has Statehouse clout to change collective bargaining

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/gop-has-statehouse-clout-to-change-collective-bargaining-1077601.html

The 475-page bill introduced Wednesday to prohibit collective bargaining for state employees and weaken the ability of local government workers and teachers to negotiate proves a political point:
Elections have consequences.

Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Clearcreek Twp., would dramatically alter the 1983 collective bargaining bill enacted when Democrat Richard Celeste was governor and Democrats controlled the Ohio House and Senate.

Republican John Kasich is governor now and Republicans control both houses of the legislature by comfortable margins There will be changes to the bill, but its likelihood of passage are considered good.

We will strongly oppose this bill,” Romick said, adding that Dayton teachers have already seen salary freezes and made other concessions in tough economic times. “We’ve done our part.” “Taking aim at state employees is not the way to go,” he said. “Particularly in education, how a school district runs depends on having teachers and administrators working cooperatively. If the collective bargaining process is narrowed then where will those decisions come from?”

What's the "Jobs Governor"'s first move. Attack public employees unions. Wow, that's a surprise!"

[atreides1]

1. Wonder how they're taking this news

You know, the members of the unions that voted for the Republicans in Ohio?

Anyone from Ohio...who did the Police and Firefighter unions endorse?

[Hubert Flottz]

2. "It's Just Politics!"

Suckers!

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[Marthe48]

4. Brainwashing is complete

Corporations have hammered for decades that unions are BAD for workers, and after all this time, too many people bought in. Add to it that private sector jobs, decent wages and benefits are gone, and all those who used to have a decent job see state employees and teachers going to work, getting a wage and having benefits. Rather than fight to get these things back for themselves, they will allow even more employees to lose them.

And as long as our entire government keeps flushing money down the toilet killing people in other countries and propping up oil, well, more and more of the advances our parents and grandparents fought for will be taken away, so the warmongers can pay for their invasions. And idiots like Jones and Ksuck will lead the parade over the cliff. I bet they don't lose salary or benefits as they take them from others.

[rucky]

5. Link to petition for Ohio DU-ers:

http://act.aflcio.org/c/18/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1375

[Botany]

6. I might be wrong but I think Kasich's dad was a union mail carrier

:grr:

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

17. But remember how MLK's niece turned out...

MLK’s Niece: Gay Marriage Is “Genocide”

Alveda King, niece of legendary civil rights activist Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., went on a anti-gay rant recently when she spoke at a rally hosted by the National Organization of Marriage. In short, she compares same-sex marriage to “genocide.”

Blogger Rod McCullom transcribes parts of the speech at Rod 2.0:

It’s been statistically proven that … guarantees the continuity of the generations. We don’t want genocide, we don’t want to destroy the sacred institution of marriage.


http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/08/martin_luther_kings_niece_alveda.html

[no_hypocrisy]

7. I'm not uncertain it's lawful/constitutional to ban collective bargaining

whether it's private or public entities. Once a union is formed and recognized, management has to deal with it.

[FBaggins]

9. What's the constitutional argument?

The legal one is simple enough. If there's a law saying that unions have the right to collective bargaining (and it is usually a state legislative act)... then another law can overturn that.

The question is what constitutional right would be endangered?

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Via the National Labor Relations Act

http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/collective_bargaining

The main body of law governing collective bargaining is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). It explicitly grants employees the right to collectively bargain and join trade unions. The NLRA was originally enacted by Congress in 1935 under its power to regulate interstate commerce. See, U.S. Constitution Art. I, Section 8. It applies to most private non-agricultural employees and employers engaged in some aspect of interstate commerce. Decisions and regulations of the National Labor Relations Board, which was established by the NLRA, greatly supplement and define the provisions of the act.

[FBaggins]

12. NLRA applies to the private sector... not to state employees.

Sorry.

[chowhound]

8. this is what happens when dems sit home....nt.

[rbixby]

11. Wow, and they thing they have a teacher shortage now....NT

[FBaggins]

13. That was my first thought as well... but how many really would leave?

It isn't like there are lots of jobs out there right now.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Few at this point

There are not many other options out there. The closer to retirement you are, the more of a golden handcuff it becomes.

What will suffer most in the long run are the classes with decimal points (math, science, computers), since teachers there are readily employable outside of education.

[FBaggins]

15. That takes us back to an earlier conversation.

It isn't so much the classes "with decimal points"... it's those classes where the teacher has a degree in that field (often an advanced degree).

An M.S. in Chemistry, for example, would be dramatically different than a degree in science education.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

16. Quite correct, My view is really based on high school vice lower grades

A MS in Chemistry has much better non-educational prospects than an MS Ed, or liberal arts. I have suggested market based pay differentials here, and that was not well received.