It’s a Landslide Victory for Workers’ Rights; SB5 Repealed in Ohio (11/9/11)

RWDSU members have been at the forefront of the movement to repeal SB5 in Ohio. 

Voters in Ohio have overwhelmingly voted to repeal Senate Bill 5 (SB5), a union-busting law that stripped public-sector workers of their freedom to bargain collectively. If allowed to stand, the law would have eliminated collective bargaining rights for state employees, ended binding arbitration for police and firefighters, and eliminated countless benefits won over the years by teachers and government employees including seniority, sick days, and pay increases.

RWDSU members in the state were involved in the repeal effort from the start, and continued to go door-to-door to well after dark last night to get out the vote against this unfair and regressive partisan law.
For RWDSU members at Fresh Mark in Salem, Ohio, the vote was more than about just one assault on workers’ rights.

“We said from the beginning that this was just the tip of the iceberg, and that we need to send a clear message that we aren’t just going to lay down and let them walk all over us,” said Fresh Mark worker Linda Ammon, who spent last night spreading the word in Youngstown, Ohio. “This was incredibly important to us. They thought they could strip away our rights and attack our livelihoods, but they were in for a big surprise,” Ammon added.

The SB5 repeal referendum brought out the biggest voter turnout in a non-election year in Ohio in decades, and according to RWDSU activists, sends a message to the out-of-state players who turned Ohio into a battleground for workers’ rights.

“There was no support for this bill in Ohio – nobody here thinks that workers have too many rights or too much power. It was out-of-state money the whole time that pushed SB5 through, but they found out we couldn’t be pushed around,” said RWDSU Representative Rick Marshall.

“We stood up for ourselves, and sent Gov. Kasich and his wealthy allies that all they’ve succeeded in doing is creating an army of activists who will do what it takes to stand up for their rights,” Marshall added.

Fresh Mark employees Linda Ammon (left) and Lizette Brogan worked until the closing bell to get out the vote to defeat SB5.