Ohioans say no to anti-union SB5

Anti-Issue 5 rally, Columbus, April 9.

In the latest report by the Ohio AFL-CIO, over 700,000 signatures of registered voters have been collected to put the recall of Ohio Senate Bill 5 on the November ballot. SB 5 would essentially destroy public sector unions. Also known as Issue 5, this union-busting bill was passed and signed into law in Ohio by the current multimillionaire governor, John Kasich. This law especially targeted teachers as the villains in the current economic crisis.

When the bill was introduced in January, tens of thousands of unionists and their supporters poured into the capital of Columbus to “kill the bill.” Unlike Wisconsin, however, there is a way to recall the bill through referendum.

The referendum process is hard. Over 220,000 signatures must be collected in 90 calendar days in at least 44 of the 88 Ohio counties. But this requirement has proved to be no problem. Everywhere in the state, working people volunteered to gather signatures and to say, “Ohio is a UNION STATE!”

In a sampling of the petitions gathered by the umbrella group “We are Ohio,” over 60 percent of the signatures are valid. And, of course, the workers at the various boards of election are public sector unionists.

Now the real work will begin. Right-wingers like Kasich and their super-rich backers are mobilizing to keep Issue 5 alive and thus pave the way to privatize as much of Ohio as they can.

But working people in Ohio are organizing. The effort to destroy all that workers have built and depended on, such as public schools, the Ohio toll road, universities and public hospitals, must be defeated. This referendum victory is the first step. No on 5!

— Report and photo by Susan Schnur