Ohio Republicans are trying to strip Ohio public university faculty of union collective bargaining rights, with NO DEBATE, rammed through in a budget bill – all with the usual underhandedness of Scott Walker and the Teabaggers.
This is genuinely urgent! PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL TONIGHT!
This will be voted on TOMORROW in committee, rammed through without debate, and before the public and most of the state know what's happening. And could mean that faculty union members will be stripped of their union rights within two weeks – because it's being snuck into a budget bill.
They will accomplish this by falsely declaring all faculty to be “management” if they are involved in any decision-making -- for even simple acts of choosing books or curriculum for courses!
FYI, I have been around on DKos for a long time, but work and family obligations have kept me from doing more than lurking for some time now; but this situation has motivated me to write my first diary in years. This is bullshit
For Ohio residents, especially – please call and email now before this vote tomorrow (Monday afternoon). This is a critical matter, and the GOP is trying to divide and conquer Ohio unions by starting with the most vulnerable (and peeling off fire and police unions. This language is a thinly-veiled attempt to strip faculty of their collective bargaining rights and is no different than the attack that was in SB 5 (an anti-union measure four years ago).
We now need to refocus our efforts on contacting only the Republican members of the Finance Committee AND House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger. Their offices need to be inundated with calls and e-mails so that they realize these provisions are strongly and widely opposed.
The bill will be voted on in committee on Monday, and the full House will vote on Wednesday. Place calls and send e-mails through Monday!
You can find your Ohio State House representative here, by entering your zip code
!
Here is the contact information:
Speaker Cliff Rosenberger: (614) 466-3506; rep91@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Ryan Smith: (614) 466-1366; rep93@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Kirk Schuring: (614) 752-2438, rep48@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Marlene Anielski: (614) 644-6041; rep06@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Tony Burkley: (614) 644-5091; rep82@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Robert Cupp: (614) 466-9624; rep04@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Timothy Derickson: (614) 644-5094; rep53@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Mike Dovilla: (614) 466-4895; rep07@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Mike Duffey: (614) 644-6030; rep21@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Doug Green: (614) 644-6034; rep66@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Cheryl Grossman: (614) 466-9690; rep23@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. David Hall: (614) 466-2994; rep70@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Stephanie Kunze: (614) 466-8012; rep24@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Ron Maag: (614) 644-6023; rep62@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Jeff McClain: (614) 644-6265; rep87@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Rick Perales: (614) 644-6020; rep73@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Bill Reineke: (614) 466-1374; rep88@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Mark Romanchuk: (614) 466-5802; rep02@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Gary Scherer: (614) 644-7928; rep92@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Barbara Sears: (614) 466-1731; rep47@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Robert Sprague: (614) 466-3819; rep83@ohiohouse.gov
Rep. Andy Thompson: (614) 644-8728; rep95@ohiohouse.gov
For purposes of sending one e-mail message to all of these representatives, here is a list you can simply copy and paste:
Rep06@ohiohouse.gov; rep82@ohiohouse.gov; rep04@ohiohouse.gov; rep53@ohiohouse.gov; rep07@ohiohouse.gov; rep21@ohiohouse.gov; rep66@ohiohouse.gov; rep23@ohiohouse.gov; rep70@ohiohouse.gov; rep24@ohiohouse.gov; rep62@ohiohouse.gov; rep87@ohiohouse.gov; rep73@ohiohouse.gov; rep88@ohiohouse.gov; rep02@ohiohouse.gov; rep92@ohiohouse.gov; rep48@ohiohouse.gov; rep47@ohiohouse.gov; rep93@ohiohouse.gov; rep83@ohiohouse.gov; rep91@ohiohouse.gov; rep95@ohiohouse.gov
SAMPLE TEXT FOR EMAIL:
Subject: Please remove anti-faculty language from HB 64
Representative,
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the language in Substitute House Bill 64 that is aimed at taking away collective bargaining rights for public college and university faculty.
The language would reclassify faculty as management, and contends that they are managers because of basic functions they perform in their jobs, like choosing curriculum.
If faculty had true decision-making power at our institutions of higher education, our institutions would be run much differently. There would be more focus on instruction and research rather than on a construction arms race and deficit-spending on athletic programs.
Apparently, this language has been included to help institutions "control costs."
Faculty are not driving up costs at our institutions, and the data proves that. Over the last 10 years, faculty salaries and benefits have failed to keep pace with inflation. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, instructional compensation has declined over 4%. The real problem is that administrations are prioritizing spending on things that are peripheral to the educational mission of our public institutions. That is the issue that needs to be addressed.
In addition, if faculty were elevated to management status, wouldn't that imply they would earn more, not less? If staff were hired for the service work that faculty volunteer to do, employment costs at our universities would soar. Faculty service provides exactly the kind of efficiency the legislature is always demanding. Why undermine it?
This language is a thinly-veiled attempt to strip faculty of their collective bargaining rights and is no different than the attack that was in SB 5 four years ago. We do not need another divisive collective bargaining battle in Ohio.
Please do the rational and right thing and push for the removal of these amendments from Substitute HB 64.
Thank you,
[Your Name]
PLEASE CALL TONIGHT OR TOMORROW, or EMAIL ASAP!