Confused about Issue 2? Here's the skinny!!

Issue 2 is a referendum on what is popularly known Ohio Senate Bill 5 (SB 5). To RETAIN Senate Bill 5, you vote YES. To RESCIND Senate Bill 5, you vote NO. This has been a hotly contested issue, so let’s take a look at what Senate Bill 5 does. This is the real poop. I report. You decide. (Did I say that?)

1) Issue 2/Senate Bill 5 has nothing to do with balancing the state budget in Ohio.  It has everything to do with local government and state run institutions. It applies only to unionized public employees. It does not cut veteran benefits. It does not cut senior citizen benefits. It does not apply to the 135,000 nurses in Ohio except if they work in a state run hospital. Mostly these nurses work at Ohio State University. There are approximately 2500 of them and their contract already includes most of what is in SB 5 already.

2) Senate Bill 5 first and foremost prohibits Ohio’s unionized public employees from striking. That was the rule in Ohio up until 20 years or so ago, and is the current rule for all Federal public employees. Many unionized Ohio employees are already prohibited from striking including police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel.

3) Senate Bill 5 does NOT generally prohibit collective bargaining. It changes the process. Cases may be sent to arbitration, but the decision of the arbiter, often from states like California, is not binding. The ultimate decision rests with the elected officials.

4) It does prohibit collective bargaining on specific areas, such as accumulating unused sick time and vacation time to use as a pension supplement by cashing those days in at retirement. It also requires unionized employees to pay 10% of their pension contribution and 15% of their health care costs. No more 100% contributions.

5) It does NOT prohibit collective bargaining on issues of safety and equipment as the television ads have indicated. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Columbus Dispatch, in editorials ENDORSING RETENTION OF SB 5 pointedly commented on the misleading television advertising by the anti SB 5 forces.

6) Senate Bill 5 DOES allow public employee union members to OPT OUT of mandatory collection of union dues by their government employer. In Indiana, more than 50% of the unionized public employees chose to opt out when similar legislation was passed.

IN ADDITION, Senate Bill 5 attempts to reform part of Ohio’s education system by requiring school systems to establish criteria for teacher hiring and retention OTHER THAN UNQUALIFIED TENURE. Although length of employment may be one of the criteria considered in determining pay and retention, systems must also consider teacher performance and effectiveness. This is popularly known as MERIT PAY. It also prohibits teacher unions from bargaining for caps on class sizes and other similar issues. Those decisions belong to local school boards.

That, in a nutshell, is what Issue 2 does. Should you vote for it? Read Opinion for my opinion.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Strouss-Hirshberg; Things That Aren't There Anymore

Image
Youngstown was at the heart of the American industrial revolution in the mid 1800’s. During World War I, more steel came from Youngstown than anywhere else in the world. It’s no wonder, then, that the area was home of some of the best of everything, including department stores. Strouss-Hirshberg and McKelvey’s were the Macy’s and Gimbels of northeast Ohio, and offered to local residents the best of what money could buy. Strouss will always hold a special place in the heart of this area. It is hard to believe that there are twenty somethings today that haven't heard of it, or go “huh?” when you mention it. I tried doing some research on its history. Believe it or not, it is hard to find. As near as I could figure, the Strouss Hirshberg Company was originally known as D. Theobald and Company. Isaac Strouss clerked there, and eventually bought the store in 1875 with his new partner Bernard Hirshberg. The store was incorporated in 1906. The Readers Digest version of the life of the ...
Read more

Hope vs. Aspiration

Image
Don't forget to visit http://www.markknowsitall.com/ Hope: to have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true. Aspiration : a desire or ambition to achieve something. As the 2008 presidential campaign heats up, Barack Obama is in full gear selling his vision for the future of America. He is for “hope” and “change.” …and oh yes, peace. He is also for “peace.” Aren’t we all? Obama, the oratorical wunderkind with the speech cadence of Martin Luther King, is doing a fine job of telling us what we should hope for, and how he is going to give it to us. He is a riveting individual and a spell binding speech giver. Hope is a good thing, right? Obama believes Americans are “hope” deficient. Americans “hope” for universal (read “government run”) health care, even though 85% of Americans have coverage, and 25% of those who do not aren't American citizens, and an additional 14% of those who don’t can afford it but simply choose not buy it, and a portion of the re...
Read more

Donald Sutherland's Pants

An adult coming of age movie entitled Garden State made the rounds last summer. A friend of mine told me it was worth watching, so I bought the DVD. If you are a fan of movies filled with generational angst, which I am, this movie fills the bill. But if you are easily offended by casual sex, drug use, spoiled brats, and generally slovenly behavior, stick with Casablanca . Let's face it. A movie in which one of the protagonists is a grave digger who steals the jewelry off dead bodies prior to their being put in the ground is not exactly The Brady Bunch . Included in the movie soundtrack is a song called In The Waiting Line . It is a "head" song. Translated: play it while getting stoned. The lyrics ask the musical question: "Do you believe in what you see?" And that, my friends, is the topic of this week's essay. Animal House is the quintessential college frat house slob movie. It was fairly raunchy when it was released in 1978. By today's standards, i...
Read more