Labor & Employment Law

More Than 20,000 Rally in Ohio for Public Employees

By James Parks

Thousands show up at the Ohio state Capitol for a committee hearing on Gov. John Kasich?s anti-worker bill.

More than 20,000 people turned out for a rally outside the state Capitol in Columbus, Ohio, today as the state legislature began hearings on Gov. John Kasich’s onerous anti-worker bill known as Senate Bill 5 or S.B. 5. The bill would, among other things, take away the freedom of public employees to bargain collectively for good middle-class jobs.

Will Klatt, a student at Ohio Sate University who wants to become a teacher, said he spoke at the rally because:

all across the county workers and students are being attacked. We need a united front to win the struggle ahead.  The tuition hikes many states are implementing is going to make attending college unattainable for many working class students. We need to become partners with our union brothers and sisters if we are to win the struggle ahead.

Watch the live stream of the rally now at #StandUpOH or http://bit.ly/en7YWZ #StateSOS #1u.

Follow the action in Ohio on Twitter at the hashtags #standupoh and #stateSOS.

Signs of solidarity fill the Capitol grounds, such as “Firefighters Fighting for Teachers.” Another sign reminds legislators that public servants are willing to make concessions to balance the budget but not to give up their rights. The sign read: “I’ll Give You the Shirt Off My Back. Don’t Take My Little Girls, Too.”

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on March 01, 2011 (boomark / email).