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To the Editor of La Prensa,
We all know that Senate Bill 5, which was signed into law on March 31, 2011 (César Chávez’s birthday) by Republican Gov. John Kasich, is not about the “Budget,” but about “Power.”
This is not about shared sacrifice or solving fiscal problems - this is about political paybacks for campaign contributors—and it is anticipated that it will directly affect some 350,000 public workers, including teachers, police, and firefighters.
SB 5 is the most misguided example of terrible anti-worker legislation, negating most of a public worker’s rights of collective bargaining. This is the most disrespectful and condescending measure in history. The hope behind the new law is to destroy unions in Ohio.
Anti-union forces are using public employees as scapegoats. The radical rightwing state lawmakers are using the budget as an excuse to bust unions. They are in a campaign to demonize public employees and blame them for the big mess that Wall Street and Big Corporations have caused.
But We the People are going to stop the Big Corporations that are pouring millions of dollars into anti-union ads….and the fight is on to make sure that in Ohio the government works for the People, not corporate interests.
Radical conservatives don’t want to hear that unions give the employees the ability to speak up about wages and benefits and, most of all, the “collective bargaining,” meaning a seat at the table to discuss issues such as working conditions and workplace safety. It means dignity and a chance for Americans to earn a better life, whether they work in Chicken Farms, teach our children, police departments, firefighters and all the citizens who deserve to be respected in the workplace.
The Radicals are violating our rights, basic human rights, in an un-American way. The citizens of Ohio and other states have been observing for a long time how these Radicals have been planning to eliminate “Collective Bargaining;” they have been anticipating ending overtime pay, gutting education, raising the retirement age, and a long list of anti-middle class legislation.
But as they have been planning to destroy the middle class, we are working hard to stike down SB 5 by Referendum come 2011 November elections. Because the spark found us……We are going to rekindle the vigor that organized labor enjoyed at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s.
My fellow citizens, we cannot waste time anymore; we are going to collect those hundreds of thousands of signatures required for the rejection of SB5 to be on the ballot, so we can vote NO in November.
Lupe Williams
Wooster, Ohio
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