PUBLIC EMPLOYEE QUARTERLY - OCSEA

Could it happen here?
On a cold day in
December, 12,000
Michigan workers
shivered in the bitter cold outside
the state capitol to stand
up for their workplace rights.
It was déjà vous all over again.
What Ohioans went through
in 2011, Michiganers were suddenly
and unexpectedly experiencing.
In the blink of an eye,
the Michigan state legislature
was poised to ram through
legislation to destroy collective
bargaining for public and
private employees.
The Michigan state legislature
with Michigan Governor Rick
Snyder as co-pilot passed a No
Rights at Work law during a
lame duck session of the legislature.
The bill was swiftly
moved out of two committees
on a Friday with no hearings or
public input. By the following
Wednesday, the legislation had
become law. Lawmakers knew
if they waited for the new lawmakers
to be sworn in, the bill
would never pass.
“Of all the underhanded
deals we’ve seen as state workers
in Ohio – and we’ve seen
plenty – the deal in Michigan
took the cake,” said OCSEA
Chap. 4720 Pres. Dave Harper,
from Lorain Correctional
Institution, who, along with
dozens of other Ohioans,
traveled to Michigan to stand
in solidarity with the workers
at a rally in downtown Lansing,
Michigan.
But that underhanded process
galvanized the people of
Michigan. It also changed their
OCSEA Pres. Chris Mabe (center) with Michigan AFSCME Intl. VP
Larry Roehrig and OCSEA activist Dave Harper stand in solidarity
with protesters in Michigan.
views…and fast. Governor
Snyder’s poll numbers suddenly
plummeted and so did any support
for his anti-worker legislation.
Like Gov. Kasich before
him, Snyder went from being a
moderately popular governor to
being one of the least popular
governors in the U.S., with only
a 38 percent approval rating.
Polls also showed that the No
Rights At Work bill was strongly
opposed by 51 percent of
voters.
Despite the passage of this
legislation, unions are still popular
in Michigan. In fact, 52 percent
of voters support unions
with just 33 percent being unfavorable
to them. And like Ohio,
the auto industry has played
a significant role in keeping
this rust belt state pro-worker.
However, the Michigan experience
has many workers in the
private and public sector in
Ohio wondering if they’re next.
Could a Michigan happen in
Ohio?
No doubt it could, most
political watchers agree. Already
petitions are being circulated
for a ballot initiative. A group
calling itself Freedom to Choose
held an informational meeting
in Ashland, Ohio to recruit
signature gatherers (see next
page).
OCSEA Pres. Christopher
Mabe believes another fight is
surely on the horizon. “As long
as unions are stopping corporate
greed, the privatization of
Social Security, and extreme
legislation like SB 5, we’ll continue
to be a threat to the rich
and powerful,” said Mabe. “But
instead of being sitting ducks,
the SB 5 fight has more than
prepared us to do what it takes
to fight for our rights.”
2 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2013