Ohio Gov. Kasich Advances Anti-Union Agenda with Destructive Budget

March 16, 2011

Following in the footsteps of Wisconsin and other states promoting disastrous anti-union bills and cuts to vital public services, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) has unveiled his two-year budget.

Among its many damaging proposals, the budget would sell off five state prisons to raise $200 million, cut $500 million from local governments, and enact severe cuts to Medicaid. In yet another slap to working families, Kasich’s plan also seeks to exempt universities from a requirement that they pay union-level wages on construction projects.

The announcement comes in the midst of a heated state House debate over SB 5, a bill that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for 360,000 public employees in Ohio. Hearings on the bill, which has already passed the Senate, have drawn thousands of protesters to the Statehouse.

As Eddie L. Parks, President of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association/AFSCME Local 11, said:

“This also demonstrates why Senate Bill 5 must be opposed. Drastic measures like selling off five state prisons is only netting $200 million? OCSEA saved more than that in oneyear of our contract by sitting down with the Strickland administration. We did that because of collective bargaining, not in spite of it.”

Kasich’s anti-union agenda becomes even more transparent when you consider how his budget, which purportedly seeks to plug an $8 billion deficit, still retains an $800 million tax cut that was enacted in January.

This is why AFSCME members across Ohio have been fighting the governor’s devastating proposals from the outset, holding numerous rallies and press events to promote unity against the attacks on working families.

Their efforts have started to pay off as a recent poll from the nonpartisan Public Policy Polling shows how 54 percent of voters in the state say they would vote to repeal SB 5 in an eventual referendum later this year. The numbers are also reflective of the statewide support for unions in Ohio, as 63 percent of voters are in favor collective bargaining for public employees.