Union protests preface Ohio govs State of State
COLUMBUS – Outcry over collective bargaining proposals in Ohio threatened to overshadow Republican Gov. John Kasich’s first State of the State speech as Democrats and union groups worked to mobilize thousands more protesters to the Statehouse.
The speech falls on Tuesday, the day a bill limiting negotiating rights for 350,000 police, firefighters, teachers and other public workers begins its trip through the Ohio House. The bill cleared the state Senate last week.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees set the stage for Tuesday’s protests with a “State of the Worker” event Monday.
Tim Roberts, a corrections officer at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio, west of Columbus, said he’s concerned about losing collective bargaining rights as Kasich prepares to make deep cuts to the state budget to address an estimated $8 billion budget gap.
“We live paycheck to paycheck,” said Roberts, a father of four.
The AFL-CIO planned a protest at the Statehouse at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, just ahead of Kasich’s noon speech. Some estimates for the event went as high as 25,000 people; demonstrations so far over the proposals have topped out around 8,500.
Under the bill, unionized public workers in Ohio could negotiate wages, hours and certain work conditions, but not health care or pension benefits. The measure would do away with automatic pay raises and base future wage increases on merit. It also would ban strikes by public workers and establish penalties for those who do participate in walkouts.
More Stories
USF won’t install more physical protections following recent on-campus suicide
USF will not be implementing additional physical safety measures over a month after a student leapt from an upper floor inside the Interdisciplinary Sciences building, USF spokeswoman Althea Johnson said. The incident marked the third on-campus suicide since fall 2022. A week after a student fell from an upper floor of Beard Garage in 2022, […]
Meet USF’s new student body president and vice president
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Related: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony […]
Photos: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Related: USF student body president and vice president-elect sworn in Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Gabrielle […]
President Joe Biden visits Tampa to talk abortion rights
Gearing up for the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden made a stop in Tampa to talk about reproductive freedom in Florida on Tuesday afternoon. The speech comes just two weeks before the state’s six-week abortion ban comes into effect on May 1. Biden called on Floridians to vote for an amendment deciding abortion access […]
‘Genocide Joe has got to go’: Pro-Palestine protestors gather during Biden’s visit to Tampa
While President Joe Biden took 15 minutes to talk on the protection of reproductive rights in Tampa on Tuesday, pro-Palestine protests chanted against the United States handling “on-going genocide” in Gaza, and its alliance to Israel in the conflict. Related: President Joe Biden visits Tampa to talk abortion rights “The lack of coverage in the media […]
USF students can ‘Swap Shop’ their way into free items this week
USF’s Swap Shop is just around the corner. Literally. Bulls can stop by the Swap Shop, located in Holly J, to pick up some free items – from furniture to clothing. Students, staff and faculty had the opportunity to donate items for the Swap Shop earlier this week on Monday and Tuesday. But ‘shopping’ won’t […]