Protestors Gather in Ohio

Source: NYT

COLUMBUS — Protestors began to trickle into Ohio’s state capital on Tuesday, as its legislature planned new hearings on a bill that would effectively end collective bargaining for state workers, and dramatically reduce its power for local workers like as police officers, and firefighters.

The bill, known as Senate Bill 5, was introduced on Feb. 8 by a Republican state senator, Shannon Jones, who said it was designed to give state and local governments more control over their finances during troubled economic times. It outraged unions who saw it as a direct attack on their workers, and as in Wisconsin, where a similar bill has drawn protestors for more than a week, they came to the State Capitol to protest.

Last week, protests swelled from a few hundred to about 4,000 on Thursday, buoyed in part by protests in Wisconsin, which have made national news.

“Let me be clear: I am not doing this to punish employees who serve this state day after day,” said Senator Jones during testimony on Feb. 8. “I am doing this because I want to give the government flexibility and control over its workforce.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/us/23ohio.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

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