Union members should keep an eye on Columbus

Union members should keep an eye on Columbus
EDITOR:
People of Ohio, it is time for you to wake up! I am a Republican and a big union man and I think it is great Lordstown got the new car. They got this car from the sacrifices and hard work of the UAW members. I thought it was very cynical seeing Gov. Taft praising the union for their great job when he is trying to bust the state union with the Ohio Civil Service Reform Act. This reform act is to stop collective bargaining for all state agency unions. Are you listening, teachers, MR/DD, ODOT, DRC, etc. This is an outrage!
I am sad to say I am a Republican, because Gov. Taft, Mr. Finan and Mr. Householder want the public to believe that the union members of Ohio are sucking up the budget, which is false. It is the mismanagement of the state and the individual departments that the Republicans control. The union has given Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections many ways to save millions of dollars, but it continuously falls on deaf ears. They could save millions by closing the problem, private prisons. The politicians do not bother to tell the public that the state prisons do not play on the same field as private prisons, because state prisons cannot go to Wal-Mart to get their supplies. They can't go to a local produce store to buy items such as fruit and vegetables but the (for-profit) private prisons can and do, which saves them money. Why is this? The state prisons pay 30 percent to 50 percent more for these products than the private prisons. You do the math!
Here is another example of how the state prisons' hands are tied. The private prisons get the best-behaved inmates whom have no long-term medical problems. If the inmates act up or get sick, the private prisons ship them back to state prisons so DR & amp;C and the taxpayers endure the cost. They are not only sent back to state prisons, but transported by state vehicles by state correction officers, which is an additional cost of the state. Why doesn't the private prison pay for this?
The only thing that private prisons do is put money in the pockets of politicians and their for-profit buddies.
I am writing this to the people of Ohio and my fellow union brothers and sisters to let them know about the civil service reform act, and what it means to state agency union members; basically it means no more collective bargaining and the state can do what they want and how they want to do it and to whom they want to do it to.
KEVIN FOY
Niles
Boardman schools excel
EDITOR:
On Nov. 5 our Boardman school district will have a levy on the ballot. My family and I have been living in Boardman for nearly 30 years. Our school levies have been supported and passed the vast majority of times. It is the sole reason why Boardman schools have achieved excellence in academics, athletics and the arts.
Not long ago the entire community of Boardman rallied together and built the finest auditorium in the Valley, if not the entire state. Our middle school has an awesome technology center. Our students have achieved 27 out of 27 performance standards. Five languages are taught by 11 outstanding teachers. Earlier his year I attended an honors assembly. Of the 300 graduates, 100 were 3.5 or better in GPA.
Let us continue to preserve the excellence.
TONY LARICCIA
Boardman