Deputy urges repeal of SB 5

Deputy urges repeal of SB 5

Last Tuesday, “We Are Ohio” opened a regional field office in Struthers to act as a headquarters for those us who are opposed to Senate Bill 5, which will appear on the ballot on Nov. 8 as State Issue 2. Our purpose will be to educate the voting public on how detrimental this bill will be to the communities of Ohio and how extremely important it is to vote “NO” on State Issue 2.

The proponents of S.B. 5 are already stating that we are spreading misinformation with regards to State Issue 2. If anything, these proponents are guilty of spreading misinformation. One example of this is the recent layoff of the entire Mt. Sterling Village, Ohio, Police Department. These proponents claim that had the elected officials of Mt. Sterling Village been able to use S.B. 5 they could have avoided these layoffs. What they did not know or what they failed to tell the public is that collective bargaining, by law, cannot apply to villages or townships whose population is less than 5,000 people, which applies to Mt. Sterling Village. The Mt. Sterling Village Police Department is not represented by any organized union. The ultimate reason for the lay off of this entire police department was due to the budget cuts from the Kasich budget.

The proponents are claiming that the unions refuse to meet and compromise on the language in S.B. 5. What they do not state is that from the inception of S.B. 5 in the beginning of February, the Fraternal Order of Police attempted to meet with them several times, with 18 proposals for Senate Bill 5. Each time we asked to meet we were shut out. Not only did they refuse to consider our proposals, they refused to meet with us at all.

It is my sincere hope that the citizens of our Valley and all of Ohio realize how detrimental S.B. 5 will be to their communities. If S.B. 5 was only about having public employees pay more into their pensions and more for their health care, then we would not have a problem with it. In fact, the members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141, of their own accord, have already utilized collective bargaining to increase their contributions on both of these items.

S.B. 5 makes issues, such a staffing levels on a Sheriff’s department, police department or fire department, illegal to even talk about. It turns the impartial arbitration process into a one-sided political event. It allows for close to zero employee protections for an employee’s career and invites nepotism and political favoritism into the government workplace. It allows for the privatization of government services, which places the government’s responsibility to its citizens in the hands of the highest bidder. S.B.5 will allow politicians to decide how safe your communities will ultimately be, with no input whatsoever from the individuals doing the job.

The governor and his followers changed a fair and impartial law and made it completely one-sided. But they, too, know how unfair and unjust the provisions of S.B. 5 are, and that is why they exempted themselves from all of the key provisions contained in Senate Bill 5.

It is our hope that the citizens of our community and of our state will see through the propaganda being put forward by Gov. Kasich and his rich, elitist friends and take a stand with the hard working, middle class people of this state. Because if S.B. 5 is not repealed, his next target will be to squeeze the life out of the private sector workers who call Ohio home.

Sgt. T.J. Assion, Youngstown

The writer is president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141 at the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.