OH Labor supporters plan big Statehouse rally today

[nofurylike]

Object of scorn is bill limiting unions
By Joe Hallett and Jim Siegel
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 02:50 AM

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/loc...ml?sid=101

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Protesters projected to number anywhere from 4,000 to 20,000 are expected to swarm Capitol Square to rally against a bill that would eliminate collective bargaining for state employees and weaken the ability of local workers to bargain for their pay, benefits and working conditions.

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On Thursday, close to 4,000 filled the Statehouse with chants and cheers while a Senate committee held an all-day hearing on Senate Bill 5. Another hearing on the bill will be held at 4 p.m. today, with about 15 witnesses, mostly opponents, scheduled to testify, said Sen. Kevin Bacon, R-Minerva Park, the committee chairman.

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"If ever there was a time to show up, stand up and let our voices be heard, it is now," (former Gov. Ted) Strickland wrote in a Saturday e-mail to Democratic supporters. "The fate of Ohio's middle class is on the line at the Ohio Statehouse."

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Police and firefighters, who cannot strike, would lose binding arbitration, and the bill would weaken local bargaining for teachers and others in a number of areas, including removing step increases and sick days from state law and no longer allowing them to bargain for health insurance. Teachers could still strike, but school officials could hire permanent replacements.

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