Late last night, the Ohio House of Representatives rammed through its vote on Senate Bill 5, following a single day of hearing Tuesday in which House Republicans refused to accept petitions with 65,414 signatures opposing the bill. SB 5 eliminates collective bargaining for public-sector unions except for wages, puts unresolved contract differences to the voters causing chaos and expense, and for good measure, bans gay marriage again, for the fourth time. Whoopee.
The house version — much worse than the original senate version — was quickly rushed back to the senate for a final vote late last night (It was delayed while Gov. Kasich escorted Michelle Rhee and some state senators to a screening of "Waiting for Superman." TOO telling). Again it passed the senate by a single vote. That means Kasich could sign it as early as tomorrow, a not very funny April Fool's joke on Ohio's workers.
This means it's petition time, to collect the slightly more than 231,000 signatures needed to place a repeal referendum on the November ballot. We have 90 days to do this before the bill takes effect.
Immediately after passage last night, the Ohio Democratic Party changed its splash page to a sign-up page to receive information on how to volunteer in the effort. It's here:
http://ohiodems.org/...
We need you now. If you need a little motivation, here's the email that Kasich sent out this morning:
Anastasia,
Gov_Kasich
Donate
Last evening was a victory for Ohio taxpayers. [no, it wasn't]
The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 5 and local governments will now have more tools to control their budgets and provide better services to you at a lower cost. [no, that "tool" is to impoverish their workers and degrade the quality of services]
I will sign Senate Bill 5 today. [asshole]
But this is just one step towards fixing our state and making the necessary reforms to bring jobs to Ohio.[it will cost Ohio thousands of jobs as salaries plummet and money in the economy dries up]
Will you support our ongoing efforts to fight for Ohio taxpayers with a $20, $10 or even $5 contribution today and help us continue to return the balance of power?[fuck you. You and your pals have ALL the power. You control the state from top to bottom, every branch. "Restoring balance" means repealing this travesty.]
There is a reason that the union bosses opposed these changes; because it strips power from the union leaders and returns it to the taxpayers and workers. [So-called "union bosses" serve the workers, and their power derives from THEM. They are ELECTED by the workers. Removing them means rendering workers voiceless.] But make no mistake; we are fighting to save Ohio and need your help. [No, you are fighting to fatten the bank accounts of your wealthy cronies.]
The nation is watching us in Ohio and we will provide the leadership necessary to become a job creating state and serve as a model for the rest of America.[Yes, the nation is watching to see if you can destroy Ohio's middle class and make it a third-world country. The nation's regular people are praying for your failure.]
Thank you again for your continued support. [HA!]
Sincerely,
John Kasich
Governor of Ohio
P.S. Please forward this email to 10 of your friends so they know we are fighting to empower the taxpayers and create jobs in Ohio. [Sorry, I can't lie to my friends]
Updated by anastasia p at Thu Mar 31, 2011 at 06:58 PM PDT
Gov. Kasich signed the bill into law this evening.