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Mar 29 2011

Analysis: SB5 Grants New, Broad Powers to Break a Collective Bargaining Agreement

Research Overview
Senate Bill 5 grants substantial and unchecked power to the Governor, Auditor of State and Board of Regents to suspend public employee salaries, benefit increases and modify or terminate collective bargaining agreements. In fact, the ease in which any of these entities may declare fiscal emergency or watch, allowing the elimination of specific contractual provisions within the agreement, undermines the collective bargaining agreement. All provisions advocated for by the employee organization, and  reluctantly agreed to by the public employer, may be targeted, thereby ignoring the sanctity of the contract and allowing the pubic employer to retroactively repeal provisions of the agreement they could  not suppress through the bargaining process. Not only does SB 5 grant the Governor, Auditor of State and the Board of Regents the broad and ill-defined power to declare fiscal watches and/or emergencies and thereby open the door to the modification and/or termination of existing collective bargaining agreements, it also denies public employees any recourse to challenge those actions. Read the report.

Written by pnmadmin · Categorized: Featured Items, Reports · Tagged: SB5

Mar 03 2011

The Facts: Senate Bill 5, As Passed by the Senate

Research Overview
This report offers our initial analysis of Senate Bill 5, legislation aimed at eliminating collective bargaining rights for public employee, which was passed by the Ohio Senate on March 2, 2011. We conclude that SB5 offers a “reform” package that does little to erase the projected $8 billion budget hole. Its true impact would be exposing police, fire, highway patrol, teachers and nurses to unsafe working conditions; subjecting public employees to an unfair, predetermined process for setting wages; making older workers vulnerable to layoffs without remedy and creating punitive measures against public employees, including imprisonment and fine Read the report (PDF).

Written by pnmadmin · Categorized: Reports · Tagged: SB5

Feb 28 2011

News Release: Innovation Ohio Says Facts Don’t Support Senate Bill 5

For Immediate Release: February 28, 2011 Contact:  Dale Butland 614-783-5833
INNOVATION OHIO SAYS FACTS DON’T MERIT ENDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR TEACHERS
Columbus, Ohio — Innovation Ohio, a newly formed progressive think tank in Columbus, kicked off its organizational launch today with a stinging indictment of the attempt to strip Ohio teachers of their collective bargaining rights. Under the terms of Senate Bill 5 —introduced by State Sen. Shannon Jones and supported by Gov. John Kasich and many conservative law-makers — teachers would effectively lose many of the collective bargaining rights that have been in place since 1983. Supporters of the bill say the change is necessary to control costs and balance. At the news conference, Innovation Ohio said that SB 5 would result in “relatively minor short-term state budget savings,” all of which “could be achieved through the current collective bargaining law.” Innovation Ohio also released a report  released a “Ohio Teachers and Collective Bargaining: An Analysis.” Among the report’s findings:
  • Far from being uncooperative or unyielding, Ohio teachers have made one of the largest financial sacrifices in the country, resulting in an average pay cut of 4% in 2008-09, the worst year of the recession. The national average was a pay increase.
  • States with no or limited collective bargaining laws have lower student achievement and far greater volatility in wages than collective bargaining states.
  • Under Ohio’s current collective bargaining law, teachers not only sacrificed financially, but also endorsed a landmark education reform law (HB 1) which, among other things, more than doubles the years needed for tenure, makes it easier to fire ineffective teachers, allows for lay-offs in cases of district financial hardship, and includes student achievement as part of a new and nationally-acclaimed teacher evaluation system.
  • There is no evidence that ending or eroding collective bargaining for teachers would improve student success, or that ending it is necessary to institute still-needed reforms.
Innovation Ohio Communications Director Dale Butland said:

“Facts are important – especially when passing major legislation or radical changes to long-standing public policy. If the proposed changes to the current collective bargaining for teachers won’t significantly impact Ohio’s budget deficit, and if teachers are already agreeing to the kind of reforms we need to improve the system and student performance, there is no compelling reason to repeal or weaken a law that that has been in place since the Reagan Administration.”

Former State Representative Steve Dyer, an acknowledged expert on education policy in Ohio, appeared with Butland and took questions from reporters.

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Written by pnmadmin · Categorized: Economic Development and Jobs, Featured Items, K-12 Education, Press Releases · Tagged: education, SB5

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