"Right to Work" in Ohio = The Right to Work for Less

January 27, 2012

Dear Union and Community Leader:

On Monday, January 23^rd a group named “Ohioans for Workplace Freedom” filed a summary petition with the Ohio Attorney General seeking permission to begin a petition effort to place a “Right to Work” (for less) constitutional amendment on the Ohio ballot. This is an extreme anti-worker backed group that includes the Ohio Liberty Council (tea party), 1851 Center for Constitutional Law and the Associated Builders and Contractors which all were supporters of SB5/Issue 2.  This is the second summary petition that the group has filed, as the Attorney General rejected the first attempt.   This proposed constitutional amendment would prohibit public and private workers who are covered by labor contracts from having to join a union or pay union dues (fair share).  This type of anti-worker, anti-union proposal is incorrectly referred to as “Right to Work”.

On Thursday, January 27^th, the Ohio AFL-CIO filed an objection with the Attorney General’s office asking that the summary proposal be rejected as it undermines the process of being fair and truthful to gain access to the ballot.  By the time you read this memo it’s likely the Attorney General will have acted on the summary request.  The Ohio AFL-CIO objection letter can be viewed at www.ohaflcio.org.

If this right-wing group is granted permission to move forward with the petition signature campaign they would need to submit the required number of signatures on or before July 4^th to place the issue on the general election ballot this year.  If they do not submit the signatures by this date they can choose to continue the process and submit the signatures for placement on the general election ballot in a subsequent year.

Like SB5/Issue 2, this is another politically motivated maneuver to weaken public and private sector unions and further erode the middle class brought by far right extremists and corporate profiteers to continue their agenda of supporting the super wealthy and the 1%.  Like SB5/Issue 2 this is not a fight Labor is asking for but one that we are ready to take on.  We will demonstrate the same solidarity that we did on Issue 2 and bring the general public with us like we did last year and in 1958 when “Right to Work” was overwhelmingly defeated on the ballot.

When Ohioans learn the truth about this politically motivated effort and understand the facts about “Right to Work” (for less) they will see that this as another scam that simply attacks workers, drives down wages, hurts our communities and moves us further from economic recovery.

In fact, there is a mountain of evidence gathered from extensive independent research that shows  “Right to Work” (for less)” policies are in fact damaging to local economies as they lower wages and often create an environment that is conducive to job flight instead of fulfilling the promises of their proponents.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker in a “Right to Work” (for less) state makes about $5,333 a year less than workers in other states ($35,500 compared with $30,167).  Weekly wages are $72 greater in free-bargaining states than in “Right to Work” (for less) states ($621 versus $549).  Working families in states without “Right to Work” (for less) laws have higher wages and benefit from healthier tax bases that improve their quality of life and, looking at the past four quarters, seven of the ten states with the highest unemployment rates are states with "Right to Work” (for less) laws. 

The Ohio AFL-CIO Executive Board will meet on February 3^rd to discuss the strategic and tactical components of this campaign and the overall Labor 2012 effort.  Please begin informing your membership about this anti-union issue and I will report back to you in the days ahead.   Your leadership is critical to the success of Labor’s political program this year and to the futures of Ohio’s working families.

                                                In Solidarity,

                                                Tim Burga

President, Ohio AFL-CIO

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01/25/2012

Yesterday, activists in Ohio calling themselves “Ohioans for Workplace Freedom”  filed a summary petition with the Ohio Attorney General seeking to begin the petition process to place a “Right to Work” type law on the Ohio ballot.   These activists will be collecting petition signatures to get this constitutional amendment on the Ohio ballot presumably in 2013 as to avoid the 2012 presidential election cycle.  Since "Right to Work" supporters intend to put the issue on the ballot, Union supporters will not be conducting a referendum, but will be working hard to defeat this measure at the ballot box.

If you are approached to sign a petition to get "Workplace Freedom" or "Right to Work" on the ballot, we recommend that you do not sign.

"Right to Work" is a serious attack on your union rights.  Please join the UT-AAUP Facebook page where you will find regular postings regarding attacks to your union rights and stay tuned to this site.

You will hear more from the UT-AAUP regarding this issue. 

Suggested Reading:

Activists start effort to make Ohio right-to-work state
Group hopes to pass constitutional amendment

Although Senate Bill 5 is still smoldering after going down in flames on Tuesday, tea party activists announced their intentions today to place a constitutional amendment before voters next year that would make Ohio a right-to-work state...

Sincerely,
Mary Jane Erard

UT-AAUP Executive Director

THANK YOU, OHIO!!!

 Vote NO on Ballot Issue 2