Issues are much more complex now and few people understand just how far-reaching the impact is of this legislation. Nor are we aware of the much larger agendas of the sides that have put all the money in this game. The old adage of "follow the money" has never been more true.
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This process is not comfortable. This issue has brought out the worst in some of the best people on the planet--legislators and public service workers. As soon as I say where I am going to lend my support, I am saying I support some things I very much disagree with. The side I have chosen is not 100% "right" and the other side is not "wrong."
I have friends on both sides of this issue. I am involved in government and want to serve precisely because we face significant problems and want to add value to the process. In my experience so far, I have found for the most part, those who serve in government to be exceptional people. My experience has also allowed me to work with public service workers more than I had before. The same is true here. Public service workers care more about their jobs and take more pride in who they are working for than most. There is no way you can say one or the other of these is right or wrong.
Let me begin with why we are here.
The Financial Situation
Our economy has gone off a cliff. The stimulus programs of both George Bush and Barack Obama put money in the system and stopped the free fall. It has been a hard landing but at least it has stabilized. Ohio, though vulnerable to job losses in manufacturing, has come through better than some other states because we are at least addressing our problems. Other states aren't and are on their way to bankruptcy.
Some make the case that we don't tax enough to provide the services we need. We tried a tax increase in Orrville and it was defeated by a vote of 2-to-1, even though we have one of the lowest income tax rates you'll find anywhere. The only way you can make a budget work in that environment is to control costs.
At that point, people talk about how wasteful government is and that we should be able to cut the fat from somewhere else. I wholeheartedly agree government is wasteful. I can quibble with our budget, but most of the dollars that are wasted are on mandates and regulations that have a good premise but lack sense in their execution.
Bottom line: When it comes to government, management represents the taxpayer. Employees, of course, are taxpayers as well. But management is there to represent the best interests of the taxpayer and what is best for their community. They are the ones who accountable for making the difficult choices in how taxpayer dollars are going to be spent and to make sure a community remains in a strong financial position. They must be able to control their costs in order to do this.
The Role of Unions
Without the very best employees, governments stand to lose the support they have in their communities. This is especially true of law enforcement. I serve in local government in Orrville, Ohio, where we couldn't be more proud of the department we have. Public service workers such as these deserve our best. They need to be paid as much as a community can afford and be treated with the respect they deserve.
The role of unions has changed. Originally, they started out protecting people who were forced to work in dangerous conditions and could be treated unfairly.
Now, their role is primarily to protect jobs.
Bottom line: My approach is to protect people over jobs. This means I am more liberal in social policy than my conservative friends would like (providing unemployed workers with income support and access to basic services until they are able to find employment again), but not liberal enough to protect jobs to the point where taxes must be raised or funds borrowed simply to keep people employed.
This is my main reasoning for voting "Yes" on Issue 2.
Notice I haven't addressed the claims being made on the airwaves about voting no. I have researched them.
"Issue 2 makes it illegal to negotiate for safe ______________".
One of the biggest is, "Issue 2 makes it illegal to negotiate for safe ______________" and you fill in the blank with safety equipment or staffing or whatever. The actual wording in the legislation is, "It will be inappropriate to use collective bargaining to negotiate for __________________." There is the half-truth. Yes, you can't collectively bargain for them, but there is nothing in the legislation that says you can't have working groups or committees where management and workers can sit down and discuss issues such as staffing levels. In fact, that is exactly the arrangement the heart hospital has where the nurse is on TV saying it would be illegal to negotiate for safe staffing levels. The other half of the truth is it is the union who would call such common-sense cooperation "bargaining" and deem it to be "illegal." This is the part where unions now protect jobs instead of people.
"You won't have the fire or police protection you have now."
Here in Wayne County, we already don't when it comes to Sheriff deputies--with the union system in place. In our case, sheriff deputies with less seniority were allowed to be laid off rather than the Department making the necessary cutbacks. This decision by union members meant jobs weren't protected and neither was public safety. The whole thing ended up in court--jobs being protected instead of people.
A lot has been made of this but the fact is a lot of public workers are already there and this doesn't have that large of an impact for them.
I know I have not addressed every point in this debate. It devolves at this point and I think most people know the back-and-forth. Both sides have good points. I simply wanted to explain my view on the issues that made a difference for me.
Feel free to weigh in below. I reserve the right to pull any comment that is not respectful and fitting for a place where people want to have an honest, open discussion. I know everyone won't agree with me and I'll probably agree with some points you have to make.
One last thing--Governor Kasich, you've made it pretty difficult for a lot of us to support this issue simply because of how you have acted. I have had to separate the issue from you and the ill-considered things you have said over and over again. If this issue goes down, you can thank the fact that you have not yet learned how to think before you speak. You are employed by us as well, and we deserved better.
