Kucinich on SB 5: “A Scheme to Defraud Both Workers and Taxpayers"

[OhioChick]

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement after the Ohio State Senate voted 17-16 to pass S.B. 5, a proposal to end the right of workers to collectively bargain for fair benefits and working conditions.

“In order to understand how devastating this bill is to workers you have to be aware of provisions which take away the right to strike, open the door for replacement workers and set the stage for privatization of services. Wages and benefits will be cut. Inevitably state services will become a target for privatizers. The taxpayers will pay more and get less, while the ‘savings’ will end up in the pockets of corporate service-providers in terms of high profits. The passage of this bill is the just the beginning of a scheme to defraud both workers and the taxpayers,” said Kucinich.

[ProSense]

1. Kucinich should have issued this statement before the vote. Still,

it has to pass the House, but the numbers are in the Republicans' favor.

[OhioChick]

2. He probably did issue it beforehand....

I just got around to checking my email.

[walldude]

3. He may have, while he was busy hanging with Protesters...

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/02/22/1554287/kucinich-locals-rally-for-union.html

[ProSense]

4. That's great, but it got no coverage, and this statement did. From the OP

"Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement after the Ohio State Senate voted "

He is from Ohio so he should have been with protestors. Deval Patrick was with them in MA and Ted Strickland in OH.

[OhioChick]

5. From what I've heard...

Kucinich "has" been with the protesters here.

He's also been with protesters in other states, as well.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Union members, students, parents and even former presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich rallied in Olympia on Monday, taking advantage of the holiday to lobby against budget cuts and to show solidarity with Wisconsin's embattled union for state employees.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_olympia_rallies.html

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Luminous Animal]

8. It appears that the statement didn't get any coverage, either. I can find it nowhere googling "news"

It should get coverage but it most likely won't.

It looks like the OP quoted the statement from Kucinich's website. And I support that, by the way.

[Luminous Animal]

7. Yesterday and February 22nd.

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=226753

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a strong advocate for workers’ rights, today released the following statement in support of Ohioans protesting the expected passage of Senate Bill 5, a proposal to end the right of workers to collectively bargain for fair benefits and working conditions. Kucinich had planned on joining the rally in Columbus, but was required to be in Washington for key budget votes.

“The Ohio Statehood Day celebration has been cancelled as the Ohio Senate moves to sharply limit the collective bargaining rights of hundreds of thousands of public workers. It’s just as well. How can we celebrate a state’s government which attacks the very people who provide service? How can we tell those who have dedicated their lives to public service that they have no rights except those which state officials will give them?

“The right to collective bargaining, to be able to negotiate wages, benefits and working conditions, is a fundamental right in a democratic society. The attempt to restrict those rights is anti-democratic and un-American. The attempt to pit workers against taxpayers belies the fact that the workers serve the taxpayers. The workers are taxpayers. Public workers dedicate their lives to teaching our children, to protecting our streets and homes, to caring for the elderly and the sick. Public workers are our friends and neighbors. They, like all workers, are struggling to make ends meet, trying to save their jobs, have decent wages and benefits, hoping to have health care and retirement security.

“Let us stand with the workers in Ohio and the workers in Wisconsin and in every state who are insisting on nothing more than to be accorded basic rights in a democratic society.”

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=226084

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement after spending three and a half hours greeting workers and union members who gathered in 26 degree temperatures around the Ohio State Capitol -- where Kucinich served for two years as a State Senator 17 years ago -- to protect their right to organize.

“This is a defining moment in the history of our state that will determine the rights of workers for years to come. The hundreds of workers who I personally spoke to feel betrayed. The federal government has no hesitation to hand out billions to Wall Street, but when it comes to workers there is an effort in Ohio and other states to destroy the right to bargain collectively,” said Kucinich.

“This is the beginning of a long and drawn out battle between state government’s corporate philosophy and the workers,” added Kucinich. “I am proud to stand on the side of the workers.”