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February 23, 2011

Thousands Protest Anti-Union Bill in Ohio; Indiana Dems Flee State 
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The struggle to defend workers' collective bargaining rights continues
in Wisconsin while spreading to Ohio and Indiana. On Tuesday, thousands
rallied at the State Capitol in Columbus, Ohio, against Senate Bill
Five, which would require public sector workers to abandon collective
bargaining, fund a larger share of health insurance premiums, and switch
to a so-called "merit-based" pay system. In a scene mirroring that
unfolding in the Wisconsin State Capitol over the past week, an
estimated crowd of up to 15,000 packed a state courthouse in Columbus,
banging drums and chanting, "Kill the bill." Meanwhile in Indiana,
Democrats in the state's Senate took a page from their counterparts in
Wisconsin, fleeing the state to deny Republicans quorum, required for a
vote on the bill. The move came in response to a so-called "right to
work" measure from Republicans that would remove union membership as a
condition of employment. Speaking to NPR's Diane Rehm, Indiana Governor
Mitch Daniels could not explain how stripping workers' collective
bargaining rights would help reduce state deficits. Daniels ultimately
acknowledged the chief aim of the measures is to undermine union
influence.

Diane Rehm: "I still am totally in the dark as to how bargaining and the
bargaining power of unions and taking that away is going to affect the
budget process."

Gov. Mitch Daniels: "Well, if my newspaper is correct, he's not talking
about that. He's talking about narrowing the scope down to wages and,
you know, that..."

Diane Rehm: "But they've already conceded wages."

Gov. Mitch Daniels: "Well, you know, this is-I think he's trying to fix
a structural problem, which I've demonstrated or discussed to you
already, Diane. The problem comes from the, you know, forced
expropriation, whether they like it or not, of money from-that started
with the taxpayer, from the salaries of government workers, circulated
back into a political machine that is the most powerful out there. And
if you're worried about special interest power and special interest
pressure in America, that's-the government unions is where you ought to
start."



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