State Legislative Director Stu Gardner said that a hearing for opponents of H.B. 186 to appear before the Ohio House Transportation and Public Safety Committee has been scheduled.
Opponents are scheduled to give testimony at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22 in Ohio Statehouse Room 114 in Columbus.
The opponent hearing before the committee was delayed at carriers’ request so that the carriers could bring in representatives from Washington, D.C., to testify and try to stop the bill’s passage, Gardner reports.
“We need a group of our supporters to attend this hearing in order to show the committee members we believe in all phases of HB 186,” Gardner said. “Let’s fill that hearing room with our activism and presence.”
H.B. 186 covers the following safety issues:

  • Two-person freight train crews
  • Proper walkways in railroad yard safety legislation
  • Railroad yard lighting safety legislation
  • Blocked crossings

Members representing SMART Transportation Division as well as representatives from the BLET provided more than two hours of proponent testimony last month to show state House Transportation and Public Safety committee members why the railroad safety legislation is deserving of their support.
Gardner suggests that Ohio members either call the offices or set up in-person meetings with members of the committee who are listed below.
Chairman:
Doug Green HD 66 (Mount Orab)
Phone: (614) 644-6034
Home Address: 708 S. High St., Mt. Orab, OH 45154
Vice Chairman:
Riordan T. McClain HD 87 (Upper Sandusky)
Phone: (614) 644-6265
Home Address: 469 N. 5th St., Upper Sandusky, OH 43351
Ranking Member:
Michael Sheehy HD 46 (Oregon)
Phone: (614) 466-1418
Home Address: 1129 Schmidlin Rd., Oregon, OH 43616
Juanita Brent HD 12 (Cleveland)
Phone: (614) 466-1408
Home Address: 16804 Glendale Ave., Cleveland, OH 44128
James M. Hoops HD 81 (Napoleon)
Phone: (614) 466-3760
Home Address: 195 Old Creek Dr., Napoleon, OH 43545
Stephanie Howse HD 11 (Cleveland)
Phone: (614) 466-1414
Home Address: 1220 Spring Rd., Cleveland, OH 44109
Don Jones HD 95 (Freeport)
Phone: (614) 644-8728
Home Address: 34755 Jones Rd., Freeport, OH 43973
Jeff LaRe HD 77 (Violet Twp.)
Phone: (614) 466-8100
Michele Lepore-Hagan HD 58 (Youngstown)
Phone: (614) 466-9435
Home Address: 562 Madera Ave., Youngstown, OH 44504
Susan Manchester HD 84 (Lakeview)
Phone: (614) 466-6344
(419) 303-2670
Home Address: 29249 St. Rt. 385, Lakeview, OH 43331
Gayle Manning HD 55 (North Ridgeville)
Phone: (614) 644-5076
Home Address: 9436 Foxboro Dr., North Ridgeville, OH 44039
Jessica Miranda, HD 28 (Forest Park)
Phone: (614) 466-8120
(513) 266-3937
Home Address: 11511 Oxfordshire Ln., Cincinnati, OH 45240
Michael J. O’Brien HD 64 (Warren)
Phone: (614) 466-5358
(330) 727-1097
Home Address: 1849 Edgewood St. NE, Warren, OH 44483
Thomas Patton HD 7 (Strongsville)
Phone: (614) 466-4895
Home Address: 17157 Rabbit Run Dr., Strongsville, OH 44136
Reggie Stoltzfus HD 50 (Minerva)
Phone: (614) 466-9078
(330) 936-6001
Home Address: 13789 Telpahak St SE, Minerva, OH 44657
The bill is sponsored by Ohio Reps. Mike Sheehy, a retired rail worker and member of the SMART TD Alumni Association, and Brent Hillyer.
 


See these related stories from SMART TD:

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The first step in the process to mandate a minimum of two-person freight train crews in Ohio (H.B. 107) occurred Wednesday, March 29, when the Ohio Transportation & Safety Committee held its first hearing on the bill.
To make H.B. 107 a law in Ohio, we need TD union members, friends, family and anyone who cares about the safety of workers and the safety of our communities to click the link below to send a message to the members of the Ohio Transportation & Safety Committee, urging them to support this vital safety measure.
TAKE ACTION! Take a minute and click here to send a message in support of Ohio H.B. 107. Please share with friends and family to do the same!
TAKE ACTION IN YOUR STATE! Email us news of two-person crew or right-to-work (IS WRONG) legislation in your state to News_TD@smart-union.org.
TAKE ACTION to support H.R. 233, The Safe Freight Act, which would require a minimum of two-person crews on all freight trains operating in the United States. Click here to send a message to your U.S. House and Senate reps. in support of H.R. 233.
TAKE ACTION by calling members of the Ohio Transportation & Safety Committee (phone numbers listed below). Ask your Representatives to support H.B. 107 and thank the sponsors and co-sponsors for their support.
Ohio House Transportation & Safety Committee members (in order by district):

  • *Tom Patton (R – Dist. 7): 614-466-4895
  • *Stephanie Howse (D – Dist. 11): 614-466-1414
  • VC Dave Greenspan (R – Dist. 16): 614-466-0961
  • *Jim Hughes (R – Dist. 24): 614-466-8012
  • Alicia Reece (D – Dist. 33): 614-466-1308
  • Tony DeVitis (R – Dist. 36): 614-466-1790
  • *Mike Sheehy (D – Dist. 46): 614-466-1418
  • *Thomas West (D – Dist. 49): 614-466-8030
  • Candice Keller (R – Dist. 53): 614-644-5094
  • Nathan Manning (R – Dist. 55): 614-644-5076
  • *Michele LaPore-Hagan (D – Dist. 58): 614-466-9435
  • Chairman Doug Green (R – Dist. 66): 614-644-6034
  • Darrell Kick (R – Dist. 70): 614-466-2994
  • Larry Householder (R – Dist. 72): 614-466-2500
  • Terry Johnson (R – Dist. 90): 614-466-2124

*Denotes Sponsor or Co-sponsor of H.B. 107

two-person_crewSMART TD Ohio State Legislative Director Stu Gardner is calling members to action in response to the introduction of Senate Bill 229 (SB 229), the two-person crew bill introduced in the Ohio senate Oct. 14. The bill has been referred by the senate to the Public Utilities Committee.

“The call to action is this: I am requesting that every member in Ohio contact the Senators of the Public Utilities Committee and urge them to support SB 229,” Gardner said. “Email and call your state senator and tell them you want them to support SB 229 for the safety of our members and the general public that reside near the railroad tracks.

“Your message should be short and concise and to the point. We want them to understand that this is an important safety issue to you, your family and the public.

“I want you to understand that this is the first step. We want SB 229 to pass through this committee with a majority of votes. If SB 229 doesn’t get the majority of the votes in committee, it will die then and there.”

Click here to find your district.

Click here to find your Ohio senators and representatives.

Click here for a sample email that you can send to your senator.

Click on these links for documents to attach to your email:

Below are the members of the Public Utilities Committee and their contact information.

SenatorPhone #Email AddressAlt. Email Address

Cliff Hite
(R – Dist. 1)

614-466-8150hite@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_01@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Ruby Marcumruby.marcum@ohiosenate.gov
Kevin Bacon
(R – Dist. 3)
614-466-8064sd03@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_03@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Caryl Philipscaryl.philips@ohiosenate.gov
Bill Seitz
(R – Dist. 8)
614-466-8068sd08@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_08@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Amanda Connellamanda.connell@ohiosenate.gov
Joseph Uecker
(R – Dist. 14)
614-466-8082uecker@ohiosenate.comSenate_District_14@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Lindsay Riley lindsay.riley@ohiosenate.gov
Bob Peterson
(R – Dist. 17)
614-466-8156peterson@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_17@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Lucas Houghtonlucas.houghton@ohiosenate.gov
John Eklund
(R – Dist. 18)
614-644-7718Eklund@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_18@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Elizabeth Lustelizabeth.lust@ohiosenate.gov
Troy Balderson
(R – Dist. 20)
614-446-8076balderson@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_20@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Sarah Huffmansarah.huffman@ohiosenate.gov
Sandra Williams
(D – Dist. 21)
614-466-4857williams@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_21@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Brook Feltsbrook.felts@ohiosenate.gov
Tom Patton
(R – Dist. 24)
614-466-8056patton@ohiosenate.govSenate_District24@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Charles Trefnyctrefny@ohiosenate.gov
Tom Sawyer
(D – Dist. 28)
614-466-7041tomsawyer@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_28@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Cindy Peterscindy.peters@ohiosenate.gov
Lou Gentile
(D – Dist. 30)
614-466-6508sd30@ohiosenate.govSenate_District_30@ohiosenate.gov
 Staff:Maria Habermansteven.blalock@ohiosenate.gov

no_rtwCOLUMBUS, Ohio – A Cincinnati, Ohio lawmaker introduced his plan to bring a right-to-work law to Ohio despite opposition from fellow Republicans.

The proposal from Rep. Tom Brinkman (R-Mount Lookout) would prohibit mandatory union membership at workplaces. The change would give employees the choice to opt out of unions and their dues. Twenty-five states have right-to-work laws, including recently passed proposals in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.

Read more from Telegraph-Forum

No RTWColumbus, Ohio – An Ohio lawmaker said he plans to introduce a “right-to-work” bill that would prohibit private-sector labor union membership as a condition of employment.

State Rep. Tom Brinkman said Wednesday that his bill, which he plans to introduce next month, would ban “closed shops” and forbid unions from charging “fair-share fees” to non-union workers at private-sector workplaces. The Cincinnati Republican said he intends to introduce the bill sometime next month.

The lawmaker said his legislation would not apply to public-sector unions, which were controversially targeted with similar restrictions by Senate Bill 5 in 2011 until Ohio voters rejected it.

Read more from Cleveland.com

gavelJudge Peter Economus of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled Wednesday, June 11 in favor of a motion for summary judgment to permanently maintain the final three days of early voting.

“In-person early voting is restored on the three days immediately preceding all future election days for all eligible voters. Secretary of State Jon Husted shall be responsible for setting business hours for such voting to preserve the right of all Ohio voters to cast his or her vote with said hours to be uniform throughout the state and suitable to the needs of the particular election in question,” Economus said in the decision.

Earlier this year, Husted issued a directive setting uniform statewide early voting hours for the 2014 election that didn’t include any Sundays or the Monday before Election Day.

The court’s action follows a previous decision that restored early voting hours leading up to the 2012 election.

Secretary Husted said he would comply with the court’s ruling and hailed it as a vindication of his effort to impose uniform voting procedures statewide.

“I am pleased that the federal court has affirmed what I have long advocated – that all voters, no matter where they live, should have the same opportunity to vote. Thankfully, uniformity and equality won the day,” Husted said.

Secretary Husted had urged the legislature to pass a law setting uniform early voting hours statewide but got little interest from his Republican colleagues.

“This ruling shows how important these last three days are to ensure equal access to the ballot, and the hours set by Secretary Husted should reflect that,” Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern said in a statement.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said 96,000 Ohioans cast their ballots during the final three days of early voting in the 2012 presidential election.

“This November and beyond, thousands more will be able to join them,” Schultz said.

The court case stems from a series of legislative actions last session when Republicans passed a far-ranging elections measure that reduced the early in-person voting period.

05/02/13 UPDATE: Ohio right-to-work bills were considered “dead-on-arrival” as Senate Republic President Keith Faber rejected the bills last night in an after-hours press conference.
“We have an ambitious agenda focused on job creation and economic recovery, and Right to Work legislation is not on that list. After discussions with other leaders and my caucus, I don’t believe there is current support for this issue in the General Assembly,” Faber said. “The only purpose this discussion serves right now is to generate a bunch of breathless fundraising appeals from the Ohio Democratic Party.”
 
Original Story:
Ohio has joined Pa. and Mo. in the fight against right-to-work bills. Today, two Republican Ohio Representatives Kristina Roegner and Ron Maag submitted bills seeking to take away rights from unions and their members in Ohio.
Roegner’s bill goes after private-sector unions such as UTU-SMART while Maag’s bill focuses on unions of the public sector.
Ohioans are clearly against this type of legislation with 60 percent of Ohio voters having voted down similar legislation in Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) that was introduced in 2011. SB 5 almost cost Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich his job when he sought to make SB 5 law without allowing Ohioans to vote on it. Petitions and outcries were heard loud and clear in Ohio’s government and SB 5 went to the people to be voted on in November 2011 and was voted down.
Ohioans are still working on getting an amendment passed that would allow the people of Ohio to vote to remove a governor from office as a result of the SB 5 fiasco.
Kasich has refused to support any right-to-work bill since SB 5 failed and has instead remained focused on other legislation. Kasich has yet to weigh in on the new legislation that was introduced today.
Pennsylvania and Missouri are also facing similar bills in their respective Houses. Recently, the state of Maine rejected right-to-work bills in both the state House and Senate, effectively killing those bills.

SB 5 Rally; Carl Morgano; Morgano, CarlVoters in Ohio overwhelmingly restored to public employees Nov. 8 their collective bargaining rights that a conservative majority in the state legislature – with support from Gov. John Kasich — chose to revoke earlier this year.

The mean-spirited legislative attack on collective bargaining rights was so repugnant to Ohio citizens that 1.3 million affixed their signature on petitions to place the law on the November general election ballot – a rare and not lightly taken action of direct democracy.

By nearly a two-to-one margin, Ohio voters overturned the law, sending it to the dust bin of political history, along with a strong message to conservative lawmakers that they best not again seek to trash workers’ rights to collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions.

The New York Times called the landslide vote “a slap to Ohio’s governor, John Kasich, a prominent Republican who had championed the law.” Vice President Joe Biden said, “Fundamental fairness has prevailed.”

The UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund played a meaningful role in overturning the law, with active and retired UTU members in Ohio helping to organize public demonstrations, circulating petitions to place the law on the November ballot, and assisting in voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives that involved knocking on doors and providing rides to the polls.

The phrase repeated to Ohio voters a million times over by UTU volunteers was, “Don’t let others decide your future.”

UTU Ohio State Legislative Director Glenn Newsom spent months visiting locals and directing mail and phone messages to active and retired UTU members about the importance of voting and encouraging others to vote for repeal of the law.

This was the second victory for the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund. In July, two anti-labor senators, who had voted in favor of a law similar to the one in Ohio, were removed from office in Wisconsin following a recall effort with strong UTU participation. Democrats and union leaders there now hope to channel momentum from the Ohio victory into an effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

A coalition of labor unions and community groups didn’t take back the Wisconsin state senate from anti-union extremists Tuesday night, Aug. 9, but voters enraged over the extremists’ political agenda did unseat two of the six senators targeted for recall.

“Seeing that we were outspent three-to-one, that recall elections are rare in American politics and that our effort to change the face of the Wisconsin legislature only began a few months ago, contributors to the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund can be proud of the accomplishment of unseating two extremists, and, especially, the message the recall election sent anti-union politicians nationwide,” said UTU Alternate National Legislative Director John Risch.

The Wisconsin recall effort began after political extremists in that state legislature voted to curtail public-employee bargaining rights as a first step toward weakening labor-union power.

An anti-union agenda by political extremists in Ohio similarly energized labor and community groups there, culminating in a successful petition drive that puts the political extremists’ anti-union legislation to a direct voter referendum in Ohio in November.

And in Indiana, political extremists abandoned their effort to curtail public-employee collective bargaining rights after the pushback by labor and community groups began in Wisconsin and Ohio.

In all cases, the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund played an effective role.

In Madison, Wis., Tuesday, a voter told the Capitol-Times newspaper, “I think the fact that this election is going on right now is a victory in and of itself. We put [the anti-union lawmakers] on the hot seat. I would have liked to have seen us run the table on them, but this is okay for now.”

The UTU’s political consultant, Dean Mitchell, noted that the Wisconsin recall elections are a “test run for organized labor in expanding and improving its get-out-the-vote message and efforts ahead of the 2012 presidential election, where Wisconsin will be one of the swing states. The UTU can be proud that the two senators successfully recalled are from the two voting districts in the state with the most UTU members registered.”

UTU National Legislative Director James Stem said the extremist agenda in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and other states to privatize schools and weaken labor unions mirrors the efforts of extremists in Congress to fold Railroad Retirement into Social Security, privatize Social Security and Medicare, eliminate Amtrak and destroy organized labor.

 “The situation in Wisconsin allowed the UTU and other labor organizations to fine-tune our communication strategies,” Stem said. “We are very proud of the manner in which our active and retired members responded to our efforts. The UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund and the UTU PAC will continue to spearhead our efforts going forward to protect our collective bargaining rights and defend against these brazen attacks on the middle-class.

“We owe temporary Gov. Scott Walker a debt of gratitude for waking up the middle class to the battle being waged against them,” Stem said. “We will use the lessons learned in the Wisconsin recall to improve our efforts and communications in Ohio and in presidential and congressional elections in 2012.”

Sturdy confirmation of the value of the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund emerged from a Wisconsin vote tally this second week of July – the second of three heats in a race to unseat anti-labor senators in special recall elections.

Wisconsin voters, awakened to and energized against anti-labor efforts of political extremists in their state legislature, cast majority ballots for labor-friendly candidates in primary elections.

The primaries were in advance of Aug. 9 special elections to recall state senators who earlier this year voted to strip Wisconsin public employees of their collective bargaining rights.

As Wisconsin has an open primary and no party registration, the labor-friendly candidates (all Democrats) found themselves pitted against Republican political extremists who entered the Democratic primaries as sham Democrats. They had hoped to win the primaries and assure either their own victory or victory for the incumbents they would face when the recall elections are held Aug. 9. The sham tactics failed.

Indeed, Wisconsin voters knew the difference between the real labor-friendly candidates and the sham candidates because of shoe-leather exertions by union members in Wisconsin. They knocked on doors, handed out educational materials and urged voters to go to the polls. Those successful efforts – as well as the earlier successful petition drive to force the recall elections — were supported by the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund.

Legislative attacks on organized labor in Wisconsin – duplicated in Ohio, where organized labor’s counter offensive also is proving successful – is part of a more expansive effort among political extremists nationwide to destroy organized labor, fold Railroad Retirement into Social Security, privatize Social Security and Medicare, eliminate Amtrak and starve other public transit operations of funds.

The UTU’s political consultant, Dean Mitchell, said, “The UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund made a difference by working with the Wisconsin AFL-CIO on member-to-member communication. UTU members in Wisconsin were contacted through phone calls and special mailings, urging them to vote in the Wisconsin primary. UTU International President Mike Futhey also hosted a town hall meeting via telephone with UTU active and retired members in Wisconsin.

Mitchell has been coordinating a multi-state effort among UTU legislative directors to educate voters to the threat posed by political extremists and to energize UTU members and retirees and their families to be politically active.

That communication effort will be duplicated in advance of the Wisconsin recall elections Aug. 9.

In Ohio, the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund helped to fuel a petition drive that put that state’s anti-labor legislation on hold pending a voter referendum in November. The fund is also assisting with efforts in other states to block anti-labor efforts advanced by political extremists.

Activities fueled by the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund have spawned media attention, which in turn helps to educate large numbers of middle-class voters to the anti-labor agenda of political extremists.

As evidenced in the Wisconsin primaries, voters are expressing anger with the attacks on organized labor even though many have never belonged to a labor union. They recognize that today’s attacks on labor unions are a prelude to a future attack on the middle class in America.

To learn more about the UTU Collective Bargaining Defense Fund, and how to contribute, click on the following link:

https://www.smart-union.org/collective-bargaining-defense-fund/