A Win For The American Worker

Yesterday, The State of Ohio and its citizens, made a choice.  The choice was in favor of the American worker.  Sixty-two percent of voters chose to repeal State Senate Bill 5 which restricted and limited the collective bargaining rights of public workers including teachers, police officers and firefighters in the State of Ohio.  The bill centered around salaries, work conditions and hours worked as well as prohibiting strikes, promotions based exclusively on seniority and contributions of public workers to their pensions and health care premiums. 

Similar laws have been passed in Wisconsin and Michigan where the citizens only have the opportunity to recall their elected officials as opposed to offering a referendum like the one Ohio voters overturned yesterday.  The tide in Ohio seemed to turn on the issue of collective bargaining, not so much the unwillingness of the Ohio voter to support public workers having to contribute to their own pensions and cover a portion of their health care premiums.  Most Ohio voters would support greater participation in these benefit programs by public workers.  What they were unwilling to do is to see the public worker denied their opportunity to collective bargain. 

This is an important victory for the American worker on a number of different levels.  It strikes back at the very issue that Occupy Wall Street protesters have voiced.  Although this is state government and public employees, It does speak to the divide between corporate greed and the rights of the American worker.  The opportunity for compromise should now be able to come into play where workers are asked to provide some level of relief to state government with regard to pensions and health care premiums.  There has been a willingness on the part of the worker to make concessions in these areas.  It was more about collective bargaining for them.

Unions and the collective bargaining process have long been controversial and contentious in the industrial marketplace in the United States.  Many Americans have disagreed with union tactics and negotiating over the years.  Many Americans have not viewed the union movement in a positive light.  At the same time, unions have made significant contributions to the plight of the American worker.

Work hours, work conditions, worker safety, minimum wage requirements, benefits and a host of other work-related issues have all been championed by the unions.  All workers, not just Union workers, have benefitted from the gains made by our Unions.  The work week , wages and worker safety are the most significant of these. 

At the same time, some of the gains earned by workers over the years have led to some of the financial issues that state and local governments are having in meeting their budgetary needs.  There will need to be compromise moving forward on the part of both parties.  Not one side getting everything they want.  A fairness for all involved.  The voters of Ohio have sent a loud and clear message that compromise and fairness is the better approach.  Expect to see more of the same in Wisconsin and Michigan moving forward.