Ohio: Collective Bargaining Union Protesters Clash at Statehouse with Tea Party Supporter of anti-Union Bill
Vociferous throngs attend hearings on Senate Bill 5
Thursday, February 17, 2011
By Jim Siegel
The Columbus Dispatch
JONATHAN QUILTER | DISPATCH Photos
Supporters of Senate Bill 5 rallied today outside the Statehouse . . .
. . . as the bill’s opponents rallied inside.
Thousands gather for Senate Bill 5 hearing
More than 3,000 enthusiastic supporters and opponents of the Senates proposed collective-bargaining overhaul enveloped the Statehouse this morning with cheers of kill the bill and yes on 5, prior to the latest hearing on Senate Bill 5.
The spacious Statehouse atrium was packed mostly with public union workers outraged at efforts to end collective bargaining for state workers and significantly weaken the ability for local workers to bargain for their pay, benefits and working conditions.
Unions made a strong showing for the bill’s first two hearings, and they were joined today by more than 200 red-shirt clad tea party activists pushing for the bill’s passage. The mix verbally clashed in the Statehouse rotunda, where each side did its best to drown out the other.
Continue reading Battle Against GOP Union Busters Spreads to Ohio