Anti-S.B. 5 group, students urge Student Senate to take stand

Ohio University students joined Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl and state Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Athens, Wednesday night to urge Student Senate to take a stand on Senate Bill 5, the collective-bargaining legislation that Ohio voters will approve or reject when they vote on Issue 2 in November.

Senate President Kyle Triplett recently declined to add a resolution to Senate's Wednesday night regular meeting agenda that would allow the body to express concern over S.B. 5.

Signed into law on March 31 by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, S.B. 5, among other things, reduces the rights of public-sector workers to negotiate for benefits and strips union members of their ability to legally strike.

Supporters say it will cuts costs for cash-strapped state and local governments and school districts, and ensure that public-sector workers won't enjoy better benefits than their private-sector counterparts.

Opponents slam the bill as a transparent effort to strip public-employee unions of power, thereby crippling the fundraising ability of the Democrats they usually support. They say it's unfairly punitive against schoolteachers, public-safety employees such as police and firefighters, and other dedicated government workers, and that supporters have exaggerated the difference in pay and benefits between public and private employees.

Issue 2 is a referendum to repeal the bill, with a yes vote keeping it and a no vote scrapping it.

The anti-S.B. 5 organization, We Are Ohio, attended the "student speak out" portion of the meeting, gathering in front of Baker Center before the event and collectively marching to Walter Hall. The group is self-described as a "citizen-driven, broad-based, bipartisan coalition" solely devoted to the repeal of S.B. 5. Student organizer Tyler Barton was the first to speak out at Wednesday's meeting.

"It does not take much consideration to see how the passing of S.B. 5 into law is a threat to the student experience at Ohio University as well as threat to future job opportunities for students graduating from this institution," Barton said.

He also brought up the problem of the increasing poverty in Athens County and southeast Ohio and how S.B. 5 will only aggravate this issue.

"If workers here lose their right to collectively bargain," he said, "it is not unreasonable to expect the problem with poverty in the region will be worsened. It is incredibly difficult to convince students that graduate here to stay in a state where they are told that their hard work and their personal sacrifices should not afford them the dignity to negotiate the terms of their employment"

Also in attendance were members of OU's chapter of the College Republicans. President Ryan Dilworth voiced his support for Triplett's decision to not place an S.B. 5 resolution on the Student Senate agenda.

"It would not be representing the whole voice of the students," Dilworth said.

If students want to be heard, he noted that the November election will allow students to vote on the issue.

Safety was a major concern for many students who spoke out at the meeting. With the stripping of benefits from police officers that could come with the passage of S.B. 5, several students said that their well-being may be jeopardized.

Carolyn Williamson was among the many who expressed her anxiety. "As a woman on this campus, it would be asking me to sacrifice my safety and security," she said. "It's not a political issue; it's a quality of life for your students issue."

Anti-S.B. 5 organizer Barton also emphasized the way the bill will affect public employees, specifically those who serve OU. He mentioned the Athens and OU police departments, the dining hall cooks, custodians and maintenance staff as among the many employees who will be disadvantaged by S.B. 5's passage.

"Consider the people that really make this campus run," he said. "I see no reason why Student Senate would not vote on a resolution and would not pass a resolution that would condemn this unjust and unsafe law immediately."

Students pursuing degrees in education spoke of the repercussions they feared will result from S.B. 5, one even mentioning that he knew a friend who did not pursue a teaching degree in Ohio because of the bill.

Jacob Chaffin shared a personal story of his father's path to becoming an educator.

"I can tell you truthfully that I would not be here today if it were not for the benefit of collective bargaining making sure that my father put both his sons through college," Chaffin said.

In response to Triplett's statement that S.B. 5 would not directly affect students, Chaffin asked, "When will it affect students?"

Mohamad Al-Issa, president of the International Student Union, spoke of the irony of debating on whether to vote on an issue. He reminded students of the privilege of democracy that is often taken for granted in the U.S.

"Don't break that democracy dream that international students come here to experience," Al-Issa said. "It makes you guys unique, that your voice actually counts." He continued, "Voting is a right that you should not give away, regardless of the issue."

After 12 consecutive student speakers, Triplett took the floor to offer his thanks and remind the body why the issue was not being voted on that evening.

"Student Senate fully supports and respects our faculty members at the university," he said. "We did not feel that this body was educated enough to make a vote."

Triplett also urged members of Student Senate to speak with their constituents about S.B. 5 and Issue 2 and to bring that information back to the body.

Mayor Wiehl did not directly speak out during the allotted time, but later said that the opinions of students who spoke had an impact. "I think the arguments were made that they should be looking at it, at least. I don't know if there will be consensus It sounds like they need to explore it some more, too."

In the end, Triplett expressed gratitude for the opinions presented by the students Wednesday evening. "The information that they brought was very beneficial to the body as a whole. We felt that the information standpoint was very important before moving on it and tonight we certainly got information," he said.