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“Stage Is Set for Battle”
“Great news from Ohio,” wrote Prof. Howard Bunsis, chair of the AAUP’s national Collective Bargaining Congress, in a message to AAUP members. Noting that Sara Kilpatrick, state executive director, and Rudy Fichtenbaum, a leader of the Wright State chapter, were in Columbus for the delivery of the massive number of signatures to get SB 5 on the ballot as a referendum, Bunsis wrote, “We are so proud of our members and leaders in Ohio who worked so hard on this campaign. What is encouraging is how the entire labor movement in Ohio has come together, and how the AAUP is an important part of that movement.”1
“SB 5 Makes Ballot; Stage Is Set for Battle,” the headline in The Columbus Dispatch reported on July 22. “This is really a historic moment for us. We’re kicking off a campaign for social rights and justice,” National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told The Cleveland Plain Dealer at a gathering of union leaders and other SB 5 opponents in downtown Columbus. “This is about defending the middle class,” Trumka continued; “This is about saying what kind of state we will be and what kind of nation we will be.” For her part, Pierrette “Petee” Talley, secretary-treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO, told the Plain Dealer, “We’re headed into a very bad campaign. We’re up against interests that have a lot of money.”2
Evidence of the powerful forces backing Senate Bill 5 was clear when one of Gov. Kasich’s closest allies, Newt Gingrich, announced his support for the legislation. The conservative group backing SB 5, Building a Better Ohio, produced a video of Gingrich with his statement of support. In the video, as The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, the former House Speaker repeated the central—and flawed—argument made by supporters of the bill, that it would give local governments tools to better manage themselves without raising taxes. “Gingrich, who appears a bit sluggish in the video, offers high praise for Gov. John Kasich, mentioning his name three times,” the Plain Dealer reported. The writer then speculated, “Perhaps Gingrich is hoping to snag Kasich’s endorsement,” in a reference to Gingrich’s presidential aspirations. Near the end of the video, Gingrich states, “This is a chance to be involved and strengthen what Gov. John Kasich is doing.”3
This renewal of the Gingrich–Kasich partnership was just a piece of the conservative coalition that was targeting Ohio’s working people. In addition to Building a Better Ohio, other groups that contributed large sums of money and brought in outside organizers included Alliance for America’s Future, with Liz and Mary Cheney, daughters of Dick Cheney, in its leadership; FreedomWorks, a creation of former Republican Sen. Dick Armey; the Ohio Liberty Council, a coalition of Tea Party organizations; the Ohio branch of Americans for Prosperity, chaired by David Koch and funded largely by Koch money; and Make Ohio Great, a creation of the Republican Governors Association and funded by several w