NEOCH Urges a No Vote on Issue 2

Homeless Support Collective Bargaining

The Board of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless decided last week to urge our membership to vote No on Issue 2 which would then overturn SB 5 passed in April by the state legislature.  Why does the Coalition want to get involved in a collective bargaining bill?  The mission of the Coalition is to empower and organize those experiencing homelessness.  The backbone of organizing is allowing homeless people to act  and speak collectively.  We construct resident council (similar to tenant unions) to allow those living in shelters to speak collectively with management of the shelter.  If collective bargaining disappears for public employees it is a slippery slope before collective bargaining would disappear as a value in our society.  We strongly support collective bargaining as a means to solve problems with our Homeless Congress as an example and we appreciate collective bargaining in the employment sector.

We believe that a healthy work force especially in the public sector keeps people from becoming homeless.  It is not an accident that only 1% of the homeless population are age 65 or older.  It is because we have social security and the pension programs that employees bargained for to keep them safe in their retirement years.  SB 5 would eliminate government contributions to public sector pensions, and thus destabilize future seniors increasing the number who become homeless.  There may be some valuable items in SB 5, but taken as a whole it would harm public sector employees and strike a blow to collective bargaining in Ohio.  It is for this reason, NEOCH urges a no vote on Issue 2.

It is legal for non-profit organizations to take positions on issues in the United States especially if they have such an impact on our constituents.   We believe that collective bargaining needs to be expanded and not limited in Ohio.  The board of the Coalition believes that fewer people would become homeless if all workplaces were organized.  Our constituents would not face daily exploitation if the temporary labor companies were organized and homeless workers belonged to a labor union.  We could significantly reduce the number of homeless people if these men and women were paid a fair wage for a fair days work.  If anything, we should expand collective bargaining and not limit it in Ohio.

Please vote No on Issue 2 in order to repeal Senate Bill 5 the anti-collective bargaining law.

Brian Davis
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Homeless Support Collective Bargaining

May 6: Petition Drive to Allow Citizens to Vote on the Anti Collective Bargaining Law

People experiencing homelessness realize the value unions have in our society to protect wages so that workers who put a full day of labor into a job can afford a place to live that evening. There is a significant attack on the rights of workers to bargain collectively sweeping the country. People who are homeless and all lower income workers are concerned about these attempts to undermine unions in Ohio and the United States. On May 6, volunteers, people who are homeless and advocates will fan out throughout the state to gather petition signatures in order to get the recently passed Senate Bill 5 on the ballot in November. Homeless Coalitions in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus will deploy volunteers to local area shelters to gather signatures. The vendors for the three street newspapers in the three cities will be joining many others in collecting enough signatures to authorize a statewide ballot measure to decide the fate of collective bargaining for public employees in November.

Many people who are homeless are laid off members of a union, and most people who are homeless have a goal of one day working in a workplace protected by a union. “We all remember the words of President Ronald Reagan, ‘The [brave workers in Poland] remind us that where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost,’ and have come together to try to protect the rights of workers to organize in Ohio,” said Cleveland Homeless Coalition director Brian Davis. Vendors for the Cincinnati Streetvibes, Columbus Street Speech, and Cleveland Street Chronicle will gather petition signatures in the Downtowns of the three major cities in Ohio. Josh Spring, Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless director said, “We all believe that union organizing and the ability to sit down with an employer on an equal footing is a social justice issue, and must be protected in Ohio.”

Contrary to popular belief most people who are homeless do vote and are registered to vote. In fact, the Cleveland and Columbus Coalitions settled a lawsuit in 2010 with the State of Ohio over access to the ballot on Election Day for homeless people without identification. During the day of action, advocates and volunteers will be registering people who are homeless to vote. Advocates statewide need 231,000 legitimate signatures before the end of June 2011 to get the initiative on the November ballot, and allow voters to decide on the law before it becomes law.

Brian
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Homeless Support Collective Bargaining in Ohio

May 6, 2011 Homeless will Collect Petition Signatures

Many homeless individuals were laid off union workers or certainly want to be part of a union in the near future. We all realize that union membership means social justice in the work place. Many are concerned about attack on collective bargaining taking place in Ohio, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Indiana. The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless along with the Coalitions in Cincinnati and Columbus are proclaiming Friday May 6, 2011 as "Homeless Support Collective Bargaining Day in Ohio." Volunteers and advocates will work on May 6 to get Senate Bill 5 legislation on the November 2011 ballot by collecting petition signatures.

Vendors at the three street newspapers (Cleveland Street Chronicle, Cincinnati Street Sense, and Columbus Street Speech) will be collecting signatures for part of the day. We will also have volunteers go into the area shelters to gather signatures to overturn SB 5. Contrary to popular belief most people experiencing homelessness are registered to vote and a higher percentage then the rest of the population actually do vote. Homeless people are well educated on current events and are concerned about this attack on public employees. They have a special relationship with EMS workers, social workers at the Department of Human Services, Community College professors, and continuing education teachers who will all be impacted by these new rules. There is a big concern that this is only the beginning of a broader attack on unions in the state.

If you would like to volunteer on Friday May 6, please call the office at 216/432-0540 in Cleveland to help collect petition signatures. You will go out in pairs to the shelters and drop in centers to collect signatures. We need your help to protect collective bargaining in Ohio.

Brian
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