Wednesday, June 29, 2011

1.3M signatures in OH!!

What an awesome effort. Hundreds of people today marched in the People's Parade in Columbus to deliver nearly five times as many signatures as are needed to put SB5 on the November ballot.

WKBN reports:
Hundreds took to the streets in Columbus this morning as part of what is being called the 'People's Parade.'
Those taking part in the event are opposed to Senate Bill 5 and delivered nearly 1.3 million signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office in an effort to get the measure on the November ballot.

The opponents needed at least 231,000 signatures. They want to repeal the law, which limits collective bargaining and bans strikes by public employees.
We learn from We Are Ohio that 1,298,301 signatures have been collected to put Senate Bill 5 on the ballot for a citizens veto.

Tim Burga, president of Ohio's AFL-CIO, calls it "a historic moment for Ohio."  Burga said,
This unprecedented number is a record for any Ohio ballot initiative and shows that Ohioans are fed up with Gov. Kasich's extreme partisan agenda.
More than 10,000 volunteers participated in this effort and the Ohio AFL-CIO and the 650,000 working families it represents commend their hard work and dedication to going ahead and beyond to repeal this anti-working family bill. When the measure is approved by the State of Secretary, the Ohio AFL-CIO, working in coalition with the We Are Ohio campaign, will immediately turn our attention to continuing to educate voters on the detrimental effects Senate Bill 5 will have on communities across the state.

This is not just a referendum on Senate Bill 5, it is a referendum on Kasich and his political allies blatant assault on working families and the middle class. Senate Bill 5 has galvanized a true grassroots movement of Ohioans who have stood up and made their voice heard, not only on Senate Bill 5, but also on Kasichs jobs killing budget, bills that would suppress the vote, and a slew of other attacks.