Ohio Teamsters Hail SB5 Defeat as Victory for Ohio's Middle Class

Say Ohioans Won't Get Fooled Again

CINCINNATI, Nov. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ohio Teamsters' leadership tonight said the defeat of Senate Bill 5 showed that Ohio voters support collective bargaining. SB5 would have stripped more than 350,000 public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

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"On behalf of all Ohio Teamsters and organized labor, the citizens of Ohio sent a message to Gov. Kasich and the Koch brothers, 'Keep your hands off our rights to collectively bargain,'" said William Lichtenwald, President of Teamsters Local 20 in Cincinnati and the Ohio Conference of Teamsters.

"I hope the politicians in Columbus wake up and start listening to the middle class and looking out for our interests as opposed to corporate interests," said Randy Verst, president of Teamsters Joint Council 26 in Cincinnati.

"Extreme politicians tried to shift the burden of the economic crisis to the middle class," said Al Mixon, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 507 in Cleveland and a Teamsters International Vice President. "They tried to destroy our basic right to freedom of speech, the freedom to negotiate, the freedom to have a voice in the workplace. SB5 doesn't just affect labor, it affects everybody. If they take away our basic rights, then they'll take away everybody's. Fortunately, Ohioans have come together to defeat this bad legislation. We won't get fooled again."

"This isn't just a big victory for the Teamster snowplow drivers, corrections officers and nurses who work for the State of Ohio. It's a big victory for Ohio's middle-class workers," said Gary Tiboni, President of Teamsters Local 436 in Valley View.

Teamsters represent 55,000 workers in Ohio, including about 7,000 police officers, snowplow drivers, nurses and corrections officers.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, including more than 70,000 members in the airline industry. Visit www.local2727.org and www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter at #Teamsterpower.

SOURCE Ohio Conference of Teamsters