Speeches

Building Union Power 6 Conference
April 22, 2006

Prepared Remarks by
Ronald C. Alexander,
OCSEA President

I am delighted to see each and every one of you here today. 
And I really mean that.
For WE…. you and I …”we” are some “Last PEOPLE Standing.”  The survivors of a Perfect Economic Storm.

In the past decade, its dark clouds have rolled across Ohio leaving despair and devastation in its wake.

In the last decade Ohio has lost 230,000 jobs! We rank almost at the bottom in jobs.  49th in the nation!

Record high unemployment.  Again, almost at the bottom.
49th in the nation! 
Bankruptcies?  Say…here’s "good" news. (SARCASTIC.) 
Only 43rd in the nation!

And many of our Brothers & Sisters were not as fortunate as we are they did not escape the storm.

We have survived privatizing our prisons.  Closures of MH, MRDD and Prison facilities. 

Every public sector worker has experienced the fall-out from the storm…….  For the past sixteen years…… One party rule has balanced the State budget on the backs of public sector workers…….I have had Enough!........  How about You? ………… I have had enough of the way the Governor and his cronies treat our Brothers and Sisters.

We are asking…………..No we are demanding that we have the opportunity to work with dignity and respect!  Everyone hear today can give examples of the disrespect the current administration has demonstrated in their treatment of public sector workers!

So you can see why…
I am glad to see you here.
It means you survived.  But others did not.

This crushing economic disaster has destroyed lives, families, and futures.  Its winds have blown away “The American Dream” and replaced it with a “Nightmare” of despair.

Others, often the best and brightest among us, have simply left the state of Ohio.  They have packed up their processions and left for other states with a more prosperous future.
  
They leave behind:

1. Empty factories that litter the landscape.
2. Closed shops that signal one of the nation’s worst foreclosure rates.
3. Punitive taxes that are among the highest in the nation.
4. An education system in disarray and crisis.
5. Tens of thousands with no healthcare coverage.
6. And for those who do have a job, an average annual wage that is $1,500 dollars below the national average.
7. And fewer resources for public sector workers to provide the much needed services to the citizens of Ohio.

So I AM glad to see you here.

The statistics are difficult to accept…but even more difficult…is the human tragedy…because I know…that you know…a “REAL” person who has lost their job, had their business fail, or a family that has been devastated by this economic storm…as sure as it was a hurricane or a tsunami.

And I am sure that you know a family who has left the state of Ohio because they just couldn’t take it…or make it…here anymore. 
And lest some of us think it is over…it’s not.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, personal-bankruptcy filings, mortgage foreclosures and mortgage delinquency rates increased during the last three months of last year and remain near the nation’s highest. In fact, 1 in every 71 Ohio households filed for foreclosure in 2005.  One in every 71! That is 64,000 foreclosures last year…and a lot of pain for a lot of Ohio families. 

And this January and February the state lost an additional 9,200 jobs.  Ohio is still being buffeted by this storm.

Yes, this economic storm has swept far and wide…. fueled and made more powerful every day… by bad leadership, malfeasance in office, corruption, and out and out thievery.
 
I don’t need to tell you who was at the helm during this disaster. 
Bob Taft.  A Governor ranked the worst state leader in the United States of America.

Bob Taft.  A Governor who was the first to be convicted……in Ohio history.

And a Republican administration riddled with “pay to play” politics from the top on down.

Who backed Taft every step of the way?

A majority party, controlling all statewide offices and a one-party rule/rubber stamp legislature…. including the two men who seek to be our new Governor.

Ken Blackwell and Jim Petro.
Yes, I am glad to see you here.
And I’ll tell you why.

Because you, and you…and you…and you! …The survivors of this storm…are the only PEOPLE standing between another decade of Republican rule or a fresh new beginning.

You know, those poor folks in New Orleans are terrified right now because they know another hurricane is coming…sometime…  …somewhere.  And thanks to poor Republican leadership on the national level…those levies aren’t being built fast and high enough…to protect them

They know its coming and they are powerless to prevent it.

But my friends, my brothers and sisters in arms, we are not powerless to prevent the coming storm in November!

We are not going to stand by and let them take over this state once again!

Its time to throw the Rascals out!
We are going to “Stand and Deliver” this state to honest new leadership!

Together, we…the survivors of the last decade of Republican rule…are going to fight with every tool in our arsenal…to defeat the likes of Blackwell, Petro, Taft and Thomas Noe!

You…may be here today…but some of you may not be here…the next time we meet…if either Jim Petro or Ken Blackwell become Governor.

Jim Petro and Ken Blackwell.  Could we have a worse choice?

I call them “Cut and Run.”

Petro because he will “Cut” state government to disastrous levels. 

And Blackwell because he will “Run” this state into the ground.

Take Jim Petro.

As Governor, Jim Petro says he would CUT Government workers by 20 % and wipe out numerous state agencies.  His “plan” calls for laying off approximately 11,500 qualified, highly trained state workers.

Yes, 11,500 of your fellow workers will be on the streets immediately looking for jobs under the Petro administration. 

Take a look at the fifth person down the row from you and imagine them. …gone.

You and I know that our state government work force is not over bloated.  Quite the contrary.  Most departments and agencies are having a very difficult time keeping up with their workload as it is.

In addition, every time one of these massive organizational changes is made…it results not in savings…but in huge and unanticipated costs.  It actually makes us less efficient…not more…as state workers are forced to take on more functions, multi-task and learn new disciplines “on the fly.”

That’s the story on “CUT” Petro.

Now. Ken Blackwell has a different plan.  It’s called TABOR or the “Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.” 

It relies on a magic “formula” to limit state spending.  Instead it will “RUN” state government into the ground.

It limits state spending to the rate of inflation and population growth and requires voters to approve all state tax increases.

Like all magic “formulas” this sounds good on the surface…but take a closer look at the ingredients and you will see that its pure poison.
The TABOR formula phases out valuable state services by a larger amount during recessions than it can make-up during upturns in the economy.

It takes the control and responsibility for legislative actions out of the hands of our elected representatives…the people we sent there in the first place…to represent us. 

And it plain doesn’t work.

They tried it…ten years ago…in the state of Colorado and the results have been disastrous.  It resulted in a huge budget gap and a state that is 50th in so many things that it even makes Ohio look good by comparison.  Out in Denver, even the Republicans that backed TABOR in the first place are saying it was one big, big mistake. So big a mistake that they suspended TABOR for the next five years. TABOR uses the language of taxpayer empowerment to strip away vital programs. It is truly..”Voodoo” economics.

If it was enacted here in Ohio, and this is according to a study by House Republicans…mind you…a cut of 3.5 Billion dollars would have to be made starting right now.

Ken Blackwell thinks this is a “no brainer” and he is right.  Anyone with a brain would know immediately that you can’t have a magic formula that works correctly in every situation…because every situation is different. 

No family would run their household budget this way…let alone the state of Ohio.

My friends, this Blackwell “formula” is no better than the snake oil that Medicine Men used to sell from the back of wagons in the Wild West.  It promises everything, delivers nothing and the only thing you are going to get from it…after you take it…is a big head-ache the next morning…. with your money gone to boot.

With this plan…Ken Blackwell will “RUN” our state into the ground.  And let me also remind you that Ken Blackwell is no friend of collective bargaining here in the state of Ohio.

No my friends, like his purchase of Diebold stock…Blackwell’s fiscal “formula” to run Ohio just doesn’t pass the “smell test.”

Jim Petro and Ken Blackwell.  “Cut” and “Run.”

Is this the best that the Republican Party can offer up to meet the challenges that Ohio faces in the future?  These two have been part of the problem in the first place.  And now they say…they have the solutions.

Well, they don’t.  And you and I know it.
The question is…what are WE going to do about it.
Are WE going to stand by…and let them win again?
(No!)
Are WE going to stand by…and let them drive this state further into a depression?
(No!)
Are WE going to stand by…and let them make their “sweetheart deals” to line their pockets with Ohio’s cash and coins?
(No!)
You are damned right we’re not.

You know, I trust the people of Ohio to make an informed decision if they have the facts…if they have the information…to make realistic judgments and decisions.

The trouble is that Blackwell and Petro…with their Washington handlers…have been so slick, so deceptive in their ads and promises that many average voters have been duped.    
But not again.
Let me tell you this truth.

This is the BEST opportunity that we have to TAKE BACK OHIO in 12 years!

I say this based on a number of factors that will propel us to victory.

First: Organization.
You don’t become a championship team without going through some spring training.  Our election efforts in 2004 and 2005…some successful…some not…were great preparation for the battle ahead in November.  We’re more organized, more efficient and a better “team” for those experiences.  The lessons we learned are the foundation to our success in 2006.

Second: Participation.
Thanks to OCSEA members like you and our other brothers and sisters in the Labor movement, record numbers of union members participated in the election process in the last two years.

They gave their time, their energy and their money to fight the overwhelming financial advantage of the powerful interests who wish to continue to loot and pillage Ohio.

To those members who did so, I want to give my personal thanks.        

Third:  The Team.
This year we have formed a great team with our brothers and sisters in AFSCME around “PEOPLE”…..  PEOPLE stands for Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality. People is a political action committee that will be the team that leads us to our goals this year…. I have appointed a special committee and they have developed a good plan to help us achieve our political goals.  To increase participation here and across America is also a personal goal of our great AFSCME International President Gerald McEntee.  And it’s a goal OCSEA is determined to meet here in Ohio.  I will share more information about OCSEA’s PEOPLE campaign later in the program.
 
The fourth factor for victory in our favor is:  The Scandal that rocks our state every day in newspapers and on television, getting bigger and more complex with every revelation.

Not since the “Crofters” Scandal that swept Democratic Governor John J. Gilligan into office in 1970 has Ohio seen a scandal like “Coingate.”

Did you ever in your life think that you would see the influence pedaling, the out and out thievery that has occurred under this group of Republicans?

From free rounds of golf to millions lost in shady deals…the rot from years and years of corrupt Republican control in the Statehouse and let me say…in Washington as well…should make every honest citizen revolted.

Who do they think they are that they can steal our money and then ask once again to be put in charge of the bank?  The people of Ohio are not that stupid.  And the people of this country are not that stupid. 

Its time to Throw the Rascals out! 

Finally…the fifth factor for victory …Take Back Ohio……….we need to consider when we talk about this great and historic effort that we are launching here today……………Is that OCSEA is fully committed to labor’s Take Back Ohio plan.  We are going to build upon the lessons learned during the Presidential election and be even more successful this time around. 

Our Union with its activist and leaders stepped forward during the last TBO campaign and we are asking you to once again lead the way during the 2006 elections.

There is an old saying…………….”All Elections are Local”.  Its true we win elections at the local level.  To be successful in 2006…we need every Chapter to commit their activists and available resources to TBO. 

Our first step is to get behind the AFSCME endorsed candidates and register our members to vote.

Its time to elect labor friendly candidates!

We have an excellent Slate of candidates …endorsed by AFSCME who, when elected, will take a broom, mop and dust pan and clean out the nest of these dishonest snake oil salesmen with their “magic formulas”…who use our state government money to line their pockets.
You will hear many of them here at this conference.
But let me mention some of them now.

Sherrod Brown for United States Senate!

Ted Strickland for Governor!

Richard Cordray for State Treasurer!

Barbara Sykes for State Auditor!

And Jennifer Brunner for Secretary of State!

These are qualified, honest people who will serve this state with integrity and make the right choices for Ohio’s future.  They do not want to “Cut” and “Run.”  They want to stand with us for a better Ohio.

My friends, we are making great progress here at OCSEA.

Our recent pay raise, in the face of economic hardship, is evidence of the value of each and every one of our members.

As most of you know OCSEA is assuming control of Workforce Development.  The great educational benefits from this program that have bettered so many lives will be available when we get it up and running in August.

Bob Taft wanted to eliminate this great program during bargaining.  Only with shrewd and determined bargaining by OCSEA were we able to save this program.

Do you think ole Cut or Run will invest in public sector workers education?...........................................I think not!  

But all the things we have mentioned, the hopes and dreams to restore Ohio to greatness…to leadership, innovation and prosperity…will be blown away in November…if we do not unite together to stand together against the dark and powerful political storm that is coming.

I ask you…. will you stand with me against this Republican election onslaught?
(YES!)
Will you stand with me to fight the corruption that has ruined our great state’s reputation for integrity and honor?
(YES!)
Will you stand with me to bring economic prosperity to every Ohio family?
(YES!)
Will you stand with me to elect this great AFSCME endorsed slate of candidates to make Ohio great again?
(YES!)
Then I will say to you, my brothers and sisters…AFSCME, OCSEA and the labor movement will not only stand with you…
WE WILL DELIVER!