Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Guest Column from State Representative Jim Buchy A Vote for Issue 2 on Tuesday will Move Ohio in the Right Direction

The last few months, many of you have had a chance to speak about Issue 2 directly with Senator Faber and me. In many of my conversations it was clear that voters were confused about what exactly will happen as a result of Collective Bargaining Reform. I have been traveling the State bringing a message of what this reasonable reform will mean to Joe the taxpayer. This is all about jobs. It is one part of Governor Kasich’s five part plan to jump start Ohio’s economy.

For decades Ohio has been losing workers to neighboring and distant states. Our retirees have been fleeing the state to avoid high taxes. It has been a down hill path of less people and less taxpayers, but yet; Ohio Government has continued to grow and spend more. We are on a path to end up like California. Governor Kasich is leading us on the right path. We balanced a budget without raising taxes and we slated the estate tax to end in 2013. To continue on this path we must ensure that government employers have the tools to manage their labor costs.

Labor cost makes up 85% of the cost to provide you with public services. Over time, we have witnessed the impact of budget constraints on our schools as administrations have been forced to cut classroom supplies, bussing, and athletics to balance the budget. Some Ohio districts have nothing left to cut but remain in a fiscal crisis. In business you need flexibility when reorganizing operations and these schools have not had the tools to manage labor costs they way they should.

I am proud to say I have noticed sacrifice from teachers in the 77th House District. Many local teachers have not taken raises and frozen step increases. These are steps that should not have to be taken. I believe good teachers should be paid adequately for their good job. That will keep the best teachers in our classrooms. Issue 2 increases local control to make decisions and develop a performance pay system based on level of licensure, student growth, peer and or administrator evaluations, and “highly qualified teacher” which almost all Ohio teachers are. In west central Ohio, we are not facing problems like we have in the urban eight. Our schools are run properly, and good students are educated by good teachers. We cannot risk that changing and administrators need to be able to replace teachers that are not performing.



Recently, I traveled to a Cleveland Metropolitan Public School District school board meeting to learn more about the troubles of the school system and discuss the positive merits of Issue 2. I was greeted by 400 teachers chanting and singing throughout the meeting. There was no order in the room. These are the teachers that serve as examples to the Cleveland students. When I joined three local State Representatives to address the board about how Issue 2 would solve their fiscal problem; I was first met by objectivity which quickly boomed into a roar of shouting as the crowd did not want to hear about Issue 2.

The school district has a 13 million dollar budget deficit which they are solving by cutting spring sports and pre-school. If Issue 2 were in effect the school district would not have to make those cuts and the young people of Cleveland could stay off the streets and focus their energy on athletics. The teachers union was at the meeting to intimidate the board and cause a scene. They did offer a set of half-hearted concessions but those would not come close to solving the budget problem in a school that laid-off hundreds of teachers last year. If Issue 2 is passed, schools like Cleveland will have the ability to make changes in labor costs that benefit teachers and students. We will see more teachers working, and schools that have a strong fiscal outlook.

Recent polls show that Issue 2, which is endorsed by every major Ohio newspaper, will win on Election Day if you get out and vote. This Issue is of paramount importance. We can turn Ohio in the right direction or continue down the same path of tax and spend which has made this state struggle for the last three decades. I appreciate the hospitality that I have received in the district as I discussed this Issue with you and I hope we can continue this dialogue after Issue 2 passes.

36 comments:

  1. It doesn't take a genius to see that voting YES on issue 2 is the only way to go and the best for the state. It is a 100% no-brainer on that one and the "debate" on Issue 2 proved that those against it have no ground to stand on other than selfish whining.

    However, it does take a selfish idiot to vote no.

    Where do you lie? :)

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  2. He states that this is all about jobs. Bull! It's about traditional union support of democrats. It's politics as usual, nothing more.

    He brags about Kasich balancing the budget which is a requirement, not something John Kasich decided to do. Misinformation.

    Then he goes on to say that teachers in Ohio are highly qualified and teachers in our area are not the problem, like those in the urban areas. So why are our local teachers going to suffer because of the poor administration of the urban schools?

    Like others, he tried to convince us that the good teachers will be given good compensation through merit pay and the bad ones will be ran out. Who is he kidding? If everyone is broke, who will agree to merit pay? Not going to happen.

    Finally he tries to tell you that polls show this will pass so you need to vote yes. An outright lie. The vast majority of polls show this doing badly.

    In the last paragraph he brings up the "tax and spend" policies of the last three decades. Funny, that's the same time period he was in office.

    Vote No on Issue 2. Tell the politicians like Buchy to stop blaming everyone for the poor job he and his cronies in Columbus have done over the years. Time to focus on getting folks back to work instead of playing politics!

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  3. 1:51, No it doesn't take a genius, it simply takes one who hates unions or public workers, or one who blindly follows a political party line. Senate Bill 5 is not only part of a five point plan, it is a part of a three point plan for Republicans to rule Ohio. Along with their redistricting plan that will give us two primary elections next year (costing an extra $15 million), add HB 194 to keep poor and elderly people from voting and SB 5 to kill the unions, and you have a Republican hat trick. This not only works against Democrats but Independents as well.

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  4. His arguments make zero sense, he contradicted himself several times also.
    Even he knows SB 5 makes no sense at all, He talks about workers leaving the state, this issue will only make it worse, the best will gladly go to other states where they are not portrayed as the greedy enemy, or they will work in the private sector.

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  5. Unions are needed more than ever in this economy. Ask the bus drivers at Greenville schools about their treatment without one.They have no seniority or rights....

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  6. Get out of town Jim before the people run you out.

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  7. Go ask your local government (county, city, village or township) how much SB 5 is going to save them. The answer is little to anything in Darke Co.

    Building a Better Ohio is misrepresenting what this bill is about.

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  8. Without unions the working class would have absolutly no rights in the workplace.The teachers could be replaced with no reason whatsoever.They would be working in the same environment that the classified are presently.No seniority and no rights!!!!!

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  9. Mr. Buchy has really sold his soul on this issue. I hope that he doesn't have any other ideas on how to help us all.

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  10. I am a firefighter and i will be voting YES on issue 2. Its time us citizens quit looking at the negatives about everything and start paying attention to what is better for our state in the future. The positives on this issue outweigh the negatives..VOTE YES ON ISSUE 2

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  11. I'll bet you are a "firefighter" anon @ 8:13

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  12. Without the unions then they can deal with their jobs like the majority of the workers.

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  13. Buchy & Co. keep harping about "paying their retirement", When I was a private sector worker I paid social security, and my employer also paid a percentage, I pay more of a percentage than private sector workers.
    Why is no one complaining about paying for everyones retirement? every time I buy something at a business or use a service part of my money goes towards their retirement, because they pay into social security.
    Their arguments don't stand up, it's union busting plain and simple.

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  14. All independent evaluations of SB5 have come back to show the monumental benefit realized under the bill by the state, localities, schools, etc.

    I guess "crunching numbers" and "making sense" isn't something those opposed to SB5 enjoy the use of, huh?

    Vote YES on issue 2!

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  15. Without Unions it would be a dictatorship just like Greenville schools is for the classifieds.There are no set rules and the rules are applied differently as to who you know.If unions were eliminated the teachers would be discharged for little or no reason.Then your board or superintendant could bring more of their friends or relatives.

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  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  17. Interesting to note that issue 2 being debated on line during school day by 'musicman'. While this may be your planning period or while you're watching students take a test; it still indicative of priorities.

    Issue 2 goes well beyond issues with teachers.

    I like how it puts everything on the table for taxpayer to see and will prevent starting salary for new teachers not to be negoiated away for the senior staff in the form of retirement and health care.

    Over half the states in USA has some sort of performance based measurement for the staff. Accountablity will provide opportunity for rewards, not just penalties.

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  18. "Labor cost makes up 85% of the cost to provide you with public services."

    Yeah no kidding Buchy. Until machines take over labor will always be the largest % of spending. I favor a reduction in all salaries for political office holders. When a business tightens its belt the first thing to go is generally benefits for the higher ups....that's you Buchy.

    VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2!!!

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  19. 10:52.... A dictatorship? Really? Wow! That's not a major exaggeration or anything! More scare tactics and brainwashing by the wealthy union thugs. Do us all a favor - from now on, don't use words that you clearly do not understand.

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  20. I guess it depends on which side of the fence your standing,but from my vantage point it is a dictatorship.You must be one of those over paid and underworked administrators......

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  21. "A dictatorship? Really? Wow! That's not a major exaggeration or anything"

    Actually that isn't an exaggeration in some places, you seem to have a real issue with unions, your comments are ill informed and hateful.

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  22. Do you ever drive by the fire house in Greenville on a nice Saturday evening and see the firemen sitting out on the loung chairs while you drive by. They are getting paid for that by your tax dollars.
    How about all the teachers, they get off most every day the kids are including summer.
    You ever notice who's getting up set out here about issue 2. All the advertisment about who it is going to affect. Do you notice how a teacher has an answer to every thing. How about the school levy and school board as well as administation issues. You just don't see people in this relm caring about any thing other than their own agenda untill some thing like issue-2 comes up. Then its all about how much harder they all work than the rest of us small people do.
    That alone is a very good reason to pass issue -2
    and put all of us on the same page.

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  23. 7:21 AM - Yes, I've seen these firemen sitting on their lounge chairs on a Saturday night. Then again, I've also seen the alarm go off and they rush to a fire and go inside to save someone's life. I just hope when you are trapped in a burning home they are rested from the previous fire enough to pull you out.

    And the only people bringing up how hard these public servants work is people like you when you tell everyone they don't work hard enough to earn their income.

    Pass issue 2 and "put all of us on the same page"? That's fine as long as you are willing to go to college for years and pay for school supplies for those kids that don't have them.

    I'm not a teacher and I'm not a public employee. I am just someone smart enough to see through all the bullcrap from negative people like you who want to blame all of life's problems on someone else.

    Tell the politicians who have spent us into debt to do their jobs and quit demonizing everyone else. Vote No on Issue 2

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  24. The amount of hate and Democrat cronyism in these comments is astounding. yes, lets keep the unions, they have done wonders for this country so far. Yes, lets keep paying teachers what the unions say they are worth versus what they are actually worth. There is a reason GCS students are getting their teeth kicked in academically versus the rest of the county, and it's not all the parents fault.

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  25. Anonymous
    November 1, 2011 5:52 PM
    Get out of town Jim before the people run you out.

    Wow, imagine that, a pro-union person making threats, union types threatening violence, never heard that before....

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  26. "Do you ever drive by the fire house in Greenville on a nice Saturday evening and see the firemen sitting out on the loung chairs while you drive by"

    Actually they sit on a bench, not lounge chairs, and they are there on a Saturday evening when most people are off work with their families.
    Do you also complain when they go into a burning building?

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  27. 11:37 AM - If the reason for poor grades at GCS is that the unions are forcing certain wages that the teachers don't deserve then explain the other academic results in the county that you refer to. Those teachers are also under a union contract. Your argument holds no water.

    And don't mention hate and cronyism when it was the GOP leaders of Ohio that decided to make public employees the enemy and the cause of all things fiscal.

    Then people like Buchy gets up and forgets about all the years he was in office and could have prevented our fiscal mess. Remember who was in charge and quit blaming everyone else.

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  28. It is amazing how these people blame everything on the unions.If things were equal and fair then we would not need unions,but things are not fair or equal...You dont like the firemen sitting outside the station,well go to memorial hall on a sunny summer Friday and you will be hard pressed to find an administrator..

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  29. What the republicans are preparing for is the rampant inflation that is coming.Quantitative easing is making your money worth less and with unions out of the picture,wages will be frozen.The average worker will be screwed...

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  30. Exactly, things are NOT fair, most public sector union members DON'T pay for their retirement, make more money and get raises annually when most Americans, the ones who pay these people, do not. So cry me a river.

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  31. And who is the geniuses behind the QE programs and the ones responsible for making the dollar worthless? Oh yeah, the Democrats. Printing more and more money to pay out to the unions disguised as 'stimulus packages'.

    The average worker should be angry at their union leadership who helped get us into this mess with their cronyism.

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  32. So, in conclusion I would vote no for the new school levy and yes on Matix and Banta.Now is the time for change.

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  33. I love how BE showed up at random times to make points that are baseless and he can't prove.

    Now it's the union leadership that is totally at fault that got us into our financial mess. Not wall street, not the banks, not tax cuts during two wars, one of which was made up. Not even the state and federal congress who spent money for years without enough income. You know, politicians like the ones who now blame the public workers.

    Too bad Reagan worked to rid us of the Russians. Back then we always had the same enemy. Nowadays, we have to invent a new one every election cycle.

    Yep, let's blame it all on one group.

    Once again, BE spouts his illogical rhetoric.

    Hey, maybe it's BE's fault. Yeah, I don't need proof, lets just blame him and pass the kool-aid!

    Anyways, the economy is in bad shape due to BE. I heard it on FOX!

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  34. Yes, I am sure Barry Hussein spending more money than every president before him combined in three years in office, several FAILED QE programs, his clown at the fed printing money like it's going out of style, and his bumbling of EVERY financial issue that has come up during his term has nothing to do with it either.

    So please, explain to me why most of the stimulus money that was spent, went to union jobs?

    Oh, and one more thing, I suppose it is Bush's fault the White House is ducking subpoenas to hide their cronyism backroom deals that lost billions to Barry Husseins buddies and political contributors?

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  35. BE - Don't mention Bush, you are bringing up the past. Remember, you and the other ducklings are always crying fowl (pardon the pun) when others do that.

    Barry hasn't fix the problems, and in some cased made it worse, but he didn't create it. That was done during the wonderful agendas of the past administration.

    And now, it's your fault, BE. You ruined the economy single-handedly. I am positive because I heard it from Rush and Sean!

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  36. perhaps mr buchy will introduce a bill to exclude all elected and appointed officials from the state of ohio retirement programs and any gov't medical insurance program, this in itself will save quite a few millions, maybe even a 100 million, or more

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