First and foremost, thank you voters. Thank you for your support, thank you for your for your compassion, thank you for standing up to a political machine that would have Ohio's public employees be the fall guys for bumbling political policies, and the misguided belief that public servants are easy scapegoats.
As you know, Ohio has 88 counties. This morning we can see the landslide results of Issue 2. Only six out of eighty-eight counties supported Issue 2!!! That means 6.8% of Ohio supported the bill... or should we say that 93.2% were against it!!!
Hopefully, we can have a dialogue now about the best way that we (as public unions) can address some of the issues which made us politically vulnerable in the first place. A union is only as strong as its weakest link. WE need the ability to provide the best services available, and continue to serve the public. Finally, we will need to work with state and local government to develop fair and reasonable funding options which are not regressive to Ohio's business climate.
For many public servants, this has been a long road. Your efforts were phenomenal! Never before in Ohio history have unions banded together to defeat a measure that personally attacked membership, and our service to other Ohioans.
Ballots not Bullets... Instead of fighting war with weapons, our election process is a war of ideas and words. Every Election Day is a war that is settled on the most elementary principles of a democracy. The power to petition the government, and redress grievances is the most basic part of our democracy. Thank you for your support!!! In Ohio, it is evident that the power belongs to the people!!! Thank You!!!
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