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Senate Bill 5 is a matter of life and death

Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 5 into law yesterday, stripping collective bargaining rights from over 350,000 public employees, including police officers and firefighters. As a result of the new law, public safety workers will no longer be able to effectively negotiate for better safety equipment, like better oxygen tanks or bulletproof vests.

Backers of SB-5, like Republican Senate President Tom Niehaus, claim that’s not the case. “This is a red herring that police and fire are throwing out there,” he said while the House was still debating the bill, “Their anger is based on fear, not fact.”

With all due respect, Mr. Niehaus, those that run into burning buildings and toward armed criminals are completely entitled to be concerned for their safety – as are their parents, spouses, and children.

Not only is Niehaus tone-deaf and inconsiderate, he is also incorrect. Examining the bill – yikes, law – itself shows that, in fact, police and firefighters don’t have the final say over their equipment. Equipment changes are on a list of items that public employees retain “rights” over, unless their employer ultimately objects. In other words:

Sen. Capri S. Cafaro, a Hubbard Democrat who is the Senate’s minority leader, acknowledges that workers might be able to negotiate issues such as safety equipment, “but if management says you can’t, you’re out of luck.”

So if, say, the State Legislature wants to purchase the bargain basement Kevlar vests and the police officers (who wear the vests) want to pay a little extra for something of higher quality and effectiveness, the officers who risk their lives have no recourse to change that decision.

Without that bargaining power, what interest does the state government have in providing anything but the most inexpensive safety equipment? Who will advocate for the men and women who run toward the fire, if those men and women lose their voice?

[Mark] Sanders, president of the Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters, said safety-related concerns crop up regularly and generally are addressed promptly because of contract protections…

Under Senate Bill 5, he fears that money – not safety – will be the top consideration for cash-strapped governments.

“When they start pinching pennies, they start cutting corners on safety, and people get hurt – and hopefully not killed,” Sanders said. “Pay and benefits, we will work out those issues. But we see our brothers and sisters getting hurt … and the only place we have to protect ourselves is in our contract. And now, they are going to prohibit that.”

It’s not about economics, and it’s not about balancing budgets. The money to support our public safety officials is out there, but Governor Kasich preferred extending tax cuts and tax exemptions that together have drained billions from state coffers.

Senate Bill 5 isn’t just sickening because it is blatantly political. It’s sickening because the people who put their lives on the line every day are the ones who get hurt.