MOUNT VERNON — A call to unity and to action was heard when the Knox County Democratic Women’s Group met Tuesday evening, hosting special guest speaker Dennis Willard who shared information on Issue 2 which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot. Vice President Rita Yarman introduced Willard, who is communications director for We Are Ohio who has been actively pursuing the repeal of Senate Bill 5.
“There was a time in this country when the middle class was just broadening and was strong. And we have to get back to that,” said Willard. “The bottom line for Senate Bill 5 is they want us all to work for $9 per hour. They want us at the factory gates to be begging to be chosen to come in that day. It’s really unfair. It takes away the workers’ rights and the workers’ voice to be heard.”
The issue of collective bargaining rights has been the focus of SB5 and the efforts of We Are Ohio in repealing the bill. “What collective bargaining has done, it has provided a system that works,” he said.
Willard told of 183 strikes in Ohio between 1978 and 1980 prior to collective bargaining in 1983 with none occurring in the past two years.
