SB5: Interview With An Ohio Teacher

Ohio Governor John Kasich recently signed into law Senate Bill 5 which makes public employee strikes illegal, restricts collective bargaining, and eliminates step raises (based on years of experience and training) for public employees. This issue has struck a chord with teachers and public employees in Ohio and other states where Governors have signed the same bill.

In this article, I interview one Ohio teacher on how he thinks SB5 will affect teachers and education.

JW:         Why is SB5 so important to teachers?

Teacher:              It is not that it is important to just teachers. This is not just an attack against teachers. It is against all unionized public employees, firefighters, police officers, etc. In education, it is more a worry of how it will affect the students in the long run. The bill is hundreds of pages long. There is no telling what kind of an effect it will ultimately have.

It takes away the right to bargain, the right to strike, the right to get paid for further training and experience. We could not bargain class sizes. Taking away pay from people will cause them to find other jobs. Many teachers are worried that they will not be able to afford to stay in education. That is a scary concept. To think that you cannot do the job you love because certain members of the legislature do not value you.

JW:         Why do you think this is happening so broadly right now?

Teacher:              I honestly believe that it is part of a wider agenda. It is taking away union members’ rights and it is a political tool.  If you take away unions and the right to collective bargaining, you also take away the money that goes into those unions. This is money that can go to support candidates who are more union friendly. I think this is a way to stop money from going into the next presidential election. The unions and their members and money helped to elect Obama president. If they cannot contribute as much, that leaves private businesses as the main contributors for the next election. Who do businesses tend to favor? Republicans.

JW:       How do you think the media has influenced this issue?

Teacher:              The media has not done much to influence the issue either way. They have downplayed it and not commented upon it. There was one small article that spoke of the passage of the bill in Ohio.

The media (newspapers) started slamming teachers a few months ago in the papers. It has almost occurred on a weekly basis. There was one headline in particular, during the week leading up to a vote on SB5 that grabbed my attention. It read- Union Leader Arrested for Embezzlement. This immediately grabbed my attention and upset me. I read on.  It was an article about a township leader that had been accused of embezzlement. Not an actual union leader. But, with all of the hoopla and bad mouthing that had been going on, the headline had done what I believe it was intended to do.

There have also been articles concerning bad teachers, cheating, double dipping, etc. While these are valid concerns, it takes focus off of the positives that are occurring in education. The fact that teachers have taken pay freezes, increased benefits contributions, are constantly looking for ways to improve the education of students, and volunteering their time to help students. It does not show the teachers who arrive at 6:00AM and leave at 5:00 PM.

JW:       How will the passing of SB5 affect education?

Teacher:              It is hard to tell. As of right now, many teachers are feeling threatened and degraded. They feel that there is no support for the important role that we play in the lives of children. I believe that we will see more educators turning away from teaching and focusing on other aspects of education. We are going to lose many teachers who honestly want to teach and help students but cannot. The stress of teaching and the way that teachers are being vilified is already causing many to second guess their chosen career.

Merit pay is something that many educators agree with and support. However, merit must be defined. We cannot simply state that in order to get a raise, a certain amount of students must improve. That takes the individual focus off of students and turns them into a number; a number to be achieved and improved upon.  Remedial classes and special education must also be looked at as well. Will teachers, knowing that they must achieve a certain percentage each year, want to teach these students who are often misunderstood and achieving in different ways? Is it fair to ask these teachers to accept less pay because they do not teach the high achieving students? 

JW:       Is it too late to reverse the effects this issue has had on education?

Teacher:             As far as future teachers who are deciding against this awesome career-- we have probably lost those people now. It will just become harder with each passing day. There are changes we can make to the educational system, but it needs to be done in a positive way.

SB5 is not about positive change. It is a political tool, which can set back everything in education by years, even decades. I can only say how I believe it will affect educators. I cannot begin to understand how it will have an effect on other public servants, but it will. Time will tell.

We need to have this voted on by the people of Ohio. When a friend or neighbor asks you, sign the referendum petition to get it placed on the ballot.