Columbus – November 8, 2011 -- The Ohio Education Association thanked Ohio voters for their historic and overwhelming support of collective bargaining rights for everyday heroes including 128,000 members of OEA who work in Ohio public schools and colleges. 

“By saying NO to Issue 2, middle class Ohioans sent a message to our leaders, the nation and the politicians who passed Senate Bill 5,” said OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks. “Ohioans refused to turn their backs on the people who guard our safety and teach our children.”

Ohio voters rejected Issue 2 in a referendum repealing SB 5, the unfair attack on collective bargaining rights of public employees.

“This vote indicates Ohioans not only support public employees, but they also understand that we have been problem solvers and have done so by making more than $1 billion in sacrifices in just the last three years,” said OEA President Frost-Brooks.

“We have made so many sacrifices, and I know we can avoid future conflicts like Senate Bill 5,” said Sophia Rodriguez, a Coldwater Spanish teacher who was active in the Issue 2 campaign. “We need to focus on what matters to our students, like providing field trips, new books and the technologies our students need to compete in a global society. ”

“A better future is possible if we can now come together as Ohioans and work to create rewarding jobs and careers in the public and private sectors all across the state,” said Phil Hayes, a member of the Columbus Education Association who played a key role in the campaign.

“Issue 2 was a purposeful attack on teachers,” said Courtney Johnson, an Ironton teacher who served as the campaign’s advertising spokesperson for teachers. “They said this was about the budget, but it was never about the budget. This was about taking away the rights of middle class Ohioans.”

“For the sake of all Ohioans, the policy makers behind Issue 2 must respond to the results of this election with fairness for public employees and commitment to safety and service toward our communities,” Frost-Brooks said. “Ohio needs and deserves a full-time focus on jobs and the education of students for good jobs and careers.”

The Ohio Education Association is a proud partner of We Are Ohio a citizen-driven, community-based, bipartisan coalition that came together to stop Senate Bill 5, the unfair and unsafe law that would have cost our local communities jobs.