ProgressOhio

WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING POWERED BY YOU!

You're Invited to Progress Ohio's First Anniversary Open House

What a year it's been! From the Iraq War to SCHIP, from Town Hall Meetings to Blogging, you have been at the center of it all using Progress Ohio's online tools and offline action.

Come celebrate your work with special guest Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, members of the State House and Senate, community leaders, members of partner organizations, and grassroots activists.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

6pm-8pm

251 S. Third Street, Columbus

Refreshments provided. Park on the street or in the City Center Mall parking garage.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO RSVP! 

Since we opened our doors last fall, Progress Ohio has:

* Built Ohio's largest progressive online community with over 270,000 members from all corners of the state

* Reached out to over 100 progressive organizations across the state

* Expanded Progress Ohio content into broader online social networking communities like MySpace and FaceBook

* Watched as 102,000 individual Ohioans have taken action online.

COME CELEBRATE WITH US AS WE HONOR – YOU!

Senate Minority Leader Teresa Fedor and State Senator John Boccieri announced they are introducing a resolution urging Congress to override President Bush's veto of a bill that would have expanded and reauthorized the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

"In partnership with our Governor, we remain committed to advancing responsive and responsible policies as set forth in the state budget, which ensures health care access for all children in Ohio," Fedor said.

"We in the Senate Democratic Caucus encourage Congress to continue their support of children's health care as a top priority by overturning Bush's irresponsible veto of SCHIP expansion," Boccieri said.

Press Release from the Ohio State Senate:

 

Leader Fedor, Senator Boccieri Urge Congress to Overturn Bush's Veto of SCHIP in Resolution 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        Contact: Paul DeMiglio

                                                                      614-644-5533
 

(Columbus) – Senate Democratic Leader Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) and Senator John Boccieri (D-New Middletown) today announced they are introducing a resolution urging Congress to override President Bush's veto of a bill that would have expanded children's health insurance through reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This program is one of the most efficient health care measures created in the past decade, effectively expanding health assistance to thousands of uninsured children.

"In partnership with our Governor, we remain committed to advancing responsive and responsible policies as set forth in the state budget, which ensures health care access for all children in Ohio," Fedor said.

"We in the Senate Democratic Caucus encourage Congress to continue their support of children's health care as a top priority by overturning Bush's irresponsible veto of SCHIP expansion," Boccieri said.

The state budget, which passed the Ohio House and Senate almost unanimously for the first time in more than 80 years, ensured health care access for all Ohio children by expanding SCHIP to 300% of poverty.

With SCHIP set to expire this year, the U.S. House and Senate voted by wide margins last week to expand SCHIP by $35 billion over the next five years, bringing the total funding for the program to $60 billion. However, President Bush vetoed the measure Wednesday.

Under the plan, Ohio would have received an additional $93.8 million in fiscal year 2008 funding for a program that currently serves approximately 145,000 children. Governor Strickland's budget would add approximately 20,000 more Ohio children to the program.  If SCHIP is not expanded, however, ensuring health care access for all children in Ohio will be far less likely.

Unless Congress overrides Bush's veto, a major investment of our state's budget – accessible and affordable health care for every child – will remain in grave danger.

 "Without this funding, Ohio may face a $6.8 million budget deficit shortfall in fiscal year '08 as well as a $98.6 million shortfall in fiscal year '09," Boccieri said. "It is imperative that Congress overturn this veto to ensure that all our nation's children have accessible and affordable health care."

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The Ohio State University's veterinary program continues to rise in national ranking, but its teaching hospital brought in $1 million less dollars last year than the previous year. Some attribute the decline to its horse program which saw a 39 percent drop in surgical and medical cases in the past nine years. 

Thomas Rosol, the vet college's dean, attributes the decrease to staff changes and the downturn in Ohio's racing industry. Albert Gabel is leading a group of veterinarians who claim the troubles began when Rosol moved Dr. James Robertson, a nationally renowned surgeon, from the operating room to the classroom, sparking an exodus of talented staff members. In late September, Gabel submitted a petition with 126 signatures, including 49 veterinarians, to incoming President E. Gordon Gee, demanding Rosol's resignation.

Ohio State University's veterinary program continues to rise in the national rankings, but its teaching hospital brought in about $1.3 million less last year than the previous year.

At the heart of the problem is Ohio State's horse program, which saw a 39 percent drop in surgical and medical cases in the past nine years, from a high of 3,105 cases in 1998-99 to 1,901 in 2006-07.

Last year, college veterinarians treated 382 fewer horses at the hospital than the year before.

"The OSU equine program reached its pinnacle in the late 1980s and, since that time, has been on a constant yet undulating decline," said Thomas Rosol, who became the vet college's dean in 2005. "We have in no way given up on the program, but it has been a real challenge."

The hospital's total revenue last year, with state support, was about $14 million -- $703,020 less than its expenses and more than $1.3 million short of the $15.4 million brought in the year before.

"There used to be people standing in line to get into Ohio State, and now they can't seem to get anyone," Dr. William Gesel, an equine and small-animal veterinarian in Canal Winchester, said of prospective clients and faculty members. "I can't understand it, not with OSU's reputation."

Rosol blames several factors, including:

• Losing several professors and surgeons to private practice. A 2005 survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association found the mean salary for college vets to be $92,600 compared with $128,000 for those in private practice.

• Losing clients because of a downturn in Ohio's racing industry. Many horse breeders are sending their top stallions and mares to such states as Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where their offspring can compete for larger purses and qualify for rewards offered only to horses bred in those areas.

• A recent staff shake-up that partly resulted in 35 new professors, including five new faces in the equine unit. The college still has nine vacant positions, including two neurologists and a neurosurgeon, without which Rosol said the college is guaranteed to lose about $800,000 in business annually. Many colleges have scrapped their neurology programs because of a worldwide shortage of neurosurgeons.

Rosol said he made staff changes because "an external review team in 2005 said the environment was toxic and made several personnel and leadership recommendations."

But a group of veterinarians led by Albert Gabel says the troubles began when Rosol moved Dr. James Robertson, a nationally renowned surgeon, from the operating room to the classroom, sparking an exodus of talented staff members.

"Good people don't want to work there for fear they will be identified as losers," said Gabel, who retired as an OSU veterinary professor in 1989.

By driving away surgeons, Gabel said, the hospital has lost patients, going from an average of 40 horses a day in 2005-06 to 10 or fewer last fiscal year. In late September, Gabel submitted a petition with 126 signatures, including 49 veterinarians, to incoming President E. Gordon Gee, asking for Rosol's resignation.

TO READ THE FULL STORY, CLICK HERE.

As the Jena 6 incident is gaining media attention, people may feel a disconnect between what happened to students in Jena, LA, and what happens in their daily lives. They think, "Whew, I'm glad such blatant racism isn't in my backyard." But let's look at the bigger picture. Jena 6 is more than just a racial issue. It's about demanding a fair and just legal system. If our system fails the Jena 6, will it fail you, too?

An estimated 20,000 people filled the small town of Jena to protest the unequal punishments for two racially charged incidents at the local high school.

On Thursday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeal ordered a hearing within 72 hours to determine if the only one of the six still behind bars can be released.

I first found out about Jena 6 through an online petition started by  ColorofChange.org.

Please click here to read great commentary from CNN contributor Roland S. Martin.

Background: 

In August 2006, black students began to sit under a tree that white students normally congregated under. A day later, three white students hung nooses from the tree. The guilty white students were suspended in spite of the principal's recommendation for expulsion. When black students sat under the tree to protest the unfair punishment, the District Attorney and town police demanded the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen."

A series of racially-charged incidents occurred at the school, but the DA didn't intervene until a white student was beaten up in a school yard fight. And not surprisingly, the punishment for the six black students, dubbed the "Jena 6" was far worse; they were expelled, arrested, and charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. 

Five of the six students have been released from prison.

Visit ColorofChange.org to learn more.

Columbus-area janitors began negotiating for their first union contract this morning.

Workers and community members marched in the streets of downtown Columbus at noon, attracting attention from businesses and people on their lunch break. Representatives from Jobs with Justice, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Working America, ProgressOhio, and the Ohio Young Democrats were in attendance. 

If you haven't signed the petition in support of the janitors yet, please click here. 

The Huffington Post published a great story written by a janitor who was instrumental during the victorious Justice for Janitors' campaign in Cincinnati. Please click here to read the full story.

Policy Matters Ohio released a report today that shows women working in Ohio still trail the state’s men in wages (a pay gap of nearly $3!), but the gap is the smallest it has ever been.

In 2006, women’s median wage was $13.16 an hour, 22 percent less than that of their male counterparts.

Ohio women narrow wage gap with men

By MARK REITER
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

OHIO WOMEN still trail the state’s men in pay, but the gap between their hourly wages — nearly $3 — is the smallest that it has ever been, according to a report released today.

Women’s median wage in 2006 of $13.16 an hour was 22 percent less than that of their male counterparts, according to the report compiled by Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland nonprofit research group.

“Women are making more money than they have ever made in the past,” said Amy Hanauer, executive director of Policy Matters. “However, it is important to note that there is still a 22 percent gap in the average wages between men and women. That is nothing to be scoffed at.”

The report, released on Labor Day weekend, analyzes employment and demographic information. The think tank looked at Ohio wages, household income, education, and employee productivity numbers and examined whether low and moderate-wage workers are falling behind economically.

Read The Full Story at The Toledo Blade 

An article in today's Dayton Daily News features ProgressOhio as one of many liberal groups holding Senator George Voinovich accountable for saying one thing and voting for another.

Liberals have been criticizing Voinovich for saying he wants U.S. troop withdrawal in Iraq and then voting the opposite way weeks later.

But the criticism doesn't end there: Voinovich has to face criticism within his own party, too. Conservatives call Voinovich a "turncoat" for his hesitations about the war.

From the Dayton Daily News:

Voinovich under fire from both left, rightSenator called 'turncoat' by conservatives; liberals say he hasn't backed up anti-war stance.

By Jessica Wehrman

Staff Writer

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

WASHINGTON — — Sen. George Voinovich's next re-election campaign isn't for three years, but political opponents from both sides of the aisle are lining up to take their shots.

Liberal groups including MoveOn.org and Americans United For Change are banding together to criticize Ohio's senior senator for continuing to vote with fellow Republicans despite speaking out in July against the war in Iraq.

Other groups, including the liberal ProgressOhio, which has a grant from Americans United, have staged candlelight vigils outside his Ohio offices. Their refrain is that he talks one way but votes another.

He's been lambasted by conservative commentator Sean Hannity, whose July interview with Voinovich on the immigration issue ended when a flustered and frustrated Voinovich hung up the phone. Melanie Morgan of the conservative Move America Forward, referred to Voinovich as a "turncoat" for his hesitations on the war.

The conservatives' line: Voinovich isn't the true-blue conservative they would like for him to be.

A dark cloud hangs over the U.S. Defense Department as claims that depleted uranium and other toxic substances used by the U.S. military is responsible for major health problems, including cancer.

The National Defense Authorization Act requires the DoD completes a report to Congress on the health effects of chemical weapons. The report is due in October.

Last month, an Iraqi official blamed America’s use of depleted uranium munitions in its 2003 “Shock and Awe” campaign for a surge of cancer there. A growing number of Iraq war veterans claim that exposure to depleted uranium and other toxic substances have negatively affected their health.

To read the full New York Sun article, click here.

AFSCME Ohio Council 8 President Patricia Moss is retiring after 35 years of service to the council. She will resign as president effective September 8, 2007.

In her goodbye letter, Pat writes:

It is our collective obligation to secure the future of the trade union movement for which so many who came before us sacrificed so much. Somehow, a way must be found to persuade local union leaders that their role is to lead, not follow the wishes of the membership without question.

Doing what is in the best interest of the members and their union requires leaders to see the big picture, the long view, the broader consequences, the ultimate prize – a powerful labor movement in which AFSCME is the powerful leader. With a powerful labor movement, the middle class can grow and prosper and our democracy and our country will be the stronger for it.

ProgressOhio thanks Pat for her years of service and wishes her the best of luck.

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission proposed a policy that would give women 12 weeks of pregnancy leave regardless of their tenure at a company.

Lawyers and representatives from the business community claims the plan, backed by groups such as NARAL Pro Choice Ohio and the Wright State University College of Nursing,  is an affront to small businesses.

Ohio law requires that employers provide reasonable time off for pregnancy and childbirth but does not specify the length.

The full Columbus Dispatch article:

After largely keeping their silence for months, business groups came out swinging yesterday against a proposed policy that would give women 12 weeks of pregnancy leave regardless of their tenure at a company.

Lawyers and representatives of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Businesses panned the Ohio Civil Rights Commission's proposed policy as an affront to small businesses.

They predicted that it would drive up workers compensation premiums, erode existing benefits such as paid sick leave and chase businesses out of Ohio.

On the other side, representatives of NARAL Pro Choice Ohio and the Wright State University College of Nursing called on the commission to make the change.

The panel is expected to decide by autumn whether to expand protections for pregnant employees, requiring that employers grant 12 weeks of unpaid leave and reinstate women to their old jobs with no loss of benefits or tenure. The policy would move Ohio beyond the federal Family Medical Leave Act, which does not apply to small businesses or new employees.

During a public hearing yesterday, several business leaders said the proposal would put Ohio businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

"It is out of step with the laws of other jurisdictions," said George Yund, a Cincinnati attorney representing the Ohio Management Lawyers Association. "It will place an unusual burden on doing business in Ohio."

Ohio law requires that employers provide reasonable time off for pregnancy and childbirth but does not specify the length.

Proponents of the new policy say the old standard is open to abuse and should be defined.

The executive director of the abortion-rights group, Kellie Copeland, said the state should support women who want a healthy pregnancy and birth.

"From a woman's perspective, pregnancies aren't always planned," Copeland said. "To be on the job for less than a year and have that impediment to your career is not in a woman's best interest. There's uncertainty with the current amount of leave, as to what's sufficient."

In proposing the new rules, the Civil Rights Commission's staff said pregnancy should be treated the same as injuries or illnesses that sideline employees for extended periods.

Opponents, however, said the commission would classify pregnant women as "most-favored employees" -- discriminating against men.

Leonard Hubert, the only commission member who attended yesterday's hearing, said opponents were overstating the magnitude of the change. The state already mandates pregnancy leave, he said.

"These things are already on the books," Hubert said. "We're trying to come up with a policy of what's reasonable and what makes sense."

The commission's other public hearing on the issue, in Dayton in June, attracted little interest.

Commission spokeswoman Toni Delgado said no more public hearings are planned. The rule changes could go before a bipartisan legislative panel in late September or October. If approved, they will take effect 30 days later.

Last night, the U.S. House voted nearly along party lines and passed a $50 billion dollar expansion to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). SCHIP currently covers 6.6 million children and the increased funding will cover an additional 5 million. In Ohio, 142,929 children are covered by SCHIP and the bill will help another 24,000 kids.

All seven Ohio Democratic members of Congress voted yes and every one of the 11 GOP House members from Ohio voting against the measure.

From the Columbus Dispatch's "Daily Briefing"

Children insurance vote splits Ohio delegation along party lines

The House voted nearly along party lines this evening in passing a $50 billion expansion to the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Ohio's delegation voted strictly along party lines, with all seven Democrats voting yes and every one of the 11 GOP House members from Ohio voting against the measure.

Democrats had hoped to win over more moderate Republicans such as Reps. Deborah Pryce of Upper Arlington and Steven C. LaTourette of Concord Township. But both of those lawmakers cited cuts to Medicare managed care, part of the method for paying for the hike in children's insurance funding, as a big reason for their no votes.

House Democrats said they were cutting overly large payments to private Medicare HMOs, saying they were boosting the senior health care program in other ways.

But Pryce said in a statement that "in Ohio, 70 percent of uninsured children who are currently eligible for SCHIP are not enrolled in the program. Congress should work to cover these children before it pursues this overly ambitious and costly entitlement expansion on the backs of our senior citizens."

By a 5-2 ruling, justices said the governor did not have the authority to veto a bill limiting lawsuits against lead paint manufacturers passed before he took office. The Court ruled that the state constitution allows 10 days for such actions and that period expired two days before Strickland took office.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Ohio Supreme Court this morning rejected a veto issued by Gov. Ted Strickland the day he took office.

By a 5-2 ruling, justices said Strickland did not have the authority to veto a bill limiting lawsuits against lead paint manufacturers passed before he took office. The Ohio Constitution allows 10 days for such actions, and that period expired two days before Strickland took office, the decision said.

The seven justices are all Republicans, and the bill was approved by a legislature controlled by Republicans. Strickland and two other statewide officials joining him in the case are all Democrats.

The opinion was written by Justice Robert R. Cupp, a former state senator from Lima. He was joined by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton and Maureen O'Connor. Justice Terrence O'Donnell concurred in the judgment only.

Justices Paul E. Pfeifer and Judith Ann Lanzinger wrote separate dissenting opinions.

Pfeifer, also a former state senator, said the ruling gives state lawmakers huge new authority and strikes a blow to the constitutional separate of powers.

“The majority today allows the General Assembly, through the manipulation of its adjournment, to effectively render a governor's veto power a nullity,” he wrote.

“The majority defies common sense, the Ohio Constitution, the jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court and the supreme courts of other states, and this court's own prior “unmistakably clear” interpretation of the very same constitutional provision that is at issue today. The majority has achieved a new level of judicial activism -- a wholesale rewriting of the Ohio Constitution. And all the General Assembly had to do was ask.”

Patrick Gallaway, spokesman for the Ohio secretary of state, said office legal counsel was still reviewing the decision this morning.

"We have said in the past that we would abide by whatever the decision might be," he said.

This town hall will provide a forum for community members to share their views on the war and discuss how the war in Iraq affects Ohioans.

This is your chance to speak out!

Elected officials including Franklin County Commissioners Mary Jo Kilroy and Paula Brooks will be present to hear your concerns.

Tuesday, July 24 from 7pm to 9pm.
First Congregational Church
444 E. Broad Street, Columbus

The town hall is sponsored by the Coalition to Count the Cost, which includes The Central Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans, United Steelworkers, Gahanna Progressives, ProgressOhio, and Americans Against the Escalation in Iraq.

Today, Rep. John Adams (R-Sidney) introduced a bill that would require a woman seeking an abortion to provide the name of the fetus’ father along with his written permission for the procedure.

If a woman does not know who the father is, she would not be able to receive an abortion. If the woman was raped by the fetus’ father, she will have to show her doctor a copy of the police report.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Abortion foes seek voice for would-be dads

No Ohio woman should be able to get an abortion without the permission of her unborn fetus' would-be father, according to a new bill. Don't know who dad is? Well, no abortion then. Dad's a rapist? Well, that's different -- just bring a copy of the police report to show the doc.

Such is the upshot of legislation introduced in the Ohio House today by Rep. John Adams, a Sidney Republican. It is the second anti-abortion bill introduced this month.

Under Adams’ proposal, a woman seeking an abortion must provide the name of the unborn fetus’ father, who then must give written consent for the procedure. Not knowing the father is no excuse and women who try and lie or doctors who perform abortions without permission of the father could be charged with “abortion fraud," a fifth-degree felony punishable by up to a year in jail and $2,500 in fines.

A similar paternal-consent bill introduced in the House in 2001 was never brought up for a vote.

“You put this bill in the real world and it is unworkable,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-choice Ohio. “We believe the decision should be a woman’s.”

Adams, who is also co-sponsoring a bill introduced earlier this month to outlaw abortions entirely, sees it this way: "50 percent of that child is a father's and 50 percent is a mother's."
Maybe not all, but many, many fathers want a say, he said, adding that, "in every other instance, a father has rights and responsibilities for a child except abortion."

The U.S. Supreme Court has found paternal consent requirements unconstitutional because they place an “undue burden” on the woman. But in the wake of a few recent appointments by President Bush, the court seems to have shifted in a more conservative direction, giving rise to speculation that a new majority may be willing to reverse its earlier decisions on such abortion restrictions.

To attend the rally, please click here!

Yesterday, Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order that will extend collective bargaining rights to about 7,000 nurses and independent contractors working in the state’s in-home healthcare sector. The governor promised to take similar action for independent child care workers contracted by the state.

From the Toledo Blade:

COLUMBUS - With a stroke of his pen yesterday, Gov. Ted Strickland extended collective-bargaining rights to about 7,000 nurses and other independent contractors working in Ohio's growing in-home health-care sector.

He promised to do the same in the near future for independent child-care workers contracted by the state.

"By supporting the providers of care, we are promoting a higher quality of care for consumers,'' said Mr. Strickland, a Democrat. "It's not only the right thing to do, but it may be more cost-effective in the long run because consumers of home health care spend more time in their own homes and less time in nursing homes."

The order does not apply to employees of nursing homes, who already have bargaining rights, or employees of health-care agencies.

Although not state employees, the independent workers contract with the state to provide Medicaid-funded services for the elderly and disabled in their homes. The state would essentially act as an employer when negotiating a contract with the union selected by the workers.

"While Republicans in the House and Senate are working to make health care accessible and affordable, the governor is making concessions to organized labor that will increase the cost of care," said Sen. Kevin Coughlin (R., Cuyahoga Falls), chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services, and Aging Committee. 

For the full article, please click here.

A proposed national law that requires utility companies to produce more renewable energy could create more than 7,000 new jobs in Ohio. The bill might come to a vote this week in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ohio is in one of the best positions to benefit job-wise if the country shifts to renewable energy, ranking third behind California and Illinois.

Jeff Deyette, an energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit environmental group. He said that Ohio has a "leg up" on creating energy-related manufacturing jobs because of its existing infrastructure.

To read the full article, click here.