Labor & Employment Law

Ohio Gov. Candidate John Kasich Hates Unions

By Mike Hall

John Kasich, the Wall Street executive?as he keeps reminding everyone?running for Ohio governor has made a career of hating and baiting unions. A brand-new video details his deep disdain for unions and workers. In it, Kasich (R) rants that giving workers a voice through unions ?threatens our American values.?

That?s quite a different track record from Gov. Ted Strickland, the son of a steelworker who supports workers and their unions and signed a law to give Ohioans stronger collective bargaining rights.

Narrated by an Ohio worker speaking ?from one working stiff to another,? the video demonstrates the  job-killing and anti-union record of the former U.S. House member, who voted against good wages and voted to outsource jobs in favor of union-busting ?right-to-work? for less laws. As the narrator succinctly puts it, Kasich has a long record of ?screwing workers.?

How much does Kasich hate unions? He told the Ashtabula Star Beacon:

We need to break the back of organized labor in schools.

A former Ohio teacher says Kasich:

wants to make sure teachers don?t have a voice at work.

What about his Wall Street/Lehman Brothers connections? As a Buckeye senior notes:

He was constantly trying to get Lehman Brothers’ business with our state pensions and when Lehman Brothers crashed, our pensions lost $480 million.

These are just some of the highlights. Click here to see the full video.

Find out more about Labor 2010 in Ohio here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on September 15, 2010 (boomark / email).