(The International Brotherhood of Teamsters issued the following on March 1, 2011.)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa led an energetic crowd today in chanting “No Justice, No Peace,” as 20,000 workers and their supporters protested a measure to strip collective bargaining rights from public sector employees in Ohio.
The bill, SB 5, is part of a coordinated attack on workers nationwide that has set off a wave of massive protests across the country. Gov. Scott Walker’s vindictive “Budget Repair Bill” in Wisconsin has inspired hundreds of thousands of workers, students, civil rights groups, religious groups and small business to stand together in opposition to the war on workers.
Today, Hoffa told the crowd in Columbus that it’s not a coincidence that anti-worker bills are being rushed through statehouses in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Maine, Michigan and elsewhere.
“This is a conspiracy by the CEOs and Wall Street to destroy collective bargaining rights and lower the wages of middle-class workers,” Hoffa said. “We are just beginning a very long fight, but we’re in it for the long haul and I’m confident we’ll win. It’s not just the labor movement that’s rejuvenated, it’s the whole middle class that’s united now in stopping the war on workers.
“We’re putting up a good fight,” Hoffa said. “We beat back right-to-work in Indiana last week, and we’re forcing Scott Walker to keep the Capitol building open to the protesters in Madison.”