“SB 1/HB 6 is a slow motion wrecking ball aimed at Ohio’s public colleges and universities. It will strip faculty of their collective bargaining rights, demolish bedrock principles of academic freedom, overload administration with unfunded mandates, and put politicians in charge of what can be taught and discussed. This will drive talented faculty, staff, and students out of Ohio, lower the quality of research and education, and erode the prestige and reputation of some of the finest public universities in the country."

“Whether it’s providing students with a quiet place to do homework and parents with a safe and enriching place to bring young kids, serving as a community hub for resources on social services, employment, and other needs, or just providing free information and entertainment to all Ohioans, our public libraries deliver real tangible benefits to Ohio communities every day. To continue to provide robust public services and resources, libraries need more, not less, support from partners in state and federal government."

PICKERINGTON, OH — Librarians and other workers at Pickerington Public Library (PPL) voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first union contract. Members of the union, Pickerington Public Library United Staff (PPLUS), voted electronically throughout the last week. The PPL Board of Trustees voted to ratify the agreement during their Board meeting on Monday evening. The contract includes annual raises, longevity pay, additional paid leave, protection against unfair discipline, and a collaborative Labor-Management Committee.

"Now they’re trying to gut the Department of Education, and the people who will be harmed in the process will be children, college students, and families. Firing more than 1300 Department of Education workers, including hundreds who work on student financial aid and civil rights protections, will not reduce the deficit. Rather, it will create enormous harm by eroding the government's ability to support successful strategies that improve children’s academic outcomes and help students afford higher education."

“The Senators who voted to pass SB 1 may think that they’re targeting 'woke' professors, but the expansive nature of the bill means that they’re targeting every single student, professor, and staff member at Ohio’s public colleges and universities. They are so angry over their unproven theory that higher education is ideologically biased that they’re willing to take down our world-class system of public colleges and universities. Instead they should focus on the real issues affecting higher education in Ohio, like keeping tuition affordable and surviving tumultuous threats to federal scientific and health funding that schools rely on. As this bill moves to the Ohio House, we are urging representatives to either scrap this flawed bill or give serious consideration to amendments that will blunt the worst of the impacts.”

“As currently written, SB 1 will put Ohio’s world-class system of higher education at risk by stifling academic freedom, raising administrative costs, impeding recruitment and retention of talented faculty, and pushing more young adults out of Ohio,” said Melissa Cropper, OFT President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO. “The Senate can avert the worst of these risks by taking the time to consider amendments and make this bill better.”