Strickland & Fisher oppose Issue 4 – Sick Days
This in via email from the office of Governor Strickland:
Governor, Lt. Governor Statement on Paid Sick-Day Ballot Initiative
Columbus, Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland and Lt. Governor Lee Fisher today issued the following statement regarding their opposition to Issue 4, the proposed paid sick-day initiative, on the ballot this November:
“While important members of the business community and SEIU participated in good faith discussions, it was, unfortunately, not possible to achieve a compromise acceptable to a sufficient portion of the business community and the proponents to cause its removal from the ballot. We regret that a reasonable compromise was not possible. This reality means that there will be a hard fought campaign centering on this initiative in the coming months. During that campaign, we call upon both sides to avoid portraying Ohio as unfriendly to business and economic development.
“We also recognize it is important to make clear our thoughts on important public policy issues and today are announcing that we cannot support the paid sick-day ballot initiative. While we would hope that all Ohio businesses would make paid sick days available to their employees whenever possible, we believe that this initiative is unworkable, unwieldy and would be detrimental to Ohio’s economy, and we will be opposing it and asking Ohioans to oppose it as a result.”
I did not support the minimum wage amendment and i do not support sick days now. Small businesses can not afford it and the ones that can (large businesses) already do this…
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:34 amBarga,
Where’s your empirical research? Please provide a link so we can all make an informed decision like you did. Thanks.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:24 amYou know this has to be a bad piece of legislation if the Gov will speak out against the unions and oppose it.
Abe: check out: http://www.ohiobusinessvotes.org/Mandates08/Home.htm
It will tell you everything you need to know about this issue. I see a lot of posts here dismissing the local and state chambers of commerce as republican shills, but the reality is that what’s good for business is good for our citizens. Business = Job Providers, and when unions, politicians, etc push for entitlements and mandates, the costs are paid by businesses. If you increase the cost of doing business here, businesses will leave. The governor seems to understand this as it relates to the sick days act and I commend him for taking a stand against it.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:35 amI know, very biased
http://www.playsickohio.com/jobkiller.cfm
http://www.americasbestcompanies.com/blog/mandatorypaidsick.aspx
i am not aware of any study showing anything, simple logic in my mind (small buisnesses are near the bottom line, have an extra payment needed to employees, thus even closer or below)
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:35 amThe socialists are flushing Ohio down the potty.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 amThe Gov said, “During that campaign, we call upon both sides to avoid portraying Ohio as unfriendly to business and economic development.”
Apparently this is the best the gov can come up with to placate his union supporters. He knows how awful this initiative is, and the reality is that anyone interested in fighting this mandate will have to describe the negative impact it will have on our state. That description will make us look bad to businesses interested in moving to Ohio or considering leaving Ohio. But what’s worse, describing the potential negative impact, or letting it pass and dealing with the real negative impact? I say the opposition should get out there and shout from the rooftops to defeat this thing.
If you support this initiative, please describe how you think the postivies outweigh the nagatives.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:50 amNot really sure how I feel about this. I can say that I come to work sick and save a beautiful sunny day to use a sick day. Hand santizers and soap and water and covering your mouth when you cough works.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:55 amWith all due respect Tina, saving a sick day for for time off on a sunny day is abuse of the benefit. If people are already doing that, imagine how much abuse will happen when sick days are mandated and your employer has government restricting its control of the abuse.
The governor and legislature had a chance to kill this issue months ago and decided to let it slide past them. Their opposition to this initiative at this late hour rings hollow and will have little chance of helping businesses. When this passes and further damage is done to our already suffering economy, be sure to remember who pulled the trigger. You, the unions and governor Strickland.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:45 amThis is another piece of terrible legislation just like the minimum wage law that passed a couple of years ago. Anyone that has ever studied economics knows that minimum wage laws of any kind only shift demand for labor down and hence depress job growth.
Our law is even worse as it automatically raises minimum wage with inflation forever… it is like having an automatic job destroyer in Ohio that turns on every time this law kicks in. Every couple years this stupid law pushes minimum wage up for unions and job growth declines, just like a machine. You have got to love our “job friendly” state we live in.
Wages and benefits cannot be forced out of small businesses. Rather small businesses have to grow and as a result of this growth offer better pay and benefits to attract quality workers that will help them grow to the next level. Simple economics, too bad the unions don’t understand this. Until they do they will see union jobs continue to fade away and their membership ranks shrink. The forces of economics are more powerful than a union card and in a global economy this is even more true.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:06 pmI don’t get paid sick days, at work. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. It would be nice if I got paid time off, but I don’t think my employer should be forced into giving it to me. I think it’s a good move of the Governor to not support this issue.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:46 pmRegardless of the reasons for Gov Strickland and Lt Gov Fisher to oppose this initiative, we should all be grateful that they have. This will ultimately have to be decided by the voters however. We can only hope that they will reach the same reasoned conclusion.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:58 pmTim, agreed. We cant know the reasons they opposed it, but just be happy they did.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:43 pmThis is a ballot initiative designed to get the Obama vote out. It is heavily sponsored by the Service Employees Union and meant to appeal to a certain demographic. And because of that appeal it strikes me as racist. Because it will be against the law for companies to “change” their sick pay policies after this might pass, companies right now are changing their sick pay policies so no one gets an extra seven days. No company will take a chance on this passing.
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:00 pmI’m sure the unions are disappointed in their bought-and-paid-for governor.
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:38 pmRunner, your statement about this being designed to get the Obama vote out seems plausible, especially since the idea so bad even the governor is coming out against it. Are there ballot initiatives in other swing states designed to do the same thing, and/or initiatives designed to counteract this one to get the McCain vote out?
August 25th, 2008 at 12:47 pm