BWHDP Seeking to Partner with Organized Labor to Increase Membership

If there is anything that Senate Bill 5 has done, it has galvanized the BWHDP’s resolve to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Organized Labor. In order to better serve our constituents, and to show support for each other, the Democratic Leader is seeking to work with Organized Labor - especially those who live in Bedford and Walton Hills. There are numerous unions that serve the City of Bedford and Village of Walton Hills, whether they are public sector or private sector, and there are many members of those organizations who reside in our two communities.  It would behoove all of us to all work together. If you are a member of an organized labor group, the BWHDP would be honored to have you amongst our ranks.  If you are an organized labor leader, and believe we can help each other with campaign efforts,  then please let us know. We are trying to build a better, stronger, BWHDP, and we know that if we work in tandem with our brothers and sisters in Organized Labor, we can do that.  We would also love to engage in other activities with Organized Labor, such as Town Halls, rallies, etc. If you would like to join our mailing list, please email Secretary Stephanie Terrell at sterrell3@yahoo.com; and if you would like membership information, please contact Assistant Democratic Leader Nancy Lachowski at (440) 232-8897 or via email at NancyLachowski@att.net. Any other questions may be directed to the Democratic Leader.

EVENTS CALENDAR

¨ Tuesday, April 12, 2011:  Regular Meeting of the Bedford/Walton Hills Democratic Party.  Ellenwood Recreation Center, 7:00 PM

¨ Tuesday, May 10, 2011:  Regular Meeting of the Bedford/Walton Hills Democratic Party.  Ellenwood Recreation Center, 7:00 PM

¨ Wednesday, May 18, 2011:  Fundraiser for Councilwoman Paula Mizsak.  Mr. Gee’s Bar and Grille.  5:30 -  8:00 PM.  $35/person

¨ Friday, June 3 - Sunday, June 5, 2011:  BWHDP Outreach Booth at the Bedford Rotary Day of the Rib.  Bedford Commons.

¨ Tuesday, June 14, 2011:  Regular Meeting of the Bedford/Walton Hills Democratic Party, Annual Picnic, and Awards Ceremony.  Willard Park at Ellenwood Recreation Center, 6:30 PM

¨ Friday, June 24 - Sunday, June 26, 2011:  BWHDP Outreach Booth at the Italian American Brotherhood Festival.  Bedford Commons.

¨ Monday, July 4, 2011:  BWHDP Entry in the Bedford-Bedford Heights Independence Day Parade.

¨ Saturday, July 16, 2011:  BWHDP Booth at the Bedford Street Dance.  6:00 PM, Broadway Avenue

¨ Friday, July 29 - Sunday, July 31, 2011:  BWHDP Booth at the Bedford Lions’ Carnival.  Bedford Commons

From the Leader’s Desk Andrew C.M. Mizsak, M.A.P., MBM Democratic Leader City of Bedford & Village of Walton Hills

This, I am now quite sure, is going to be a recurring theme… ALL HANDS ON DECK. 

Let me repeat…. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, ALL HANDS ON DECK. It seems like time after time we keep asking for volunteers, grassroots advocates, people who claim they are Democrats to act like Democrats, and it’s like I am shouting into the Grand Canyon.  Yes, the message is echoing off the canyon walls and through the valley, but it’s a one way message.  There is rarely a return call. Now, there are those who have stepped up lately and sent the post cards, made the telephone calls, and been a great part of our SB 5 Opposition efforts.  I cannot thank them enough. There are those volunteered last year at the Southeast Cuyahoga Democratic Center… some have stayed involved, while others have not.  If you are one of those great folks, THANK YOU… AND WE NEED YOU BACK. Ladies and gentlemen, here’s the deal… I cannot promise you fame or riches, but what I can promise you is that I will thank you time and again for your time, talent, efforts, and treasure.  And when I am done thanking you, I will most likely thank you again. I can also promise you that you will be part of a worthwhile cause that will, in the end, serve the people of Ohio. You will never hear a cross word from me… one of the things I learned as a volunteer swim coach is that you never yell at a volunteer or criticize them because they are giving of themselves.  Nor will I ever ask you to do something I would not do myself. What you will hear from me is thank you, and how can I help you help us be even better? Yes, I can be demanding at times, and I am sure there are times when you get really sick of hearing me ask for funding or volunteer hours. However, I do it because we have spent a lot of money over the past 7 years trying to communicate with our constituency, and more importantly, because our core volunteers have given thousands of hours of themselves, and they need some relief.  And for the times I can be a little demanding and seem like a royal pain, I apologize. I, too, am a volunteer, and I, from time to time, would appreciate an extra set of hands, too. You will never hear me complain about this position I have aspired to. I love being your Democratic Leader, and I feel so fortunate that the Central Committee has entrusted me with a four year term to do this job I love so much. It, however, is with the knowledge that we will be embarking on our biggest continuous campaign efforts, that I ask you to once again pitch in and serve. Over the next few months, we are going to need your help with gathering signatures for a referendum to repeal SB 5. We will also need you to staff outreach booths, march in a few parades, and help our local candidates. Additionally, it would be great if you would join us at our regular meetings.  Believe me, people far greater than I attend our meetings.  I know you can make a significant contribution too. We need you at this critical juncture. We are not going to lessen our campaign efforts for a while, so we need as many people to help as possible. I thank you, our volunteers thank you, and I know you will enjoy pitching in. I know I do. So, I repeat my earlier message… ALL HANDS ON DECK. And yes, for those who were wondering, I did, from time to time, clean the bathroom at the Southeast Cuyahoga Democratic Center.

Thank you again,

Andrew Mizsak

SB 5 Referendum Fight Begins From the Front Lines by Bill Lavezzi, Member of the Central Committee - Bedford 6-B

The Senate Bill 5 fight entered a new phase this week, as the House amended the bill and passed it, the Senate passed the amended bill, and Governor Kasich signed it and filed it with the Secretary of State's office.  While some details about the situation are still unclear, here's what we appear to know at this point.

1) The ninety-day countdown for filing referendum petitions began when the bill was filed on Friday, which means that the signing period expires on June 30.

2) Before general signing petitions can be circulated, 1,000 petitions with sample language need to be submitted to the Secretary of State, and the Ohio Ballot Commission needs to approve ballot language.  The referendum is on whether the law will be allowed to go into effect, so we will be working for a "No" vote.

3) The referendum campaign will be coordinated by a campaign organization called "We Are Ohio."  According to The Plain Dealer, "the new group is heavily influenced by Democratic and union leaders but was created to stand alone from the party and any single labor group, in part to try to attract others who do not subscribe to Democratic politics but who oppose SB 5" (March 31, 2011).

4) Now that the final bill has been passed and we know the time line, We Are Ohio is using the early weeks of April to conduct trainings.  At the local level, we should have much more information by late April, when we will be seeing the final petitions.

5) Under Ohio law, We Are Ohio will need to gather 231,147 valid voter signatures, which is the number equal to 6 percent of the total turnout in the 2010 gubernatorial election.  It is anticipated that the goal will be much higher than that, since the laws for collecting signatures are very detailed and some signatures will almost certainly be ruled invalid.  It is common in these campaigns for supporters to seek double the minimum number of signatures.

6) It is generally thought that collecting signatures will be relatively easy, since public labor unions alone have about 350,000 members; the tougher issue will be getting our friends, family members, and neighbors to vote the right way in the referendum.

7) The campaign to sustain SB 5 is expected to draw millions of dollars of contributions from right-wing sources outside Ohio.  Although union dues cannot be used to support candidates, they can be used for ballot issues, and many unions are planning special one-time dues assessments.  Still, it is generally believed that our side cannot match the other side dollar-for-dollar, and we will need to work creatively to leverage our "people power" to get the necessary votes.

Rally Opposing SB 5 on Bedford Commons a Success

On Sunday, March 20th, more than 150 people gathered on Bedford Commons to oppose Senate Bill 5, a measure in the Ohio Legislature that would strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights. Headlining the event was State Senator Nina Turner (D-25th District) who rallied the troops and reminded those in attendance that this bill is nothing but the Republican’s first step in a full assault on the middle class. “This is an attack on our rights as a people,” said Senator Turner. The rally was attended by public school teachers, firefighters, police officers, and members of Organized Labor from the private sector as a show of solidarity. “This Governor of ours has admitted he is trying to ‘break the backs of the unions who run public schools,’ and he is going after the Trades next.  We have to stand united,” said Democratic Leader Andrew Mizsak. Also addressing the crowd was Bedford Vice Mayor and courageous Democrat Stan Koci, who shared the story that Bedford was one of the first communities to engage in collective bargaining with their employees in the 1980’s when he was a leader in the Firefighters’ Union.  The Vice Mayor also said that this bill is more than about collective bargaining...its about maintaining the quality of life for middle class families. “I am worried that with what [Governor] Kasich is doing to unions, my son-in-law, who is a union bricklayer, is going to move his family out of state.  My wife and I thought when he and my daughter moved to Streetsboro that 20 minutes was far away.  I couldn’t imagine them being out of state. This bill affects families.” Bill Lavezzi, our Central Committee Member in Bedford 6-B, and Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Education Association, spoke to the fundamental fairness of collective bargaining. “I lost my job in a school district because I was a Union Leader… that was in the pre-collective bargaining days, when school districts could do that.  Collective bargaining rights allow unions to be something more than just a bowling league.” The crowd also heard from JoAnn Johntony, the President of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, who put anyone who supports SB 5 on notice. “I will work day and night to let people know who is hurting working Ohioans and their families,” said Johntony. The event received a great deal of coverage in the local media, and dominated much of that day’s television and radio news.  Members of over 15 unions ranging from several education associations to the Teamsters, UAW, and the Building Trades were represented.Because of the March 20th event’s success, a second rally for sometime in the late summer/early fall is being planned.  Details for the future event are forthcoming.

OFFICIAL CALL OF MEETING

The Bedford/Walton Hills Democratic Party will be meeting in REGULAR SESSION on TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2011, at 7:00 PM, for the purpose of the third reading and final consideration of Resolution 2011-001, A Resolution Amending and Revising Certain Sections of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Democratic Party of the City of Bedford and Village of Walton Hills, Ohio. The Bedford/Walton Hills Democratic Party will also consider any other business relative to the Organization that may be brought forth. The Meeting will be held at the Ellenwood Recreation Center, 124 Ellenwood Avenue, Bedford, Ohio 44146. Any questions, please contact Democratic Leader Andrew C.M. Mizsak at (440) 550-9620 or via email at LeaderMizsak@bwhdems.org

Respectfully submitted,

/s/:  ANDREW C.M. MIZSAK

Andrew C.M. Mizsak, M.A.P., MBM

Democratic Leader

City of Bedford and Village of Walton Hills, Ohio

Be a Part of Our Grassroots Advocacy Efforts!

With the passage of the dreadful Senate Bill 5 by the Ohio General Assembly, and its signing into law by Governor John Kasich, Ohio Democrats and our brothers and sisters in organized labor are already engaged and energized to repeal this law.

We will need every member of the BWHDP, whether you live in Cuyahoga County or not, to assist us in our signature-gathering efforts.  We are also inviting every member of organized labor who resides in Bedford or Walton Hills to join the BWHDP. 

In addition to our efforts pertaining to the repeal of SB 5, the BWHDP will be working to protect our communities’ vital interests with regards to the State Budget.

In the upcoming weeks, we will be sending post cards to members of the General Assembly urging them to protect the state programs that are important to us.  We hope that you will join us in this endeavor, and also get your friends and neighbors involved.

Additionally, the BWHDP will be active in the communities over the summer months sharing information about state-level issues, including the budget and the SB 5 repeal, but also about our local candidates who are on the ballot this year.

This is the time where we can all pitch in and help out.  Our collective efforts will result in the obtaining of the necessary signatures to get the SB 5 repeal on the ballot and to also increase our membership and spread our Party’s message.

It has often been said that local Party organizations like ours are going by the wayside.  Together, we can reverse that trend in our two communities, and make the BWHDP the premier local Party organization in Cuyahoga County.

Information about SB 5 repeal petitions is forthcoming.  To get involved with the repeal efforts, please contact Democratic Leader Andrew Mizsak at 440-550-9620