Protest Reports
Nearly 200 people of faith gathered on the Statehouse steps last Wednesday to call for an end to the freeze on green energy standards in Ohio. But it seems that State Senator Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) is unmoved by the convictions of faith communities about the sanctity of creation and the value of human life. On April 25 Seitz introduced Senate Bill 320, which would continue the freeze for another three years, and then re-introduce the green energy standards at a slower pace.
Since the April 6 occupation of Bricker Hall, a coalition of student groups has kept up the pressure on the university to end its plans to privatize its energy services and outsource more of its employees.
On April 21 the #ReclaimOSU coalition joined forces with members of Communication Workers of America (CWA), the labor union that represents many OSU workers as well as Verzion employees who are on strike. They gathered at the South Oval and marched to the Ohio Union, shouting, “Hey Drake, step off it! Put people over profit!”
“When the university sells out energy, that is a direct attack on minority and other workers at Ohio State,” said Maryam Abidi of the OSU Coalition for Black Liberation during a speak-out in the atrium of the Ohio Union. “Privatization is also an attack on the minority communities of Columbus,” she said.
In a functioning democracy, all residents of a community should have an equal say in decisions that affect the entire community. But this hasn’t been happening in the Near East Side, Short North, Weinland Park, University District, and other Columbus neighborhoods.
With the blessing of a city government that is friendly to gentrification, developers and wealthy property owners have been on a frenzy of redevelopment in these areas — tearing down family homes and historic buildings to make room for luxury housing. Soaring housing costs in these neighborhoods have forced thousands of low- and middle income residents out of their homes.
On Sunday, March 6, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and hundreds of allies completed the Workers' Voice Columbus March on Wendy's!
We took over High Street, picketed outside of the Wendy's on Woodruff& High and spread the word that Ohio will #BoycottWendys until they respect farmworkers through the #FairFoodProgram!!
Local Voters Will Deliver 1.5 Million
Petition Signatures to Offices of Sen. Rob Portman Telling Him: Do Your Job.
PCCC Launches Online Ads Statewide
Petitions gathered by Organizing For Action (OFA), Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), MoveOn.org Civic Action, UltraViolet Action, Color of Change, Daily Kos, Demand Progress, People For the American Way, Common Cause, NextGen Climate, Sierra Club, CREDO Action, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Donna Edwards, and Every Voice Action
Tomorrow -- March 3, 2016 -- local PCCC members will join supporters of ally organizations to deliver 1.5 million petition signatures to the Cleveland office of Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Hamilton County Courthouse in Cincinnati.
The petitions demand Portman and Senate Republicans follow the Constitution and do their job by allowing a fair process on the president’s upcoming Supreme Court nomination. The PCCC will also launch online ads in Ohio to hold Senate Republicans accountable for obstruction.
In response to the growing intolerance against Islam expressed in Donald Trump’s call for a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S., Jewish activists in 15 cities are celebrating Chanukah by holding vigils against Islamophobia and racial profiling.
Members of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) gathered at the Ohio State University on December 12. They held eight signs representing the candles of the menorah, each with a statement opposing a different form of racism or religious intolerance.
“Islamophobia is a frightening and terrible thing,” said JVP member Charlene Fix. “I don’t want any people to be hurt that way my people were hurt.”
Mindful of the violent reactions from Donald Trump supporters at recent campaign rallies, a small group of protesters took a more subtle approach when the presidential candidate spoke at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on November 23. When Trump got to the podium and began to speak, the protesters turned their backs on him.
As Trump pitched his anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-Muslim agenda to a cheering crowd, the protesters took out books by classic and modern socialist authors and quietly read through the first 40 minutes of the rally. They stood about 200 feet from the podium, surrounded by thousands of ardent Donald Trump supporters.
The action was organized by Hayley Cotter, who supports Bernie Sanders’ run for President. “My inspiration was from Johari Osayi Idusuyi, a woman who read a book through another Trump rally,” she said. “It was a very powerful statement in opposition to Trump’s fascism.”
“I’m here to stand up for people who don’t make a decent wage,” said Genelle Rhynehardt, who works as a janitor in the Huntington Center in downtown Columbus. “People have to earn more to better their communities and better themselves.”
A member of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1, Rhynehardt was speaking on November 10 at a #FightFor15 rally on the steps of Columbus City Hall. It was one of 230 solidarity protests held across the U.S. as part of a national day of action. Fast food workers went on strike in 270 cities, demanding a $15 an hour wage and the right to join a union.
The current minimum wage is not a living wage, Rhynehardt said. “For people to try to live on it and live on welfare at the same time is not fair. We want to be able to stand up for ourselves financially, to be able to go to the grocery store and not rely on food stamps.”
