Columbus, OH – Hundreds of Columbus area residents gathered over the Labor Day weekend to protest the murder of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis by Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson. The demonstrations called for the firing and conviction of Ricky Anderson. They also demanded an end to qualified immunity, criticized nighttime raids, and showed support for the Lewis family by collecting signatures and donations.

Demonstrations took place in front of the Columbus Police Department headquarters, the Ohio State House, and along a busy North High Street – where protesters chanted, “Out of the bars and into the street!” as football fans gathered at restaurants and bars after the first Ohio State football game of the season.

The weekend’s protests were organized by multiple groups, including JUST, BQIC, BAC, and PSL. Events in solidarity with the Columbus demonstrations also took place in various locations across the state, including Dayton, where local FRSO membership participated in discussions on ending police violence.

On August 30, CPD officers entered the apartment of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis around 2:30 a.m., during which Anderson shot and killed Lewis while he was in bed. Police had arrived to serve warrants for misdemeanor charges stemming from a domestic conflict with his partner earlier in the month, and a year-old felony charge of “improper handling of a firearm in a vehicle.”

In the bodycam footage, Officer Anderson can be seen attempting to manage a police dog while opening the door to where Lewis slept. A light is turned on, illuminating Lewis, who can be seen raising his hands while trying to sit up. Anderson immediately opens fire, hitting and fatally wounding Lewis.

Anderson’s lawyer stated the officer believes he saw an “object” in Donovan’s hand, identified by Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant as a vape pen. This claim, however, appears to be little more than a cover up, attempting to shield the “30-year veteran” officer from his astonishingly lethal actions resulting in the murder of Donovan Lewis.

The Lewis family’s attorney, Rex Elliott, stated in a press conference following the killing: “There can be no question that excessive deadly force was recklessly used by Officer Anderson when he shot and killed an unarmed black man.”

Elliott has stated that the Lewis' family plans to file a lawsuit against Anderson and the city of Columbus, which has one of the highest rates of police shootings in Ohio and in the nation. The wholly unjustifiable killing of Donovan Lewis comes as part of a string of murders by the Columbus Police Department, including high-profile cases such as Casey Goodson Jr., Andre Hill and Ma'Khia Bryant. During protests after the murder of George Floyd, the CPD regularly took escalatory and excessive actions against demonstrators, including deploying militarized officers and armored vehicles, sonic weapons, and tear gas.

The family expressed appreciation for the outpouring of support from the community.

#ColumbusOH #PoliceBrutality #PoliceCrimes #DonovanLewis

Bargaining team given ‘final offer,’ board walks out

Columbus, OH – Rallying around a message of “Don’t walk away from our students,” the Columbus Education Association, the union representing nearly 4500 teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, psychologists and other education professionals in Columbus City Schools, met with the board on July 28. The educators pushed for their refined proposal covering: “smaller class sizes, full-time art, music, and P.E. teachers at the elementary level, functional heating and air-conditioning in classrooms, necessary planning time at the elementary level, a cap on the number of class periods during the school day, and other working conditions that recruit and retain the best educators for our students.”

Negotiations scheduled for July 28 lasted “exactly one minute”, with the board stating they were “done with bargaining” and handed the Columbus Education Association (CEA) bargaining team their “final offer” before immediately walking out of the building.

Members vote to issue strike notice

On August 5 members gathered for a mass meeting with their collective bargaining team, which ended in an impressive 94% vote to issue Columbus City Schools a ten-day strike notice set to expire midnight, August 21. CEA spokesperson Regina Fuentes stated, “The vote tonight is a vote of confidence in our bargaining team and our fight for the safe, properly maintained, fully resourced schools,” adding, “CEA has consistently maintained that we are fighting not just for CEA members, but for our students and community. That is why CEA will continue that fight until a fair agreement is reached for the schools Columbus students deserve.”

By request of the federal mediator, CEA met again with the board again to provide a counterproposal, where the board failed to either respond or provide a counter-proposal. CEA filed its Notice of Intent to Strike and Picket with the State Employment Relations Board on August 11, with the strike to commence at 12:01 a.m., August 22.

“Whose schools? Our schools!”

Starting at 7 a.m., August 22, union teachers formed picket lines outside 20 school buildings spanning across the city. Educators carrying signs reading “On strike” lined the sidewalks chanting “No more rats, no more bugs, classrooms should be full of hugs!” and “Whose schools? Our schools!”

That evening, after the first day of demonstrations, a massive crowd of over 1000 teachers and community members picketed along South High Street outside the Southland Center where an emergency executive school board meeting was taking place. Spirits were high as an expansive display of strikers wearing red stretched along one of Columbus’s busiest streets, marching and chanting.

Despite the severe shortage of teachers, the school board directed students to a virtual learning environment for the start of the school year. The union has encouraged parents and students not to cross the picket line – physically or “virtually” – and educated children about the utility of labor strikes and the key issues being fought for by Columbus educators.

Reports of harassment, marchers shot at with BB gun

During the first two days of the strike, picketers reported multiple cases of harassment, including, marchers being shot at with a BB gun from a moving vehicle; having shoes, “muddy water,” and a “car lock cylinder” thrown at them; a pickup truck backing up to the picket line in order to “roll coal” in their faces; and physical shoving and intimidation.

Regina Fuentes made the following statement to the TV station NBC4 WCMH, “Our members will not be intimidated, and the CEA is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of members.”

Comprehensive conceptual agreement reached

On August 25, the CEA sent out a “CCS Strike Update” email stating, “At 2:38 a.m. this morning, after almost 14 continuous hours of negotiations, the bargaining teams from the Columbus Education Association (CEA) and the Columbus City Schools Board reached a comprehensive conceptual agreement on a new labor contract covering nearly 4,500 teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, psychologists, and other education professionals employed by Columbus City Schools, tentatively ending the district’s first teacher strike since 1975.” The email went on, “This deal would not have been possible without the unwavering support of parents, community members, organized labor, and local businesses in Columbus. It was a city-wide effort that allowed CEA to win the schools Columbus students deserve.”

CEA members will first review and vote on ratification of the comprehensive conceptual agreement. A mass membership meeting is being planned for this weekend, at which time the CEA core bargaining team will recommend ratification, potentially ending the three-day strike.

The board is scheduled to vote on the agreement after CEA’s ratification. If both parties approve the deal, classes will resume for students on Monday, August 29.

Columbus Education Association spokesperson Regina Fuentes states, “We recognize the sacrifices students, parents, and teachers alike have made during the last three days as we fought for the schools Columbus students deserve.” She continued, “Let the history books reflect that this strike was about students who deserved a commitment to modern schools with heating and air conditioning, smaller class sizes, and a well-rounded curriculum that includes art, music and P.E.”

#ColumbusOH #PeoplesStruggles #Strikes #ColumbusEducationAssociationCEA

Columbus, OH – A crowd of 500 people took to the streets of Columbus, Ohio on December 11 to protest the police killing of Casey Goodson Jr. Hundreds of young people, led by Goodson’s family, marched through the streets carrying signs and surrounded the Ohio Statehouse.

The march stopped in front of the Statehouse on South High Street long enough to shield protesters who painted a large mural on the street surface. Impassioned speakers addressed the gathering crowd. Police presence was heavy, as riot police staged in the surrounding buildings. However, the demonstration remained largely uninterrupted.

Tamala Payne, Casey Goodson’s mother, described his death, “Casey was executed going into our home and his body fell into the house.” Franklin County Deputy Jason Meade shot Goodson in the back three times, leaving his keys hanging in the door to his home.

The “Accountability and Transparency Now for Casey Goodson Jr.” protest was organized with the blessing of Casey Goodson’s family and friends.

#ColumbusOH #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #CaseyGoodson

In the first hour of the demonstration, marchers who had trickled in from all directions clustered along the western perimeter of the statehouse along High Street, waving signs and chanting slogans, raising their voices to honor the names of African American martyrs of police violence. Among the fallen named were Tamir Rice, age 12, of Cleveland; Tyre King, 13, and Julius Tate, 16, both of Columbus.

Although the protesters only deployed peaceful tactics, the community was prepared for the possibility of aggression from counter-demonstrators. On street corners, curbs and plazas, organizers and individuals had stationed pallets of water bottles, small food items, and first-aid supplies. Medics made themselves identifiable in the crowd and patrolled at a brisk pace. Legal observers from the Ohio Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild wearing green hats stationed themselves at the outer perimeters of the crowds and stood with pads and pencils.

As the crowd moved to line both sides of High Street, they were met with squadrons of armed policemen, who used bicycles to fence protesters. As the chants continued, the policemen drew canisters of pepper sprays and pulled their pins in order to menace and intimidate the crowd. The presence of legal observers did not deter disproportionate use of force against the demonstrators closest in proximity to the police blockade.

As the clusters along each corner grew in density, the police made examples of some individuals with beatings and the use of pepper spray. In some instances, the crowd was able to recover the battered, but in spite of these efforts, some arrests were made. Although the cops intended to inspire fear by dragging the detained parties into the middle of the intersection where they were most visible, the crowd sent off the handcuffed captives with applause, and did not fall back.

Among the victims were the United States Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who represents Ohio's Third District; Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin; and Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce. The assault and pepper-spraying of three Black politicians made news after a video of the incident captured by nbc4i was circulated on national media outlets. Another video showed a portly officer spraying a demonstrator with pepper spray or mace before reaching into the face of the latter and violently tearing his respiratory mask off.

As the demonstration drew into the afternoon, a SWAT team and a squadron of policemen on horseback were dispatched, flanking a large armored vehicle equipped with a Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD). The LRAD was used to dispatch a notice to evacuate the downtown area due to an unspecified emergency. At 1:24 p.m., the following Emergency Alert was broadcast via cellular networks: “Columbus Police have declared an emergency in downtown Columbus Ohio, Avoid the area.” The police presence succeeded in splitting the demonstration into a large cluster that mobilized north along High Street and stationed at the intersection of High and 5th Ave nearly two miles north, while the remainder stayed on the grounds of the Statehouse in defiance of the order to disperse. Although this appeared to be a concession, the demonstration at the statehouse only continued to grow, and was restored to its original size by the evening.

At 5:07 p.m., Ohio Governor Mike DeWine tweeted, “I am now calling to service the @OHNationalGuard to help protect the citizens of Ohio. Further, at the request of @MayorGinther and the @ChiefQuinlan, I am ordering the @OSHP to also help enforce the criminal laws in Columbus.” Twitter users responded with incredulity, drawing parallels to the deployment of the Ohio National Guard to the main campus of Kent State University on May 4, 1970. Within the half hour, another Emergency Alert was broadcast, this time, issuing a mandatory citywide curfew between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following day. In spite of these open threats from the state to disband, demonstrations continued and escalated through the night.

#ColumbusOH #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Repression #Antiracism #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #MinneapolisUprising

A problem for the Republicans as the next election approaches is that more people voted against Issue 2 than voted for Republican Governor John Kasich in 2010.

SB 5 planned to severely restricted collective bargaining rights for firefighters, teachers, nurses and other public employees. The bill made striking illegal and restricted union bargaining rights to a couple of items. The bill also eliminated safe staffing minimums, putting both workers and the public in potentially dangerous situations. Working class people overwhelmingly opposed this attack.

SB 5 was another attempt to balance the state budget on the backs of workers here in Ohio. Governor Kasich, former CEO of the big Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs, wanted to take away the rights of workers, claiming the need for concessions due to the bad economy. At the same time Kasich defends the bonuses paid to his Wall Street buddies with taxpayer bailout monies. SB 5 was just another attempt by the 1% to bust up unions.

While this is a major victory, the fight in Ohio is not over. Kasich is already hinting at breaking up SB 5 into smaller portions and passing each one individually, making it hard to repeal multiple sections thru ballot voting. Governor Kasich will not stop his attacks on the working class of Ohio and the working people will not stop fighting back.

#ColumbusOH #unionBusting #SenateBill5 #GovernorKasich

Senate Bill 5 is a blatant attempt by Republican Governor John Kasich and the Republican controlled Ohio legislature to break the back of unions while lying to the public about “budget difficulties.” This same governor and his cronies in the state government have also been pushing to eliminate Ohio’s estate tax, which taxes property inherited by the relatives of the very rich. It’s clear that this bill, along with other similar bills in other states, is a coordinated attack on the working class in America and has nothing to do with budget problems.

The bill passed the house by a vote of 53-44 with minor changes from the Senate version of the bill. The Senate passed the House version by a vote of 17 to 16. The passage of Senate Bill 5 was met with loud opposition by the workers and trade unionists who were in attendance at the statehouse. Many opponents of the bill were forcibly removed from the gallery as they sang We Shall Not Be Moved and shouted “Repeal it!” and “Ohio hates you.”

The union busting bill eliminates all collective bargaining rights for public employees employed by the state and state agencies, including corrections officers, state troopers and college professors, among others. City and county employees will have bargaining rights severely restricted. Among the many attacks on workers’ rights, SB-5 makes it so public workers will no longer able to bargain over healthcare benefits or pension contributions. Public employers are not allowed to pay more than 80% of the costs for health care benefits. Teachers’ unions have been stripped of their power to negotiate over layoff procedures, teacher salaries, teacher placement and classroom sizes, with those decisions now being decided solely by superintendents.

Furthermore, public workers cannot agree to contracts in which seniority is considered as a factor when determining layoffs. Public employers “last best offers” will now be considered the default “agreement” whenever a labor contract is in dispute. The bill rigs labor negotiations so that the final decisions made about contracts are left in the hands of politically motivated elected officials, instead of arbitration. Public employers have also been given the power to unilaterally reopen labor contracts when they deem there to be a “fiscal emergency.” Finally, among other things, public workers are banned from striking and striking workers can be permanently replaced.

The bill is expected to be signed into law by Governor Kasich on March 31 and large demonstrations are expected. Workers, students, trade unionists and their allies are expected to push to put the law up for vote on the ballot in November.

#ColumbusOH #Columbus #unionBusting #CollectiveBargaining #PublicSectorUnions

“They've gone too far and now it's time to fight back” said a worker when asked about why he was attending the demonstration.

Speakers, many from the Service Employees International Union, denounced the bill for attacking workers while doing nothing to solve the $8 billion dollar budget deficit that Republicans claim the bill is supposed to address. They pointed out that if collective bargaining was the problem, so-called 'right-to-work' states wouldn't be having large budget deficits.

Today, the Republicans rammed through SB-5 with a 17-16 vote in the Senate. Earlier, the Republicans pushed through SB-5 in a senate committee by removing a dissenting Republican senator. Six Republicans voted against the proposed law; a couple of publicly denounced the vote. Gov.Kasich's union-busting bill will now head to the Ohio House of Representatives, while workers and students continue to protest at the State Capitol building.

#ColumbusOH #CollectiveBargaining #GovernorJohnKasich #SB5 #publicSectorUnions #SenateBill5 #ohio

Columbus, OH – Thousands gathered here at the Statehouse on Feb. 22 to demand that lawmakers vote no on State Bill 5, a bill that would eliminate the right for public sector unions to collectively bargain. Firefighters, teachers, laborers and students gathered both inside and outside the Statehouse as state senators held another hearing on the bill. Protesters chanted “kill the bill!” and “give merit pay to senators,” while speeches were given on the steps by workers whose lives have improved thanks to the efforts of their unions.

One speaker on the steps of the Statehouse said he was there because he is currently in school for education. “I am a student and I want to be a teacher. I have to work a minimum wage job and take out student loans to get through five years of school. I can’t afford to get out of school and continue to make minimum wage while teaching students in Ohio. If we want to keep jobs in Ohio, we have to kill this bill and keep our unions strong!” Other students were also there, supporting union workers and protesting proposed tuition increases to state universities.

SB 5 in Ohio is very similar to the bill currently being fought against in Wisconsin. The proposed bill would eliminate the right for public workers to collectively bargain, effectively taking away all power of public sector unions. In addition, the Ohio bill is an attack on LGBTQ people, prohibiting the state from recognizing same-sex marriages that happened in other states and prohibits laws being passed that would grant benefits to same-sex couples. Unlike the situation in Wisconsin, where Democrats can leave the state to prevent a quorum for a vote, Democrats in Ohio are now in the minority to where Republicans have quorum with or without their presence.

SB5 is part of a larger, coordinated campaign by right-wing forces in Ohio and elsewhere to attack public sector workers while giving tax breaks and other huge benefits to the rich. Governor John Kasich, a former Lehman Brothers executive, has done little more than degrade and insult public employees at every possible opportunity. Kasich has portrayed firefighters, laborers and teachers as lazy, overpaid, and incompetent.

In Ohio, public sector unions have already given the state more than $220 million in concessions. There are 5000 fewer state workers in Ohio than there were in 2006 – the year before the previous governor took power. These attacks and insults come from the same man, Gov. Kasich, who once famously called Dick Fuld, the CEO of Lehman Brothers, a “great leader.” Lehman Brothers is one of the main companies whose collapse foretold the financial crisis. Workers here are showing this incompetent lackey of the rich that they will fight back.

#ColumbusOH #GovernorJohnKasich #SB5

Protesters chanted and stomped outside the auditorium throughout the event. Several demonstrators in the auditorium held signs and blared whistles to disrupt Tucker Max’s speech. They were forcibly removed by campus security. Protesters tried charging into the auditorium to shut down the event, but were thwarted by security and right-wing students. Tucker Max lowlifes hurled homophobic and sexist insults at the protesters, shouting, “Rape is funny!” A few even spat and threw punches at protesters in the lobby.

After the Tucker Max 'talk', Women and Allies Rising in Resistance (WARR) marched to the busiest intersection of Columbus, all the while shouting “We won’t be raped! We won’t be beat! Off of the sidewalks into the streets!” Protesters walked into the middle of the intersection, disrupting traffic for a half hour while proudly holding banners denouncing Tucker Max and rape culture at Ohio State.

The Ohio Union Activities Board (OUAB), responsible for holding events at Ohio State University, invited Max. Student activity fees charged to every student at OSU fund the OUAB. Tucker Max writes about binge drinking and sexual exploits, and says. “Ladies, there is no such thing as deserving respect,” and, “There is no insult too mean or crude for her and basic human rights do not apply to her.”

Women and Allies Rising in Resistance led the protest. WARR is demanding a sexual survivors’ fund on campus to cover high-cost medical bills after sexual assaults. Even with insurance, the medical bill for a sexual assault victim can reach thousands of dollars, and Ohio State has one of the highest rates of campus sexual assault in the country. Ohio State consistently tells students there is no money for sexual assault survivors, but turns around and gives thousands to Tucker Max.

WARR continued its action the next day with a seven-hour sit-in at the OUAB office demanding the same amount of money paid to Tucker Max, be donated to the sexual assault survivors fund. WARR also demanded the same amount be put toward anti-homophobic programming as a result of the homophobic slurs being chanted by the attendees at the Tucker Max event.

Stephanie Diebold said, “WARR believes that Tucker Max being paid to speak with OSU dollars is problematic due to his work endorsing violence against women and a culture of rape. He has quotes that include, ‘all women are whores.’ It is not OK for OSU to financially endorse a man that is openly misogynist and encourages violence against women.”

The struggle for a woman’s right to be free from misogyny and assault will continue with a Take Back the Night event on May 14. Charlie Frederick, a protester and member of OSU Free the Planet! said “Protesting rape-promoters like Tucker Max is but one of many strategies that we have in our toolbox, along with direct action to secure funds for rape victims-survivors and answering crisis calls at an abuse hotline. The main key is that we are pro-active in confronting oppression and abuse wherever and whenever we see it – on campus, at a party, or in our workplace. The AIDS movement taught us was that silence equals death; by making my outrage known and joining the protest I chose life – a safer and more just life without sexism and patriarchy. We need to stand up and fight back!”

#ColumbusOH #StudentMovement #News #WomenAndAlliesRisingInResistance #TuckerMax