The Battle I'm Fighting--An Open Letter to Ohio State Senator Kevin Bacon on Senate Bill 5

NOTE TO READERS:  Further details coming soon on this.  The posting is meant for those coming here on Facebook.

------------

Senator Bacon:

I am writing you as a constituent of your district and as a unionized State employee.

In comparison with many of my fellow employees in the public sector, I anticipate the effect the passage of Senate Bill 5, which the committee you share is about to vote to send to the floor, will be comparatively minimal to me personally.  However, the individuals who are receiving blind carbon copies of this letter will not be happy with what I am about to say, and I hope many of them will take a moment to join me in opposition to this bill and make their voices known accordingly.

I have been employed by the Ohio Department of Public Safety for more than 14 years of my 16 in State service.  This was after working for four years with Wal-Mart in its Sam's Club division, where my commendations for member service were so many that management ended up giving me a merit raise.  In my most recent employee review in my current position, Customer Service Assistant 2, I was ranked as "exceeds" in six of the seven categories.  The number of categories in which I scored as "exceeds" has increased from year to year over the last four years.  In my prior position, I received a letter of commendation from then-Director Kenneth Morckel for my assistance with the Homeland Security division.

I am also one of the key people behind alleviating the backlog in mail registrations one year ago, the backlog which resulted in much media attention.  I even came in on straight time to help with the backlog, straight time because I also took Cost Saving Days in the same week.  In 2010, I ended up personally mailing out more than 31,000 letters to customers whose mail-in registration renewals could not be processed.

The bill's establishment of merit pay is, obviously, not a concern.  And the maintaining of collective bargaining for wages and the amendment to keep the pay schedule (as I hear from reports on the amendments to the bill issued today) are a starting ground.  However, one issue (among many) I have with this bill is the State doing away with collective bargaining for health care.  It leaves unclear whether the plan that was agreed to by the Joint Health Care Committee for implementation July 1 will remain intact, much less how much this will cost.

Contrary to what your supporters would like the rest of Ohio's taxpayers to believe, I do not live an extravagant lifestyle.  I still rent the same studio apartment I have lived in since I moved here in 1992--$330 a month, with the same furnished items from day one except for a day bed in my living area that I got in 1995 when my Murphy bed broke.  Needless to say, I don't do much entertaining.  To give you some idea of how small the apartment is, I am writing this on my laptop five steps away from my bathroom.

I have no debt to my name, and all my bills are paid electronically directly from my checking account with the exception of my rent and renter's insurance.  I put $100 a week into retirement savings, and I am currently saving $100 a week toward the purchase of a new car.  My current car was purchased new in 2002 and paid off within one year. 

This would still leave some discretionary spending.  However, after being promoted twice in less than one year to my current position, I was reminded of a passage from Luke 12:48, "To whoever much is given, of him will much be required ," which was paraphrased by President John F. Kennedy:  "To those whom much is given, much is expected."  Therefore, I doubled my contributions to both my church and the State of Ohio Combined Charitable Campaign, of which I have been a Leadership Giver from the first year I could sign up and helped ODPS maintain its longstanding reputation of leading in CCC support.

I have maintained my higher giving levels even with the ten days of unpaid leave the last two years (a loss of more than $1,100 in take-home pay each year that I agreed to).  I have no problem in doing this again if it helps the State balance this budget.  And paying an additional $12-$13 per pay, the amount to bring my health care contribution to 20 percent, is not going to affect me.

However, when push comes to shove, the people who will be affected if there are substantial increases in health care and pension contributions, not to mention pay cuts, will not strictly be limited to State employees and their families.  If I have to cut my contributions back to prior to my previous promotions--50 percent of where they are now, the only contribution that will remain unscathed will be United Way of Central Ohio ($540, or $20 per pay).

My church, the Saint Thomas More Newman Center, would see its contribution cut to $600.  The $1,200 I currently contribute ($100 a month) is enough to subsidize the weekly spaghetti dinner for Ohio State students following the 6 p.m. Sunday Mass.

Here are the organizations, members of Central Ohio Community Shares, which would no longer receive contributions of $130 ($5 per pay) from me through the Combined Charitable Campaign:

Stonewall Columbus
Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization
Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism (The Free Press)
Neighborhood Services, Inc.

Neighborhood Services also receives between $150 and $200 from me every year in goods it requests from members of the Newman Center.  Last year, those items included canned vegetables, school supplies, yams and toys.

Finally, I would no longer be able to participate as a VIP ($100 donation) to the "Miracles and Magic" fundraiser for A Kid Again.  When I see my friend Jon Petz, the man behind the event next weekend, I do not relish the thought of having to tell him this may be the last time I will be able to support this agency which provides fun activities for children battling life-threatening illnesses.

I realize my comments would be in violation of Matthew 6:3 ("When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"), but it is also said that desperate times call for desperate measures.  And I know God and the organizations I just mentioned will forgive me as I do my part to avoid desperate times.

Be aware, Senator, that should Senate Bill 5 pass, I will be among those circulating petitions to put this before the voters.  Further, there is an effort on Facebook to start an initiative to add an amendment to the Ohio Constitution enabling recall elections against State officials.  I will also be in contact with Stonewall Columbus to purchase booth space, likely my last donation to Stonewall, to provide a place to collect petition signatures at this year's Pride event.

In closing, also be aware that should I lose my job in my effort to protect the rights of me and my fellow public service workers, finding a new job should not be difficult with respect to my work history.  However, it also means that I would be free of the "Little Hatch Act," thus enabling me to run against you in 2014.

Respectfully submitted,

Sean M. Gilbow