Falls High Auditorium Packed for Senate Bill 5 Rally

Community and union members opposed to Senate Bill 5, a bill that would end collective bargaining for public employees in Ohio, poured into the auditorium Thursday at 4:30 p.m. to attend a protest rally hosted by the North Eastern Ohio Education Association.

The proposed bill would affect public employees including firefighters, police officers, and teachers. Public employers would be permitted to permanently replace workers in the event of a strike, and layoffs could occur for reasons other than the employee's length of service.

Rebecca Higgins, President of the NEOEA and a first-grade teacher in the Copley-Fairlawn City School district, was the first to step behind the podium and begin the rally.

“Senate Bill 5 is hogwash,” Higgins exclaimed, riling up the protesters. “He who wrestles with us,” she continued, quoting Edmund Burke, a British supporter of the American Revolution, “strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill.”

Other officials spoke during the rally as well, including Ohio Education Association President Patricia Frost-Brooks, Cuyahoga Falls Education Association President Diane Clause, Congresswoman Betty Sutton, State Senator Tom Sawyer (D), and State Representative Kathleen Clyde (D).

Similar rallies took place across the state on Thursday; the bill could be voted on as early as Tuesday, March 1.