Former Buckeye here saying THANK YOU!

[liberalhistorian]

I was born and raised in OH and lived there most of my life before moving west several years ago in my early forties. Most of my family and friends remain in OH and I visit frequently. My parents are retired teachers who dedicated their lives to their profession and got shit for it in terms of money and respect/appreciation, and my mom is now giving up most of their oh-so-lavish (NOT!) pensions every month for my stepdad's nursing home care, with Medicaid picking up the rest (which means mom can hardly have anything while he's alive, they watch her like a hawk). They didn't even get to enjoy their retirement together, since his dementia condition began before he retired and he had to retire early because of it, AFTER dedicating nearly forty years to the children of Ohio. They began their careers before unionization of teachers and can tell some real horror stories of a teacher's life and working conditions without collective bargaining and unions. I have other family members who are police officers and public servants. The very thought of this bill and the very sight or mention of KaSUCK was and is enough to make me physically ill and too angry to see straight.

So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Ohio and those of you who voted against it, supported the efforts against it in any way and worked hard against it. On behalf of my parents, especially. My stepdad may not know anything anymore, but the unionized nurses who care for him day in and day outcertainly do, as does my mom and other family and friends in the public sector. And to see KaSUCK have his ass handed to him on a plate is just beyond sweet. That wasn't a defeat, that was a crushing, resounding blow. I couldn't believe OH could have elected the likes of KaSUCK, but it has more than redeemed itself now.