Congratulations to the Faculty Alliance of Miami (FAM), which now has two bargaining units that have been certified by the State Employment Relations Board (SERB)!

The first bargaining unit, which won the right to representation on May 17 for full-time tenure-track and full-time non-tenure-track faculty (what Miami refers to as TCPLs–teaching and clinical professors and lecturers), was won with a 65% vote in favor of the union.

On June 14, the second bargaining unit–for Miami librarians–won by a unanimous 100% vote in favor of unionization. Due to a SERB decision that faculty and librarians could not be in the same unit, the librarians had to form what is technically a separate union but will also be represented by FAM.

FAM also plans to move forward with a unionization campaign for their Visiting Assistant Professors (VAPs), which SERB ruled are public employees under Ohio law and not “seasonal and casual employees” as the Miami University administration tried to argue.

Again, congratulations to the faculty at Miami! Unionization is hard work. This effort took years of dedication from faculty volunteers with support from AAUP and AFT, but the end result of being able to bargain contracts with the employer for the betterment of faculty, students, and the instructional mission of Miami University is well worth it!

On Wednesday, June 14, the Ohio House and Ohio Senate each took action on Senate Bill 83. In the House, the Higher Education Committee floated a new substitute version of SB 83. In the Senate, the Finance Committee adopted an omnibus amendment to the state budget bill (HB 33), which included the Senate-passed version of SB 83 with a few tweaks. On June 15, the full Senate approved the budget bill–with the SB 83 components–along a party-line vote of 24-7.

New House Version of SB 83
For the new version of SB 83 in the House, this comparison document outlines the differences between the Senate-passed version of the bill and their new version of the bill. Anything that is not referenced in this “comp doc” means that it is the same as the Senate-passed version of the bill.

The broad changes sought by the House are indicative of how deeply flawed SB 83 is, which begs the question of why House Republicans are bothering to pursue the bill at all. It is possible that they use this version of the bill as the basis of their positions during the state budget conference committee.

Here are the highlights of the changes:

-Removes the prohibitions on bargaining subjects

-Removes post-tenure review

-Removes workload language

-Removes reference of faculty remaining committed to expressing intellectual diversity

-Allows institutions to design required government/history course instead of the chancellor

-Reduces the weight of student evaluations in the teaching component of faculty evaluations from 50% to 25% and allows institutions to develop the evaluations instead of the chancellor

-Removes multiple reporting requirements to the chancellor

-Revises language restricting college and university speech to clarify that institutions may make statements on matters that directly impact its funding or mission of discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge

-Increases syllabi requirements to also include a calendar of when certain materials and topics will be covered, as well as list required and recommended readings

-Changes university trustee term lengths to six years

-Removes that institutions have to change their mission statements and instead requires institutions to create a “statement of principles”

-Removes the requirement to apply for DEI program exemptions if DEI is needed to fulfill grant, licensure, accreditation or other requirements

Unfortunately, the section that would ban strikes for campus unions remains in this version, but we believe this is more indicative of the positions of those legislators working directly on this new iteration of the bill and not necessarily reflective of House Republicans at large.

SB 83 in Senate Version of State Budget (HB 33)
As we have anticipated since SB 83 was first introduced, the Senate included SB 83 in its 9,000-page version of HB 33 that it passed yesterday, which included this 2,000-page omnibus amendment of numerous policy changes, many of which have nothing to do with state appropriations.

There were several small changes between the Senate-passed version of SB 83 and the language in the budget bill:

-Removes that institutions have to change their mission statements and instead requires institutions to create a “statement of commitment”

-Reduces the impact of student evaluations on the teaching component of faculty evaluations from 50% to at least 25%

-Allows faculty to appeal their final annual evaluation

-Supplies a definition of retrenchment: “Retrenchment” means a process by which a state institution of higher education reduces programs or services, thus resulting in a temporary suspension or permanent separation of one

or more institution faculty, to account for a reduction in student population or overall funding, a change to institutional missions or programs, or other fiscal pressures or emergencies facing the institution.

–Requires boards of trustees to establish a process for handling complaints in regards to the portions of the bill governing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or trainings

-Changes university trustee term lengths to six years

Altering aspects of a bill that the Senate already passed is an implicit admission that SB 83 is still a flawed bill and needs to undergo a much more thorough review. But a more thorough vetting would not have aligned with their goal to bury this into the budget bill.

Other Higher Education Changes in Budget

In addition to SB 83, Senate Republicans put other higher education policy changes into the budget bill. You can view those changes in this comparison document.

Here are some of the noteworthy changes:

-Includes the elements of SB 117 in establishing “intellectual diversity” institutes at the University of Toledo and The Ohio State University

-Allows the need-based Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) to be awarded to students at any two- or four-year state institution

-Caps tuition guarantee programs for new student cohorts at no more than 3% above the previous academic year’s cohort

-Allows students to opt-out of vaccine mandates

-Prohibits state universities from requiring students to live in on-campus housing, unless a state university requires only first-year students who live more than 25 miles away from campus to live in on-campus student housing

-Allows institutions to lease land if certain conditions are met

-Strips voting power from The Ohio State University student trustees and prohibits them from attending executive sessions

In terms of overall funding, the Senate-passed budget keeps higher education funding relatively unchanged from the House version of the bill. Unfortunately, it is a far cry from the solid increases that Gov. DeWine had proposed in his executive budget.

What’s Next?
We believe that the House of Representatives will vote against concurring with the Senate’s budget changes, thus sending HB 33 to a conference committee. There will be six members to the committee–three from each chamber, two of whom will represent the majority party and the other the minority party. The committee will hammer out a final version of the bill, which then will be approved by both chambers before being sent to the governor. Gov. DeWine has line-item veto authority.

The budget bill must be signed by June 30 in order for it to take effect on July 1 for the beginning of the next fiscal year. If an agreement cannot be reached in time, the legislature will have to pass continuing resolutions for the state to be funded at current levels until there is an agreement. Due to the wide range of disagreements between the House and Senate, HB 33 may not be settled by the statutory deadline.

Once we know who the members of the conference committee are, we will provide that information and encourage you to contact them to ask that they remove SB 83 from the budget. We also will ask you to continue contacting the governor to ask him to line-item veto any elements of SB 83 that make it into the final budget bill.

In the meantime, please continue making calls and sending personalized emails to your State Representative, House Republican members, and Gov. DeWine. Click here for a spreadsheet of targets and contact information. For the Representatives, use both email addresses. We highly recommend that you use your personal email address for these communications.

Remember to keep your communications concise and courteous. Phone calls likely will be answered by an aide or go to voicemail. Personalize your message with how the bill would negatively impact your teaching, students, and institution.

Here is a sample script for calls and emails to State Representatives:

I am calling/writing today to urge Representative [last name] to oppose Senate Bill 83 in the state budget bill. SB 83 is a dangerous bill that not only attacks union rights for campus employees, but also attempts to micromanage classroom instruction and college and university operations. The bill will drive up costs for students and deter quality faculty and students from choosing Ohio institutions. SB 83 isn’t salvageable and should be removed from the budget bill.

Here is a sample script for calls and emails to Gov. DeWine:

I want to make sure that Gov. DeWine is aware that Senate Bill 83 is now part of the state operating budget bill. SB 83 threatens quality higher education and workforce development in Ohio. I sincerely hope that the governor will exercise his line-item veto power to eliminate any pieces of SB 83 that might make it into the final budget bill.

Thank you for your continued engagement and activism!

Senate Bill 83 Expected in State Budget Bill

This week, the Ohio Senate will unveil their version of House Bill 33, the state operating budget bill. We anticipate that at least some, but likely all, of SB 83 will be amended into HB 33.

It is less clear what may happen in the Ohio House. It is our understanding that SB 83 as it is currently written likely does not have sufficient support in the House Higher Education Committee. We would expect the bill to undergo further revisions before that committee would call for a vote. At this juncture, it appears clear that SB 83 will be the vehicle and HB 151 (the companion bill) will be sidelined. Even if SB 83 were to pass from the House Committee, we believe it ultimately will be dealt with in the budget bill conference committee.

Last week, unions across the labor spectrum united on a letter that was sent to all members of the Ohio House of Representatives. It sends an important message to House Republicans, who are less anti-union than Senate Republicans, that all of labor is watching and will not tolerate anti-union legislation. Feel free to share that letter far and wide, especially with your own State Representative.

TAKE ACTION: Contact House Republicans & The Governor

We ask you to take the time to make calls and send personalized emails to House Republican members and Gov. DeWine. Click here for a spreadsheet of targets and contact information. For the Representatives, use both email addresses. We highly recommend that you use your personal email address for these communications.

Remember to keep your communications concise and courteous. Phone calls likely will be answered by an aide or go to voicemail. Personalize your message with how the bill would negatively impact your teaching, students, and institution.

Here is a sample script for calls and emails to State Representatives:

I am calling/writing today to urge Representative [last name] to oppose Senate Bill 83. This is a dangerous bill that not only attacks union rights for campus employees, but also attempts to micromanage classroom instructions and college and university operations. The bill will drive up costs for students and deter quality faculty and students from choosing Ohio institutions. SB 83 isn’t salvageable. Please also reject any attempts to put the contents of SB 83 into the state operating budget.

Here is a sample script for calls and emails to Gov. DeWine:

I want to make sure that Gov. DeWine is aware of Senate Bill 83, legislation that threatens quality higher education and workforce development in Ohio. Should this bill reach his desk, I sincerely hope that the governor will exercise his veto power. Should any of the components of SB 83 make it into the state operating budget, I hope that Gov. DeWine will exercise his line-item veto authority.

We will continue to provide updates and action items as the process unfolds. We know that this is a frustrating process, but we must keep up the fight. Please share this information and ensure your colleagues are still paying attention during the summer. Lawmakers will take our silence as acceptance; so it’s important that we keep making noise, not only for the sake of our profession and academic freedom, but for the sake of our students and quality higher education!

Senate Bill 117 Receives Third Hearing

On Wednesday, May 31, Prof. Steve Mockabee delivered interested party testimony on behalf of OCAAUP to the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee about SB 117. You can find our testimony here and watch the entire hearing here. This was the third hearing of the bill at which all testimony–proponent, opponent, and interested party–were accepted.

SB 117 would create two institutes–one at the University of Toledo, the other at The Ohio State University–that would “conduct teaching and research in the historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society.” The purported goal of these institutes is to create “intellectual diversity” on these campuses.

The institutes would be overseen by academic councils and run by directors. Mockabee noted that OCAAUP fundamentally disagrees with the “need” for such institutes, but more pointedly addressed the many issues with the proposed compositions of the academic councils, the lack of process for hiring faculty at the institute, and other pieces of the bill that are vague and require clarifications.

This Wednesday, SB 117 will receive its fourth hearing and likely will be voted out of committee and head to the Senate floor for a full vote by the chamber. Due to the appropriations that are attached to this bill to initially fund the institutes, we expect that this bill also is primed to be amended into the state budget bill.

Senate Bill 83 Passes Senate

On May 17, the Ohio Senate passed Sub. SB 83 by a vote of 21-10. Three Republicans (Sens. Blessing, Manning, and Reynolds) joined all seven Democrats in opposing the bill. Two Republican members were absent from the vote. The bill still would have to be approved by the House of Representatives and then signed by the governor before becoming law.

Before Sub. SB 83 passed committee, an amendment was accepted that changed several provisions of the bill. Of particular importance to faculty, the amendment removed mention of a specific credit hour requirement for full-time faculty workload. The bill now requires each state institution to include in its faculty workload policy a teaching workload expectation based on credit hours, a definition of all faculty workload elements in terms of credit hours including a full-time minimum standard established by the board of trustees, justifiable credit hour equivalents, and any administrative action that the state institution may take if a faculty member fails to comply with the policy’s requirements.

The amendment also changed the section on annual performance reviews of faculty, but merely to clarify that the reviews are intended for full-time faculty only, not part-time faculty. You can view the full, “as passed by the Senate” version of Sub. SB 83 here.

While we are disappointed in the outcome of the Senate vote, we are not surprised. Unfortunately, despite outreach attempts to Sen. Cirino and other Republicans, they were not willing to seriously talk with faculty about this bill and referred to the bill as “an urgent course correction for higher education.” It seems to us that the only urgent course correction that is needed is redistricting reform that prevents the kind of gerrymandering that enables a hyper-partisan legislature that passes deeply unpopular and widely opposed bills.

The day before the Senate vote, The Ohio State University Board of Trustees released a statement opposing SB 83. The Inter-University Council (IUC) of Ohio also sent a letter to Sen. Cirino outlining their outstanding concerns with the bill. Unfortunately, this last-minute opposition and concern by university administrations came too late to have a sufficient impact.

House Bill 151 Opponent Hearing

Also on May 17, Sub. HB 151–the companion bill to Sub. SB 83–received an opponent hearing in the House Higher Education Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Tom Young (R-Washington Twp.). There were 58 witnesses who showed up to testify in person, with 171 written opponent testimonies submitted. Unfortunately, due to the time restraints imposed by the chairman for the hearing, the vast majority of witnesses who showed up did not have the opportunity to testify. Moreover, Rep. Josh Williams (R-Oregon), a primary sponsor of the bill and member of the committee, failed to show up for any portion of yesterday’s hearing. It is clear that they know this bill is broadly opposed, but they don’t want to listen.

Nevertheless, yesterday’s hearing brought out quality testimony from faculty, students, and allied organizations. Prof. Steve Mockabee gave testimony on behalf of OCAAUP and received a number of questions from committee members about the importance of collective bargaining and tenure and about the ways in which this bill is already hurting faculty recruitment in Ohio.

Another notable witness was Prof. John Plecnik from Cleveland State University’s law school. Prof. Plecnik is a Republican Lake County Commissioner, who testified to the fact that this bill actually would do more to silence conservative voices on campus than it would to promote conservative viewpoints. You can watch the full hearing here on the Ohio Channel.

Next Wednesday, May 24, at 10:30 am, the House Higher Education Committee will hold a third hearing on Sub. HB 151 for interested party testimony. Interested parties are people or groups who have not taken a position on the bill but have a stake in the legislation. Pending formal referral, the committee also will hold a first hearing for sponsor testimony only on Sub. SB 83. It is unclear at this time which bill they ultimately will use as the vehicle moving forward. It may be Sub. SB 83, since it contains the additional amendments referenced above.

TAKE ACTION: Contact House Members & The Governor

We now turn our attention and activism toward the House of Representatives and Gov. DeWine.

You can easily email all of them using Honesty for Ohio Education’s Action Network Page. There is a form letter provided, which you can edit as you’d like. Please take action and share that widely!

You can also start calling Speaker Stephens and the Republican members of the House Higher Education Committee to ask them to stop the bill. Here is a sample script: “Hello, I am calling to ask Representative [Representative’s last name] to oppose House Bill 151 and Senate Bill 83. They are terrible bills that will undermine quality higher education for Ohio’s students. They represent the largest attack on union rights since Senate Bill 5 in 2011. They must be stopped.”

Speaker Jason Stephens: (614) 466-1366

Chair Tom Young: (614) 466-6504

Rep. Adam Bird: (614) 644-6034

Rep. Bill Dean: (614) 466-1470

Rep. Gayle Manning: (614) 644-5076

Rep. Derek Merrin: (614) 466-1731

Rep. Gail Pavliga: (614) 466-2004

Rep. Justin Pizzulli: (614) 466-2124

Rep. Nick Santucci: (614) 466-5441

Rep. Josh Williams: (614) 466-1418

Rep. Bernard Willis: (614) 466-2038

The script for Gov. DeWine should be something along the lines of: “Hello, I want to make sure that Gov. DeWine is aware of House Bill 151 and Senate Bill 83, companion bills that threaten quality higher education in Ohio. Should either of these bills reach his desk, I sincerely hope that the governor will exercise his veto power.”

Gov. Mike DeWine: (614) 644-4357

We will continue to provide updates and action items as the process unfolds. We know that this is a frustrating process, but we must keep up the fight. Please share this information and ensure your colleagues are still paying attention now that we are in summer mode. Lawmakers will take our silence as acceptance; so it’s important that we keep making noise, not only for the sake of our profession, but for the sake of our students and quality higher education!

Wednesday, May 17 at the Statehouse

-9:30 am (North Hearing Room, 2nd Floor)
Sub. SB 83 final hearing (written testimony only)

-10:30 am (Room 017, Ground Floor)
Sub. HB 151 hearing (in-person and written testimony)

-1:30 pm (Senate Chambers)
Senate session, possible vote on Sub. SB 83

What actions can you take?

1) Submit written testimony on Sub. SB 83

You must email the written testimony and your completed witness slip to the chair’s office at lynna.freeman@ohiosenate.gov no later than Tuesday, May 16 at 9:30 am (testimony must be received 24 hours in advance of the hearing).

Witness Slip
Testimony Template

2) Submit testimony on Sub. HB 151

If you are submitting testimony–whether written-only or you plan to testify in-person–you must email the testimony and your completed witness slip to the chair’s office at OHRHigherEducationCommittee@ohiohouse.gov no later than Tuesday, May 16 at 10:30 am (testimony must be received 24 hours in advance of the hearing).

Witness Slip
Testimony Template

In-person witnesses will be limited to five minutes of testimony, and the hearing will have a hard stop at 1:00 pm. Please don’t let that deter you from showing up and being ready to give testimony!

3) Show up to the Statehouse on Wednesday!

We need to have a strong showing at the Statehouse for the following events on Wednesday:

-Sub. SB 83 Senate hearing (9:30 am, North Hearing Room–the committee is likely to favorably report the bill)
-Sub. HB 151 House hearing (10:30 am, Room 017)
-Senate session (1:30 pm, Senate Chambers–the full Senate is likely to vote on Sub. SB 83)

We will have stickers with the graphic in this article to hand out to people to wear into committee rooms and Senate session. Plan to arrive early in Columbus to give yourself enough time to find parking, go through Statehouse security, and make your way to the hearing room.

4) Call Senators on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

Since there is the impending vote on Sub. SB 83 this week, we want to focus phone calls on Republican Senators.

Call them with a simple message, such as: “Hello, I am calling to ask Senator [Senator’s last name] to vote against Senate Bill 83 this week. This is a terrible bill that will undermine quality higher education for Ohio’s students. This is also the largest attack on union rights since Senate Bill 5 in 2011. SB 83 should be stopped.”

President Matt Huffman: 614-466-7584

Sen. Jerry Cirino:614-644-7718

Sen. Michael Rulli: 614-466-8285

Sen. Bill Reineke: 614-466-8049

Sen. Michele Reynolds: 614-466-8064

Sen. Rob McColley: 614-466-8150

Sen. Theresa Gavarone: 614-466-8060

Sen. George Lang: 614-466-8072

Sen. Niraj Antani: 614-466-4538

Sen. Steve Wilson: 614-466-9737

Sen. Louis Blessing: 614-466-8068

Sen. Bob Hacket: 614-466-3780

Sen. Nathan Manning: 614-644-7613

Sen. Terry Johnson: 614-466-8082

Sen. Stephanie Kunze: 614-466-5981

Sen. Shane Wilkin: 614-466-8156

Sen. Andrew Brenner: 614-466-8086

Sen. Tim Schaffer: 614-466-8076

Sen. Mark Romanchuk: 614-466-7505

Sen. Matt Dolan: 614-466-8056

Sen. Kirstina Roegner: 614-466-4823

Sen. Kirk Schuring: 614-466-0626

Sen. Frank Hoagland: 614-466-6508

Sen. Al Landis: 614-466-5838

Sen. Sandra O’Brien: 614-466-7182

Sen. Steve Huffman: 614-466-6247

You will either speak to an aide or have to leave a voice message. Keep it short and courteous.

Now is the time to take action and encourage everyone you know to take action! Thank you for all that you are doing to push back on these bills. If you have questions, reply to this email.