Around Ohio business owners are showing their support for public workers. They are doing this by joining an organization that is speaking out against Senate Bill 5, which would limit the collective bargaining power of public employees. The organization is called, “Proud Ohio Workers.” They have more than 530 small businesses as members through all of Ohio’s counties. Click here to see members in your county and thank these businesses by patronizing them.
I give props to WKBN talk radio’s host, Ron Verb for speaking out for the rights of public employees and opposing SB5. It’s not easy to do when his boss Dan Rivers is trashing public employees on his own morning show. The irony is that Ron is broadcasting from, O’Charley’s studios and has a lot of advertisers who contributed money to Gov. Kasich and the GOP politicians who support SB5. O’Charleys is owned by Sam Covelli who also owns Panera Bread. Sam and other Covelli family members donated almost $35,00 to Kasich and other Republicans like Rob Portman. While listening to Ron you will hear him do a live commercial with Mervyn Hollander who owns, Weather Tite Windows. Mervyn donated to the Republican National Committee. Another advertiser is grocery store owner, Henry Nemenz. Nemenz donated money to Kasich and Dewine. Nemenz owns nine Save-A-Lot stores and four IGAs. His son, Henry Jr., also owns and operates four Save-A-Lots in the region. Ron also does commercials for Thom Duma Fine Jewelery who donated $1,000 to Kasich’s campaign.
Here is an interesting list that will show who gave to who around the country. If you type in the Youngstown area you will see business executive Bill Johnson gave more money to Republicans that anyone in the Youngstown area. The Republican candidate Bill gave the most to was himself. He wrote check after check which helped him become U.S. Republican congressman in the 6th District. Bill was doing so much check writing, I’m surprised he had time to get out and campaign for votes. So far Bill is doing a bang up job of taking care of the privileged at the expense of the middle-class and poor which makes him a …………regular Republican.
From looking at the list of people who gave to Republican candidates I see two teachers, a substitute teacher and a steelworker. These are the kind of professions that are under attack by the GOP but some people do things against their own economic interests. Locally on the list is the owner and the chairman of AVI Foods who both donated to Kasich. I will now be boycotting the food in the AVI vending machines at work. I will also boycott: Wendell August Forge, veterinarian Dr. Allen, O’Charley’s Restaurant, Panera Bread, Nemenz grocery stores, Weather Tite Windows, Summitville Tile, Coates Car Care, Salvatore’s Italian Grill and Thom Duma’s Fine Jewlery. I’ve been told by someone who is personally asking businessmen in the Trumbull County area that the owner of Salvator’s Italian Grill personally told him he supports SB5.
I’d say if you go to restaurants or any establishment, contractor, doctor, dentist, veterinarian, investor, insurance man etc. you need to ask them if they support SB5 before you do business with them. I for one can’t afford to be a customer of Duma’s who is the only Rolex watch dealer in the area. Working class families can’t afford to be customers with any business that seeks to economically undermine us by supporting politicians that ignore working people’s interests. Here is a list of local businesses I will also be boycotting. I will use these lists as my own personal, “Angie’s List in Reverse” of businesses I won’t be doing business with.
I am a big supporter of buying local and supporting your community. Unfortunately, we have local businesses that don’t support working class families like yours and mine. On the other hand there are plenty of local businesses that earn your support. There are also businesses on the fence and to tear down those fences we have to speak up and let businesses know their customers are working class and that we can help one another. It’s all part of the solidarity that makes for good community or what the word means broken down………common unity.
Dan Bern: President
The community which has neither poverty nor riches will always have the noblest principles. ~ Plato
Elecpencil 
I know most of those men who own the business in Warren, and they are all very smart and hardworking. That is why they are so successful. The media is distorting what SB5 actually is for. It would save jobs by cutting costs for local governments, it would reduce the state budget, cut taxes for Ohioans, it Introduces Merit Pay for public employees, protects non-union employees from paying Union dues, and simply asks public employees to contribute to their pension. Whats wrong in that? The Unions are becoming greedy and corrupted, and I applaud the public employees who realize this and support SB5. The bill is not taking away their rights, we are simply asking them to be more like all the private sector employees in Ohio, who in fact make more money on average than Union members. Boycotting those companies is not going to send a message to any of those owners. They could probably care less, all of them are still going to be making money. Why stop going somewhere just because the owner does not support something? Everyone is entitled to their opinion, this is America for God’s sake.
What planet do you inhabit? Greedy unions? Would that be GM who has two tiers or Delphi that has three and almost had four. Are those strong and greedy unions? I am now paid by the public sector for the last ten years before that I worked at a union job in the private sector for 28 years. Even with a union 24 of those years were under concessionary contracts. Is that a strong union? My employers went to jail for price fixing and the business closed. They also stole 4 years of our pensions. Now, you want me to be treated like that as I work in the public sector. Truth is even with the concessions I made twice as much in the private sector and you still want me to work for less. My recent contract has me paying 15% of my healthcare, my co-pays doubling and no raise for the 3 years of the contract. Is that a powerful union? Almost everyone I know in the public sector has got the same contracts. The cuts have already been in effect for sometime for the public sector so we don’t need lies that public sector workers have unreasonable contracts. I want to make twice as much like my old private sector job but you want me to work for even less than I am now. The business owners I mentioned want me and my family even poorer so fuck them. Why would I do business with them? This is indeed America and I refuse to do business with people that want to harm my family. I offer that info to others so they may indeed make up their own minds. I’m sorry to hear you would do business with companies that don’t respect you and yours. SB5 is near 600 pages any bill that long and complicated is nothing the people of Ohio need.