State

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012, Youngstown OH- OSP Hunger Strike Ends. After long negotiations with Warden David Bobby on Monday, May 7th, the hunger-striking prisoners at Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP) began eating again. Two of the men held out through Tuesday, unsatisfied with the agreement. The warden met with them separately, and they agreed to come off the strike. Warden Bobby reported that "by lunch time today, everyone was eating." This was confirmed by two prisoner sources.

At this point, details on agreements are unclear, but sources inside say that the hunger strikers are satisfied and feel they achieved results. One source described the demands and the Warden's response as "reasonable". Without going into detail, the main concerns were in regards to commissary costs, state pay rates, phone costs, length of stay, and harsh penalties for petty conduct reports. The Warden said that he discussed "many things" at Monday's meeting with strike representatives, "many things beyond the main demands" but he would not share any of the details.

Youngstown OH- Prisoners at Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP) continue the hunger strike they started on Monday April 30th, in solidarity with May Day.
The number of prisoners refusing food has fluctuated from 24 to 48 over the last week, as some prisoners joined late. Communication with the super max prisoners has been limited since the beginning of the strike, but a clear list of grievances and demands has emerged from at least two sources.

The two primary demands are:

1. Improved commissary practices and increased state pay. The prison commissary can set prices at up to 35% mark-up on basic necessities like shampoo, food, and soap. These prices fluctuate unexpectedly, and are often prohibitive to prisoners without outside support, as state pay is only $9 a month.

Thursday, May 3. According to a level 5 prisoner participating in the hunger strike at Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP) there are forty-eight (48) prisoners who have refused nine meals and should be officially recognized as on hunger strike. Warden Bobby refused to comment or return calls requesting information about the hunger strike.

The prisoner's demands include the following:
1. Lower commissary prices. One striker writes: "Commissary items are permitted to be marked up.to 35% above retail, while many of us receive only $8 a month."
2. No more indefinite terms. Prisoners on the highest security level at OSP (level 5) currently have little prospects for reducing their security level and increasing privileges. "We are taken in front of a privilege review board every 90 days, yet can expect no [increase in] privilege for a year or longer" the hunger striker says of prisoners on Level 5B. Men on Level 5A have a privilege level review every six months, but there has been no increase in their privileges in recognition of good conduct for some time.

On Monday, April 30, at least twenty five prisoners at Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP) began a hunger strike. They are demanding that the Warden meet and negotiate with them for improved conditions in Ohio's super-max prison. These hunger strikers say they intend to continue to refuse food until their demands are met. Another, larger group of prisoners will show symbolic solidarity with the hunger strikers, and workers outside of prison by also refusing food on a one-day fast tomorrow, for May Day, the international day of worker solidarity and resistance.

Information about the hunger strike is limited at this time, because super-max prisoners have very constrained access to communication with the outside world. The hunger strikers are asking supporters of their cause to participate by calling Warden David Bobby (330 743-0700) and ODRC director Gary Mohr (614-752-1164). The hunger strikers are asking people to encourage Warden Bobby to meet with the prisoners and take their demands seriously.

Chants of “Women’s rights, Human rights,” & “Our bodies belong to us, not you,” echoed off the walls of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus this Saturday, as hundreds of women (and men) rallied, demanding an end the GOP dominated legislature’s “War on Women!” The rally had been organized by a new group, WomenUnite, which was called together, according director Cathy Kaelin, to “combat the growing attacks on women’s rights in Ohio.”

“You are standing on historic ground,” stated Brian Rothenburg, Director of Progress Ohio. “96 years ago today thousands of women stood right here, without the right to vote, with no health care, no voice and no rights, they came to this building and stated that ‘they are Americans, too!’ Because they fought, we have a voice today. But the heirs of those who barred women from voting then are again trying to take our votes away, take our rights to health care away. We stand here united to say again; We Are Americans, too, & We Won’t Go Back!”

We need street theater and music. These issues are too important to leave to chants. But some of them were “We got to beat, beat beat back the corporate attack,” and “Rob Portman robs the poor man” and “1,2,3, 4, 5, everybody for the Buffet rule, say aye aye.”

Adrena Tartt said she was protesting because Senator Portman voted nay on the procedural vote for the Buffet rule.

"We need to get the word out to the citizens of Ohio that we have a senator that does not value the public’s concern about the 1 percent paying their fair share. The polls show a majority of citizens in Ohio support the Buffet rule.”

Chris Maxie said he was protesting to help restore fairness to the US economy.

3200 prisoners stuck in Ohio prisons with little or no hope of being released, despite being eligible for parole. These prisoners were sentenced to prison prior to the passing of Senate Bill 2 (SB2), which took effect in 1996. According to the law and the practices of the Parole Board before that time, these men and women had a reasonable hope of one day returning to society. Little did these prisoners know what was going to happen.

“We, the people of the city of Columbus, in order to secure and exercise the powers of local self government under the constitution of the state of Ohio do enact and ordain this charter.”

So begins the Charter of the City of Columbus, enacted by the voters in 1914. The Charter became the city’s authorizing and governing document following the State of Ohio’s enactment of Home Rule legislation in 1912.

But it is not a static document. The charter provided “the machinery with which the people may amend its provisions as future necessity may arise. The people will have the power to change it at any time to suit the requirements of a rapidly growing city, or to correct any possible defects which may develop in the new form of government.”

We just received the news that, due especially to all your solidarity efforts & those of steelworkers, their families, and all the people fighting for justice, a TENATIVE SETTLEMENT AT COOPER TIRE WAS JUST ANNOUNCED!!

Pending worker’s ratification of the announced settlement, the SATURDAY RALLIES ARE POSTPONED.

Just as the lockout of the Cooper Tire workers was an attack on all of us, this settlement is a victory for all of us who stood together with these embattled workers and their families. Only because of the solidarity efforts so far, and the announced escalation of our solidarity efforts, did Cooper management come back to the table and actually begin to negotiate again. THANK YOU ALL!!

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” - Paulo Freire
The Fate of the University
Higher education is changing. University administrations are budget cutting, privatizing, power consolidating, and tuition hiking. In Ohio, we’re facing the prospect of charterization of our public colleges through the enterprise university plan, and a larger trend of corporatization of our public educational institutions.