TERRE HAUTE — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Schellinger said if elected, one of his first actions would be to restore collective bargaining rights to state employees.
On the first day, “I will sign an executive order reinstating collective bargaining” on behalf of state workers, he said Wednesday during a visit to Terre Haute.
He also would work on legislation to make those rights permanent “so that it’s not at the whim of every governor,” said Schellinger, who conducted a news conference at Laborers Local 204.
When Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels took office in January 2005, he rescinded collective bargaining powers for state employees and canceled settlement agreements for about 25,000 state workers, saying the arrangements hindered his ability to quickly reshape state government.
While in Terre Haute on Wednesday, Schellinger received two key legislative endorsements and outlined his economic development and health care policy initiatives, part of “Pick Up Indiana.” He’ll announce his education proposals later this week and he’ll have proposals related to government reform.
He was endorsed by state Sen. Tim Skinner and state Rep. Clyde Kersey. Those attending the announcement included Vigo County elected officials, union leaders and laid-off union workers.
“We deserve better leadership in our state,” said Schellinger, who faces Jill Long Thompson in the May 6 Democratic primary.
“I have never seen us more polarized than we are today” on such issues as the economy, health care, the environment, daylight-saving time and privatization, Schellinger said,
Education would be a top priority for him as governor, he said.
“I believe education is the cornerstone to everything we do in the state,” said Schellinger, president of CSO Architects in Indianapolis. “I believe we should put forth an education-first budget. We should take care of our kids first and foremost before we take care of anything else in this state.”
He described his jobs plan, which focuses on work-force training, small-business development and creation of “green collar” jobs tied to new environmental technologies.
Indiana has lost 27,000 manufacturing jobs since Gov. Daniels took office and the state has a high rate of personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures, he said.
Some of the initiatives in his jobs plan proposal include:
n Adding $1 million in state funding for advanced manufacturing training, which would help smaller manufacturers acquire the skills and techniques needed to compete in a global economy.
n Creating a state fund, with $7.5 million each of the first two years and $5 million annually after that, to provide seed money to universities and private research firms that are developing the environmental technologies of the future.
Green-collar jobs “are jobs that cannot be easily outsourced,” Schellinger said.
n Allowing jobless people who are getting unemployment benefits — or who received them within the past six months — to attend classes free at state universities, colleges and technical schools if space is available.
Schellinger’s health care plan focuses on making health care accessible and affordable; reducing costs; increasing enrollment and preventative care; and ensuring a supply of health care workers.
Schellinger said 748,000 Hoosiers have no health insurance, and 123,000 of those are children, based on 2006 U.S. Census Bureau figures.
His plan would provide incentives for small businesses to provide health insurance coverage and it would increase preventive screenings at schools. It would provide discounted prescription drugs for the uninsured.
He also would push for federal expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides federal funds to cover health insurance costs of low-income children. President Bush vetoed expansion of the program.
Skinner said he is endorsing Schellinger in part because of his strong support for public education. “I’m tired of Indiana public schools being beat on and told that they are a failure,” Skinner said.
Kersey said Schellinger is interested in working men and women, and their right to bargain collectively. He’s also concerned about issues affecting senior citizens and public education.
“We need a new governor in the Statehouse,” Kersey said. Gov. Daniels “doesn’t listen to the people.”
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
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