Hager Supports H.B. 6

Dorsey Hager, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer, made his regular appearance on America’s Workforce Radio and spoke to AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc about House Bill 6.

Dorsey Hager, C/COBCTC Executive Secretary-Treasurer

Earlier this year, Hager became one of the first building trades leaders in Ohio to publically state his support for keeping Perry Nuclear Power Plant and Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station open. As an insulator, he helped build both facilitates. The closure of both facilities would result in the loss of more than 4,000 jobs, which includes members multiple building trades. In late May, Ohio state representatives passed H.B. 6, which will subsidize Perry and Davis-Besse, while also lowering nearly all Ohioan’s electric bills. The Ohio Senate is expected to begin debate on the bill soon. In order to keep both plants open, plant officials have said H.B. 6 must be passed by the end of June, so fuel rods can be ordered to keep the plants running.

Hager called H.B. 6 an imperfect bill, but he hopes the Senate passes it. Currently, Ohio is producing more electricity than we use. If those plants close, there will be a need to import electricity from other states into Ohio. Additionally, he is concerned shuttering both plants will allow the oil and natural gas industries to charge higher amounts for the electricity their natural gas-fired plants produce.

America’s Workforce Radio Host Ed “Flash” Ferenc

Legislators at the Statehouse also recently passed a two-year Workers’ Compensation bill. This legislation will require employers to disclose if they employ an illegal alien, who now will not be covered by Workers’ Compensation. Both Ferenc and Hager believe this will lead to an even greater surge of illegal aliens going to a hospital’s emergency room to receive treatment for work-related injuries. The change in the bill is supposed to help deter the hiring of illegal immigrants, but Hager believes the only way to truly stop illegal immigration is to go after the companies who hire illegal aliens.

On the local political level, the C/COBCTC recently released their list of endorsed candidates. This year, they endorsed 22 of 38 candidates seeking endorsements.

Lastly, Hager talked about the C/COBCTC’s third annual Dollars Against Diabetes (D.A.D.’S) Clay Shoot. Held on June 8, the event drew its largest field of shooters, with nine teams. All proceeds from the event will benefit diabetes research.

Click here to listen to the entire interview, which also includes a discussion about the large field of Democratic contenders running in the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary.