Before spring break, a “walkout” protest against Senate Bill 5 filled the Union oval. Tuesday, the opposition stayed in to examine the bill and educate others about it.

The Faculty Association hosted a teach-in from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Union Multipurpose Room.

Topics addressed included the basics of Senate Bill 5, the legislative process in Ohio, a history of unionization and tips for contacting legislators.

“We intend the day to be one of critical thinking and dialogue about this legislation which, if passed, will have a big impact on BGSU,” the FA said in a statement via e-mail Monday.

The event featured several faculty members and students from the University and surrounding community who spoke in opposition of the bill.

Nse Ufot, a lobbyist from the American Association of University Professors, traveled from Michigan to speak at the teach-in.

“This is what we want to get happening with students all around the country,” she said. “Bowling Green is at the forefront of getting the word out right now.”

Ufot is a public university graduate and said Senate Bill 5 is a personal issue for people like her who “work for a living.”

“It’s a direct attack on the working class,” she said. “It makes me angry … I applaud the AAUP chapter here for bringing this kind of coalition of people together because these are the kind of people that are going to be affected if Senate Bill 5 becomes law.”

The Ohio Senate approved the bill 17-16 on March 2 and the House is currently reviewing it.

If passed by the House, the bill would eliminate collective bargaining and striking rights for all public sector employees. The bill would also ban binding arbitration — when an impartial third party helps resolve contract disputes.

David Jackson, president of the new faculty union at the University, said specific language in Senate Bill 5 harms university faculty statewide by defining them as “management” and ineligible for collective bargaining. The language was amended by the Inter-University Council of Ohio, an association which represents the state’s 14 public universities.

“We view this as an excrescential threat,” Jackson said.

Proponents of Senate Bill 5 have praised it as a budget-balancing measure.

The University administration is in favor of the bill and the council’s position, according to a statement released Tuesday by Dave Kielmeyer, senior director of Communications. It will monitor the bill as it moves forward.

“In the meantime, BGSU will be following the existing laws governing collective bargaining and is preparing to begin negotiations with its newly formed faculty union,” the statement said.

If the bill is signed into law, Jackson said the FA will work with other unions to collect enough statewide signatures to put a veto referendum on the ballot in November and overturn it.

“If the bill passes, we’ll have 90 days to get around 230,000 signatures statewide,” he said. “We’ll do everything we can.”

Jackson said more than 100 people attended the teach-in throughout the day, and he was glad the University community showed interest in it and Ohio legislation.

“Even if we don’t get 1,000 people to come, the fact that we offered this opportunity for people is important,” he said. “This is in harmony with the kind of educational practices the University is promoting right now — education outside the classroom.”

Sophomore Shayna Noonen said the teach-in was informative and showed the solidarity of the FA and their commitment to education. She said she opposes Senate Bill 5 for personal reasons.

“My sister is an elementary school teacher and she just had a kid, so it’s a really terrible time for her to be losing collective bargaining rights and have her health insurance in jeopardy,” she said. “But personal connections aside, as a human being, I’m opposed to infringing the rights of another human being.”