Ohio voters reject law restricting public-sector bargaining

In a victory being hailed by labor unions across the country, Ohio voters on Nov. 8 roundly rejected a controversial measure that would have rescinded the collective-bargaining and other labor rights of the state’s more than 360,000 public employees.

Issue 2, a referendum on Ohio’s Senate Bill 5, which Republican Gov. John Kasich signed into law on March 31 but was put on hold during the campaign to repeal it, was defeated with 61 percent of voters casting ballots against it and only 39 percent for it. Nearly 2.4 million Ohioans voted on the measure.

Labor unions across the country have hailed it as a victory for all working people and a rebuke to Republicans intent on rolling back the power of organized labor.

“One message rang loud and clear tonight in Ohio and across the country,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “Those who spend their time scapegoating workers and pushing a partisan agenda will only strengthen the resolve of working people.”

The repeal effort was led by We Are Ohio, a union-funded organization that raised more than $26 million and enlisted upward of 17,000 volunteers to defeat the measure. The pro-Issue 2 forces, calling themselves Building A Better Ohio, spent $20 million on the fight.

Had it gone into effect, the law would have prohibited bargaining on health benefits for state and local workers, including teachers, police officers and firefighters, and required them to contribute to both their health care and pension benefits. It also would have made it much harder to collect union dues or negotiate on staffing and would have pushed forward the introduction of merit pay for teachers in the state.

Huffington Post, Nov. 8

Mother Jones, Nov. 8