Ohio votes down new law limiting union rights

State’s current bargaining rules will remain

November 09, 2011|Associated Press

The vote was a blow to Governor John Kasich, a Republican who had promoted… (Al Behrman/Associated…)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Voters handily rejected Ohio’s new law restricting union rights for public workers yesterday after an expensive union-backed campaign that pitted firefighters, police officers, and teachers against the Republican establishment.

In a political blow to Governor John Kasich, a Republican, Ohioans easily voted down the law, which limits the bargaining abilities of 350,000 unionized public workers.

Labor and business interests poured more than $30 million into the nationally watched campaign, and turnout was high for an off-year election.

The law hadn’t taken effect yet. Yesterday’s result means the state’s current union rules will stand, at least until the GOP-controlled Legislature determines its next move. House Speaker William Batchelder, a Republican, predicted last week that the more palatable elements of the collective bargaining bill - such as higher minimum contributions on worker health insurance and pensions - are likely to be revisited after the dust settles.

Earlier this year, thousands of people swarmed the State House in protest when the bill was being heard. The bill still allowed bargaining on wages, working conditions, and some equipment but banned strikes, scrapped binding arbitration, and dropped promotions based solely on seniority, among other provisions.

Kasich and fellow supporters promoted the law as a means for local governments to save money and keep workers. Their effort was supported by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business-Ohio, farmers, and others.

We Are Ohio, the largely union-funded opponent coalition, painted the issue as a threat to public safety and middle-class workers, spending millions of dollars on TV ads filled with images of firefighters, police officers, teachers, and nurses.

Celebrities came out on both sides of the campaign, with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and singer Pat Boone urging voters to retain the law and former astronaut and senator John Glenn and the Rev. Jesse Jackson urging them to scrap it.

Labor and business interests poured more than $30 million into the nationally watched campaign, with the law’s opponents far outspending and outnumbering its defenders.

Opponents reported raising $24 million as of mid-October, compared to about $8 million raised by the committee supporting the law, Building a Better Ohio.

Yesterday’s result in the closely divided swing state was expected to resonate from state houses to the White House ahead of the 2012 presidential election.