April 06, 2011 NILRR News Clips

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Report: S.B. 5 could save Ohio $1.3B annually

Columbus Business Journal Online, 4/05/2011

The figure includes about $191 million in annual savings by
eliminating step pay increases as existing contracts expire. Other tenets of
S.B. 5, which Gov. John Kasich signed Thursday, are expected to save city and
county governments and school districts nearly $1.1 billion, the news service
reported.

Unions want members to pay for SB 5 referendum

Columbus Dispatch Online, 4/05/2011

Betting on an expensive referendum drive, opponents of
Senate Bill 5 are turning to rank-and-file union members to help cover campaign
costs predicted to reach $20 million.

At least three statewide labor organizations – the Ohio
Education Association, the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio
Association of Professional Fire Fighters – are considering charging members
extra fees to fund a ballot effort to repeal a GOP-backed bill signed by Gov.
John Kasich last week that would limit collective-bargaining rights for state-
and local-government employees.

Union backers tie rallies to MLK

Columbus Dispatch Online, 4/05/2011

Labor unions and civil-rights groups held hundreds of
rallies and teach-ins yesterday to defend collective bargaining and to tie it to
the cause the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting for in the days before
his death 43 years ago.

Repeal effort ramps up as labor ranks dwindle

Toledo Blade Online, 4/05/2011

According to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, the
number of Ohio workers who belonged to unions in 2010 was about 655,000,
representing a new low of 13.7 percent of all employment. That compares to about
931,000 in 1997, or 18.9 percent, when the workers’ compensation law was
trounced.

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