Reply #143: WSJ Circling OH SB 5 - "Ohio GOP Revises Union Bill: Lawmakers, Fearing Legal Fights/ Backlash..."

[Hector Solon]

WSJ team is using blog posts in this story, mention of ALEC, but NOT direct connection to Ohio Senate Bill #5 - the anti-Union bill as ALEC 'model'

"Ohio GOP Revises Union Bill: Lawmakers, Fearing Legal Fights and a Voter Backlash, Soften Some Provisions" on MARCH 25, 2011, 6:46 P.M. ET:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703696704576222894142133456.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The most ambitious attempt by a state this year to restrict union rights is being scaled back to reflect some Republicans' concerns that it is vulnerable to legal challenges and would spark a backlash.

The leader of the effort to downsize Ohio Senate Bill 5 is Sen. Bill Seitz, a conservative who was behind the state law banning same-sex marriages and rules limiting damages in civil cases. Mr. Seitz and five other Republican state senators voted against the bill and are pressing for revisions in the state House, which is considering the bill now.

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Newly elected Ohio Gov. John Kasich has pushed for the bill, saying local governments need flexibility to rein in labor costs across the state, which faces an $8 billion shortfall.

The current Ohio bill goes further in scaling back public-employee union rights than the controversial measure recently passed in Wisconsin, which was opposed by five Republican lawmakers there.

Some Republicans say the Ohio bill risks a voter backlash, drawing parallels with the Republican Revolution of 1994 that gave Republicans control of the U.S. House. Two years later, the GOP gave up some gains to Democrats, with some Republicans blaming overly aggressive moves by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

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Mr. Seitz believes the bill could be tossed out by voters unless some changes are made. "I am cast in an unlikely role" as the improbable labor ally, he said. The lawmaker was named "legislator of the year" in 2008 by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group of more than 2,000 lawmakers nationwide who support free markets and limited government.

Newt of course is ALEC centric in his bid for POTUS in 2012, and spoke to ALEC recently in Dallas - the "replace the left" thing and using the states as "a laboratory of change".
http://www.aei.org/speech/100180

Don't hold your breath on the WSJ breaking this, but they are on it, no doubt.