The off-year elections usually don’t attract much voter fervor, but don’t tell that to labor unions in Ohio. They have amassed more than $30 million to fight for a ballot measure next Tuesday that would repeal restrictions on collective-bargaining rights for public employees.
The effort, dubbed “We Are Ohio,” has given the labor movement in the state and nationally a shot in the arm after the prolonged economic downturn thinned union rolls and last year’s election propelled many pro-business Republicans into power.
“It has revitalized organized labor, which was frankly demoralized in 2010,” says political scientist John Green, the director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. “This is an issue that strikes at the core of their issues and values. There really is labor solidarity in Ohio right now.”
At issue is a law known as Senate Bill 5, championed by Republican Gov. John Kasich and passed by the legislature solely on straight Republican Party–line votes, which restricts the bargaining rights of public employees and their unions.
The state’s 350,000 public employees have been joined by private- sector unions and national labor groups to mount the counterattack, prompting a ballot initiative that would repeal the law before it took effect. Some, including the teachers' unions, have even levied additional dues to help pay for the campaign.
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/06/labor-amasses-war-chest-to-fight-ohio-collective-bargaining-measure.html
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