Here we go again: Ohio lawmakers make another attempt to strip workers of their rights

Two Ohio state lawmakers are taking another crack at limiting workers’ right to organize and stand up for fair wages and safe working conditions. Bills set to be unveiled today by Reps. Ron Maag (R-Lebanon) and Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) come two years after voters rose up and defeated a similar effort supported by Gov. John Kasich (R). These lawmakers are sure to meet their match in Ohio, one of the most pro-labor states in the nation.

This time around, proponents seek to weaken the rights of employees through two different pieces of legislation. Rep. Maag’s bill would apply to public employees, while Rep. Roegner’s measure would apply to the private sector. While both claim the "right-to-work" legislation would create new jobs, the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that economists and academics give little credence to that view.

Explaining the union-haters’ strategy, the newspaper states:

Introducing two bills would allow Republicans a chance for at least a partial victory. If right-to-work for private sector workers proves unpopular, Republicans might push through a public sector law by capitalizing on resentment from voters whose wages and benefits were cut in the recession.

As it stands, however, Kasich is steering clear of the effort. Per the Columbus Dispatch:

In November 2011, voters overwhelmingly rejected Republicans’ effort to sharply limit collective bargaining for public employees by overturning Senate Bill 5—a referendum that might still have political ramifications for Gov. John Kasich.

Kasich has since refused to support any right-to-work efforts in Ohio—a bid to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot is proceeding slowly—and Democrats were quick to pounce on news of the new bills. But Kasich wouldn’t commit one way or the other on the latest GOP effort.

"There have been 300 bills introduced so far this year," said Rob Nichols, Kasich’s spokesman. "We don’t weigh in on all of them, and it would be premature to do so on these...The governor has a big agenda that’s moving through the legislature, and he continues to work on it."

Ohio Democrats, however, are vowing to fight the effort, the Enquirer reports.

"Here we go again," said state Democratic chairman Chris Redfern, comparing right-to-work to the failed attempt to ban collective bargaining in 2011. "We expect this unnecessary sideshow—which will do nothing to create more good-paying jobs—to fail." 

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters urges all of its Ohio brothers and sisters as well as other union members in the state to contact their lawmakers now and tell them to defeat both bills. Also let Gov. Kasich know that you don’t want this legislation to be enacted. Let these anti-worker lawmakers know that they can’t mess with Ohio!