Ohio to Pass Anti-Union Bill, But Fight’s Not Over

There’s no question that Ohio’s governor will sign the new anti-union bill, says Bill Cohen, State House Reporter for Ohio Public Radio. The bill strips public workers of their collective bargaining rights, outlaws public employee strikes, and makes job performance, not tenure, the key factor in raises and layoffs. Additionally, it says that public employees no longer have to pay union dues. But the fight isn’t over with the signing of the bill. Union members plan to take the protest to the streets and to collect enough petition signatures to block the law until November, at which point voters will decide if it gets on the books. Ultimately, it is likely that the bill will be blocked. However, this is just a defensive move, says Bill Cohen, as all three branches of Ohio’s government are Republican.