Republican lawmakers push to make Ohio "right to work" [View all]

COLUMBUS — More than six years after voters resoundingly rejected similar proposals at the polls, a package of proposed constitutional amendments have been introduced to make Ohio the 29th state to enact “right to work.”

Six measures, all requiring voter approval, would undercut the clout of private and public-sector labor unions by prohibiting collection of so-called “fair share” fees in lieu of dues from workers who refuse to join a union and forbidding union spending of dues or fees on political activity without workers’ consent.

They would repeal requirements for a prevailing wage, often a higher union-scale wage, on public projects, prohibit governments from specifying union or nonunion labor on public projects, and require votes to recertify workplace bargaining units every year.

Similar legislative efforts have gone nowhere in recent years in the General Assembly following the stinging defeat of Senate Bill 5. Voters forced a repeal of the law, which focused on clipping the power of public-employee labor unions.

Read more: http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2018/01/07/Republican-lawmakers-push-to-make-Ohio-right-to-work.html