By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Opponents of controversial collective-bargaining reform signed into law recently by Gov. John Kasich are literally waiting for the ink to dry on petitions so they can begin collecting signatures to place the issue on the November ballot.
Dennis Willard, spokesman for We Are Ohio, one of the groups involved in the drive, told reporters Monday that 100,000 petition booklets are being printed and checked to ensure there were no ink splotches before sending them to 10,000-plus volunteers who will circulate them throughout the state.
Senate Bill 5 opponents could begin adding their signatures to the booklets as soon as Friday.
“Our goal is to get between 460,000 and half a million signatures,” Willard said.
SB 5 places limits on collective bargaining, changing the way more than 350,000 public workers have negotiated contract terms for nearly three decades. The new law also prohibits strikes and enables state and local governments to base employee pay decision on performance.
Proponents say the law is needed to enable state and local governments to better control their costs, but opponents say it’s a politically motivated attack on unions.
Opponents have until the end of June to collect more than 231,000 valid signatures from Ohio voters to place the referendum on the November ballot. If they are successful, the provisions of SB 5 will not take effect until after the election, unless voters repeal it.
On Friday, Secretary of State Jon Husted certified the initial petition signatures submitted by We Are Ohio to start the referendum process. He also signed off on the full text of SB 5, which was submitted to his office for review. And Attorney General Mike DeWine OK’d the summary language for the petitions, paving the way for opponents to begin collecting signatures.
Willard said printing of the petition booklets started over the weekend. Each will be spiral bound and have room for about 70 signatures.
In coming days, the booklets will be checked to ensure they meet requirements, and volunteers will be trained on how to gather signatures.
Comments
It appears to me that all involved here have a vested interest in the repeal action with little or no concern for the financial condition of the state or that of our nation.
SB5 does absolutely nothing to balance the state budget. If enacted it will bust the budget of countless families and bust unions across the state. That's the bad news. The good news is that this bill will be killed by an aroused citizenry.
Wisconsin gov. Walker admits that these collective bargaining bills do nothing to help balance the budget in Wisconsin. Same goes for Ohio.
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opini...
There is no need to budget anything as increased taxation can fill the voids . Take it to the limit one more time . . .. Austerity is only for the little people . . .. The special ones will not sink to that level . . ..
This repeal effort will make it to the ballot but that will be it. Once television commercials begin airing that depict some of the many ways the taxpayers have been swindled by the public sector workers and the unions they support, this recall won't stand a chance. The taxpayers far outnumber the public sector workers and they're fed up. From what I can see, the right to work states are doing much better economically that Ohio or Pennsylvania anyway, where the unions are far more entrenched.
Philo,
WTW states do better? What a joke dude! STOP smoking or drinking the coolaid, which ever you are doing! WTW states have the highest unemployment rates in the country and lowest educational results...........
Just look at Taxes as the poster child for the need union work force. Adolf KASICK WILL NOT stop with public sector unions. All others are next and he would (if fools like you let him) lower the wages of everyone back to the fifties while prices zoom ahead to 2020.
Goto youtube and type in Sandy Lake, Georgia if you want to see something very interesting!!!!