Proponents say it has the potential to save billions of dollars and give public employers the flexibility to deliver services in the face of dwindling resources. Opponents say it will turn collective bargaining into “collective begging” and take away workers’ basic rights that have been state law since 1983.
Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Clearcreek Twp., the bill’s primary sponsor, said, “I understand that change is hard but sometimes change is the only option because the status quo has failed us.” Two plainclothes state troopers flanked Jones as she delivered her floor speech.
The vote brought boos and shouts of “Shame on you!” and “We will never forget!” from the teachers, firefighters, police officers and other union workers in the packed chambers.
The 644-page bill calls for restricting collective bargaining to wages and conditions of employment, outlawing strikes for all public employees, requiring workers to pay at least 15 percent of health care premiums, and instituting a merit pay system and a method for laying off workers using criteria other than seniority.
An amendment that would have jailed striking workers was removed.
An amended Senate Bill 5 restores some parts of collective bargaining while also giving state and local governments “more control over their work force and the ability to manage in difficult times,” said Sen. Bill Beagle, R-Tipp City, whose votes Wednesday helped push the measure over the top.
“I think it’s going to move the state forward and remember, this is just one part of transforming Ohio,” Beagle said. He named JobsOhio, pension reform and regulatory reform as other pieces. “There are a whole lot of things coming together that is going to transform the way Ohio is doing this and trying to stretch its resources.” He added: “When this new (state) budget comes out, I think there is going to be fewer resources for everybody.”
The bill passed the Senate by the narrowest of margins — 17-16, with six Republican senators voting no. All Dayton-area senators voted in favor. It now moves to the House.
Gov. John Kasich says he will support the bill. “This is a major step forward in correcting the imbalance between taxpayers and the government unions that work for them,” Kasich said in a statement.
The senators who opposed the bill warned that it would lead to age discrimination, favoritism, nepotism in public employment, put police and firefighters at risk, bring back labor unrest, generate expensive lawsuits and tilt the tables in favor of management.
But those in favor said the changes could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while still maintaining essential services.
“When we know that layoffs are coming because we have fewer and fewer resources available, the point is to provide flexibility to the local communities to be able to preserve as many jobs as possible so as to not be forced into a position to do massive layoffs as was the case in places such as Camden, N.J., that had to layoff almost 50 percent of its police force,” said state Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Clearcreek Twp., the bill’s primary sponsor.
State Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, who is a partner in a pro-management law firm, said while the bill has needed reforms, it has glaring deficiencies. Seitz said it takes away police and firefighters’ right to negotiate for safety gear — an interpretation Senate President Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, disputes.
Seitz also called the system for resolving impasse a “heads I win, tails you lose” proposition since the elected body is free to impose its last offer.
He also warned that the bill could leave long-term public employees, who do not get Social Security or 401(k) plans, out of work just shy of the years needed to qualify for their pensions. Seniority would no longer be the exclusive criteria for deciding a layoff order.
“When those older workers are riffed out of the work force, they get a big fat nothing,” he said.
To get the bill to the Senate floor, Niehaus removed Seitz and state Sen. Scott Oelslager, R-Canton, from key committees. Their opposition along with the Democrats could have tied the bill up. The committee voted 7-5 in favor, sending the bill to the Senate floor.
The legislation drew increasingly larger crowds, growing from 800 when it was first introduced to 8,500 on Tuesday. But only a few hundred opponents were on hand Wednesday since the decision to hold a floor vote was made on short notice.
While labor leaders complained that the bill is moving too fast — noting that a 99-page amendment was introduced and adopted in less than 24 hours — Committee Chairman Kevin Bacon, R-Columbus, said he held six hearings during which 39 opponents and 31 proponents testified.
Jones and other supporters of the bill have said repeatedly that the reforms are needed to help the state make up an $8 billion budget shortfall and give local governments the tools they’ll need to cut budgets.
Senate Minority Leader Capri Cafaro, D-Hubbard, said, “This doesn’t deal with the budget gap at all as far as I can tell.” Instead of removing collective bargaining rights, government managers should negotiate concessions to deal with budget crises, she said.
Jones told the committee that the amended bill restores collective bargaining rights but opponents say it takes away labor’s leverage by outlawing strikes and limiting what can be negotiated.
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