Efforts to Curb Union Power Spreads to Ohio and Indiana

February 24, 2011 06:11


“This is nothing more than an effort to reduce the cost of governance so we can start to create jobs,” he said by telephone. “This is an effort to save the state, no agendas.”

Th Americano

Much like the protests in the Middle East and northern Africa have spread to other countries in the region, Republican efforts to curb the power of government unions has spread from Wisconsin to Ohio and Indiana.

While in Wisconsin the state senate could not consider any bill that dealt with the budget because with 14 Democratic senators absent, it lacked a quorum, Republican-dominated Legislatures began pursuing similar goals in Ohio and Indiana Tuesday.

As in Wisconsin, unions were ready to protest the move.

The New York Times said that thousands of pro-union protesters marched on Capitol buildings in Columbus and Indianapolis to show their anger against bills that would weaken the right of workers to collective bargaining.

In Indiana, much as in Wisconsin, the absence of Democratic members of the House of Representatives may have stymied, at least temporarily a bill they say would weaken collective bargaining, the Democrats did not have the numbers to achieve the same results in Ohio.

According to the NYT, fleeing was not an option for Democrats in Ohio because the Republicans had enough members on their side for a quorum. Republicans have a 23-to-10 majority in the Ohio Senate, and the bill needs 17 votes to pass. It was not clear when it would be voted on.

It added in its story that labor experts said the bills have amounted to the largest assault on collective bargaining in recent memory, striking at the very heart of an American labor movement that is already deeply atrophied.

“I think we are looking at the future of the labor movement being defined in rotundas in several states,” said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California at Berkley, a specialist on labor issues. “This is a structural change with profound repercussions.”

The arguments in Ohio were much the same as they were in Wisconsin. Republicans who introduced and backed the proposal said it was intended to give state and local governments more control over their finances in hard economic times. Democrats, who were unanimously opposed, called it a direct attack on the unions because of their strong support of Democratic Party candidates and policies.

“They’re using a fiscal challenge as an excuse to consolidate political power,” said former Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, who was in the crowd of protesters in Columbus.

But, Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Ohio’s governor, John Kasich, a Republican, strongly denied that characterization.

“This is nothing more than an effort to reduce the cost of governance so we can start to create jobs,” he said by telephone. “This is an effort to save the state, no agendas.”

The Americano/Agencies



Help Make A Difference By Sharing These Articles On Facebook, Twitter And Elsewhere:

Interested In Further Reading? Click Here