http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OHIO_UNION_FIGHT_OHOL-?SITE=OHMOU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Ohio House panel makes changes to bill to curtail public unions;
committee vote expected
By ANN SANNER
Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- State lawmakers in Ohio made changes Tuesday to a
collective bargaining bill that would deal a blow to public worker unions.
The legislation now would prevent nonunion employees affected by
contracts from paying fees to union organizations and would ban
automatic deductions from employee paychecks that would go the unions'
political arm.
A House committee adopted more than a dozen changes to the bill before
it briefly recessed. The panel was expected to vote on the measure
Tuesday afternoon.
Similar limits to collective bargaining have cropped up in statehouses
across the country, most notably in Wisconsin, where the governor
earlier this month signed a measure into law eliminating most of state
workers' collective bargaining rights.
The Ohio measure would restrict the bargaining rights of roughly 350,000
teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees. They
could negotiate wages and certain work conditions but not health care,
sick time or pension benefits. The measure would also do away with
automatic pay raises and base future wage increases on merit.
The bill narrowly passed the Senate and is now before a House committee.
If the House passes the now-altered bill, it would go back to the
Senate. The governor supports the legislation.
Several hundred protesters listened to the committee's amendments over
the loudspeakers positioned around the Statehouse, before they headed
outside to chants of "Kill the bill!"
The crowds inside and outside were estimated at 450, according to the
advisory board that manages the Statehouse property.
Other changes the committee made include removing jail time as a
possible penalty for public workers who unlawfully participate in
strikes and making clear that public safety workers could negotiate over
equipment.
So far, Democrats have offered no amendments. Instead, they delivered
boxes containing more than 65,000 opponent signatures to the committee's
chairman.
"These people have expressed their concern and their frustration with
what the bill is going to do to their future," said state Rep. Kenny
Yuko, a Democrat from Richmond Heights.
A full House vote could come Wednesday.
The Senate passed the bill earlier this month on a 17-16 vote and would
have to agree to the House changes before sending it to Gov. John
Kasich. The spokesman for the new Republican governor has said Kasich
was pleased with the version passed by the Senate but also was
comfortable with the House changes.
Republicans hold a 9-6 majority on the House labor committee and a 59-40
edge in the House. All GOP members on the House panel voted in favor of
the changes, while Democrats voted against them.
State Rep. Dennis Murray, a Democrat from Sandusky, told the committee
he didn't know enough about the amendments to cast a vote because his
party was just seeing them for the first time.
"This is a 435-page bill," Murray said. "I don't know how one can
intelligently form an opinion."
Lawmakers also revised the bill to include more details on who defines
merit. For instance, merit pay for teachers would be based on a
combination of guidelines set up by school districts and the State of
Department of Education.
Jennifer Blair, 33, a music teacher from Westerville, said she is
protesting a bill she believes will "destroy public education as we know
it."
"It's setting out to take away services our children have, take away
services our teachers have, supplies in our classroom, teachers' rights,
class size, safety issues in the classroom for our special needs
teachers," she said. "And it focuses on performance-based pay. As a
music teacher, I can't be judged that way. I don't give a test to my
students. I have no way to be based on performance-based pay in my
classroom."
The collective bargaining legislation was met with demonstrations and
packed hearing rooms in the weeks before the Senate passed the measure.
Its reception in the House has been quieter, though opponents and
supporters still lined up to speak their mind to the committee. Members
heard from more than 100 witnesses and received written comments from
others in their two weeks of hearings.
Opponents of the measure have vowed a ballot repeal if it passes. State
deadlines would require that Kasich sign the bill by April 6 in order
for a referendum to be on the ballot this fall.
---
Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report.
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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