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WYSO's coverage of the 2011 Election

New Collective Bargaining Law Repealed by Voters

By a vote of 61% to 39 voters said kill the law. It would have given management the final say in long running impasses, used job performance to determine pay and lay offs, and out law strikes.

“People have stood up and said do not treat our public employees this way. we respect our firefighters, we respect our police officers, our teachers, our nurses, our bus drivers, the people that work at our schools, the people that plow our streets and they know what’s best for their cities. Give them a voice at the table,” says Cincinnati firefighter Dirk Sterns.

High profile defender of the law, Governor John Kasich, said he got the message from the voters.

“They might have said it was too much, too soon. My view is when people speak in a campaign like this, in a referendum, you have to listen when you’re a public servant, ” said Kasich.

The big question now is after a post election lull, will republicans who control the legislature reenact some parts of the law they figure are actually popular. For example, a requirement that all government workers pay at least 15% of their health care premiums.