Two years ago, the Statehouse was ground zero for a fight over a bill to limit collective bargaining rights. Now, a new bill is being introduced later today that is likely to revive some of those old controversies.
It’s called the Right to Work bill. Republican Representative Ron Maag will introduce the plan that would remove the requirement that public sector workers pay union dues in order to hold a job with a city, county or the state. Maag was a backer of the former senate bill five. That’s the bill that Ohio lawmakers passed that stripped collective bargaining rights from public workers. It unleashed a wrath of controversy from Democrats and unions.
They were successful in putting the law on the ballot for Ohioans to repeal. And they did. The former law was overwhelmingly rejected by Ohio voters. Already, Democrats and unions are striking out against Maag’s plan and it hasn’t yet been formally introduced. And it might not be just Maag’s plan that they’ll be fighting. Another bill is in the works that would strip union dues requirements from private sector employees.