Two months after Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) signed a sweeping rollback of public union’s collective bargaining rights, voters there still overwhelmingly disapprove of their first-term governor, and a majority say the controversial law should be repealed, according to a Quinnipiac poll released today.
In the poll, 54% of registered voters said the collective bargaining law should be repealed, while 36% said it should not. And with the law potentially headed for a referendum in November, it looks like they may get their wish.
The law, known as S.B. 5, makes it illegal for state workers to go on strike, and strips public unions of much of their collective bargaining rights. Though the law received less national attention than a similar bill in Wisconsin, S.B. 5 actually went further by not including an exception for law enforcement unions.
A majority of voters oppose both of those provisions, according to the poll.
By a 51% to 38% margin, Ohio voters opposed limiting collective bargaining rights for public sector unions. And by a 58% to 35% margin, voters said they opposed the provision that makes public union strikes illegal.
The law has been enormously unpopular since it was introduced, sparking massive protests, and sending Kasich’s approval rating into a free fall. In mid-March, a PPP poll showed Kasich losing a do-over election by a whopping 15-point margin.
In the Quinnipiac poll, 49% of voters said they disapproved of Kasich’s job performance, versus 38% who said they approved.
The Quinnipiac poll was conducted May 12-15 among 1,379 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 2.6%.
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