Ohio

Obama Slams Kasich's Union-Busting Bill In Ohio (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 27, 2011, 12:54PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama sat down with a local reporter from Ohio on Tuesday and laid into the anti-collective bargaining bill signed into law by Gov. John Kasich (R) last month.

SB5, as the law is known, eliminates the right of thousands of state workers to collectively bargain for benefits and makes going on strike illegal. Democrats and union supports have vowed to fight the legislation at the ballot box, and they've said the issue has done a lot to fire up the base after big Republican wins (including Kasich's) in 2010.

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John Kasich

Business Breaking With Kasich Over Union Busting Bill

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 12, 2011, 9:12AM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

Gov. John Kasich (R) has suffered mightily for his plan to restrict the collective bargaining rights of unionized state workers in Ohio. Though the Republican-controlled state legislature passed the law, known as Senate Bill 5, and Kasich has signed it, the optics of passage have been terrible and voters have turned on their new governor less than six months after he defeated a Democratic incumbent.

Now, as the fight over SB5 shifts to a massive ballot repeal initiative organized by labor, Democrats and progressives in Ohio, Kasich's got a new problem on his hands: the support of the state Chamber of Commerce, which broke with tradition and made Kasich the first gubernatorial candidate to ever get its endorsement, is fracturing. The break is slight at the moment, but a growing number businesses who support the union cause and/or serve union members are breaking with the Chamber -- and the man they helped propel into office.

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Ohio

Once Again, Ohio GOPers Punishing Their Own Over Support For Unions

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 7, 2011, 9:11AM

State Sen. Bill Seitz (R-OH)

For the second time in the Republican-led Ohio government's push to alter the way it interacts with state workers, a prominent Republican legislator has been stripped of a committee chairmanship in the midst of debate over legislation that unions oppose.

Sen. Bill Seitz (R) was removed on Wednesday from the state Senate's Government Oversight and Reform Committee -- the panel he chaired -- after Senate leaders said he failed to inform them of changes he was making to a bill that would raise the age and number of years of service state workers have to complete before they can retire with a pension.

Getting stripped of his committee assignment has become something of a habit for Seitz, who was pulled from a different committee
back in March at the height of the fight over SB 5, the law backed by Gov. John Kasich (R) that limits the collective bargaining rights for most state workers. Seitz opposed that bill and lost his committee assignment because of it. Now, as another union fight heats up, it's happened to him again.

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John Kasich

Ohio Governor To Sign Anti-Union Bill Thursday Night

Melissa Jeltsen | March 31, 2011, 5:05PM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) will sign SB 5 -- the contentious anti-union bill restricting collective bargaining rights for unionized public workers -- into law Thursday night, according to his spokesperson.

SB 5, which makes it illegal for state workers to strike and gives local governments new powers over contract negotiations with union workers, was passed out of the state legislature Wednesday.

According to spokesperson Connie Wehrkamp, Kasich will sign the bill at 7 p.m. at the ceremonial office in the statehouse. Wehrkamp said the Governor wanted to sign the bill into law "as soon as he possibly could."

Far from ceding the fight, union supporters and Democrats are now gearing for their next plan of attack: putting the legislation to the voters of Ohio as a ballot initiative.

Ohio protests

As Anti-Union Bill Heads To Ohio Gov, Dems Ready For Fight

Melissa Jeltsen | March 31, 2011, 10:24AM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

Ohio's controversial bill to restrict collective bargaining rights for unionized public workers is now on its way to Governor John Kasich (R ) to be signed into law. SB 5, which makes it illegal for state workers to strike and gives local governments new powers over contract negotiations with union workers, was passed out of the state legislature Wednesday night.

Kasich is all but certain to sign the bill, which is a key part of his conservative legislative agenda. But opponents say the fight is far from over. Union supporters and Democrats are now readying for their next battle: putting the legislation to the voters of Ohio.  

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John Kasich

Ohioans Having Incredible Buyers Remorse Over Gov. Kasich

Jon Terbush | March 15, 2011, 11:39AM

Former Rep. and current candidate for Governor John Kasich (R-OH)

Just a few months into his first term, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) appears to be immensely unpopular with his constituents, a clear majority of whom disapprove of his job performance, according to a PPP poll of registered voters. What's more, if a do-over election were held today Kasich would lose -- by a resounding 15-point margin.

Kasich barely defeated incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland (D) last November, winning by a slim 49% to 47%. But if they could do it all over again, 55% of voters now say they would vote for Strickland, while only 40% say they'd go with Kasich.

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Ohio

Poll: Would-Be Union Buster Kasich Upside Down In Approval Rating

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 14, 2011, 2:04PM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

As they've watched him take on the collective bargaining rights of union workers in Ohio, voters in the state have given Gov. John Kasich's (R) first months in office the lowest rating of any Buckeye State governor in a long time.

A bit of background: Kasich won a squeaker of a race over incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland (D) back in November. The final result was 49% to 47%. Kasich pulled off the win thanks to the support of independents, which Strickland had won with 69% support in 2006. Last November, independents broke for Kaisich 52%-39%.

Now, it seems many of these supporters are less than thrilled. A new poll of Ohio adults from the University of Cincinnati finds just 40% of respondents approving of the job Kasich has done since January when he was sworn in. Forty-seven percent say they disapprove.

Among independents the split is even worse for Kasich.

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Crossroads GPS

Rove-Linked Spending Machine Takes On Unions In New TV Spot (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 9, 2011, 10:25AM

The conservative campaign spending group linked to Karl Rove is going up with a tough ad aimed at America's labor unions and the president they supported in 2008.

The short version: Unions and their political activity are "a threat to democracy."

Crossroads GPS, the non-profit political spending outfit who Rove and former RNC chair Ed Gillespie helped launch last year, is going on national cable news channels Wednesday with the 60-second spot, aimed squarely at the union leaders and Democratic politicians who have been taking on governors across the Midwest in the past few weeks.

Crossroads GPS is not required to release the names of its donors, and has been a common target of Democratic and progressive criticism since its founding.

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Ohio protests

Union Protester Gives John Kasich His 'You Lie!' Moment (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 8, 2011, 8:48AM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) gave his first State Of The State address Tuesday afternoon before a joint session of the Ohio legislature. And thanks to one union activist protesting Kasich's plan to strip state workers of their collective bargaining rights, it was a speech to remember.

Teresa Law, a unionized home health care provider who lost her collective bargaining rights thanks to a Kasich executive order, was in the crowd during the speech and found herself giving the governor her best Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) impression.

As Kasich began to speak about his controversial budget plan -- which is virtually guaranteed to pass in the Republican-controlled legislature -- he addressed the thousands of protesters who've been gathering inside and out the state Capitol in Columbus. When he mentioned collective bargaining the boos started.

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Ohio protests

The Next Union Battlefield In Ohio: The Ballot Box

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 4, 2011, 8:36AM

As the Ohio state House prepares to take up the controversial collective bargaining and union rights provisions contained in the just-passed state Senate Bill 5, union supporters and Democrats are looking ahead to a battle that will put the legislation in the hands of people they say are on their side: the voters of Ohio.

Though they plan to fight SB 5 tooth-and-nail as it works its way through the Republican-controlled House, leaders of the SB 5 opposition tell TPM that they don't expect to win there. There are 59 Republicans in the House and just 40 Democrats, meaning there's little chance for a repeat of the drama seen in the Senate, where SB 5 passed by just one vote.

But, thanks to the eccentricities of Ohio law, passage in the House doesn't mean SB 5 is guaranteed to go into effect. Though they more than likely can't stop it in the legislature, the opposition can potentially block its implementation by promising to take it on at the ballot box. That means the fight over SB 5 could extend for months -- maybe even all the way to November, 2012.

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Ohio protests

The 'Ohio 6' Speak: Meet The GOPers Who Voted Against Kasich's Anti-Union Bill

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 3, 2011, 10:10AM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

By the slimmest of margins on Wednesday, the state Senate in Ohio passed the budget bill endorsed by Gov. John Kasich (R) and deplored by the unions and Democrats. The bill now moves to the state House where the sizable Republican majority is expected to pass it easily.

But before it does, it's worth taking a look at the six Republicans who voted against the bill in the Senate, and the fears they raised about the bill. Ohio will be an important state nationally in 2012, and is often pointed to in the press as a bellwhether for the national political picture. And to hear the Republicans who turned on Kasich in the Senate yesterday tell it, the bill that would gut collective bargaining rights for thousands of state workers in Ohio is a step too far to the right.

"This bill is not balanced," Sen. Scott Oelslager, one of two Republicans booted from their committee seats so the bill could pass, told the AP. "There has to be a balance between labor and management in negotiations. It tips the scales in favor of management."

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Ohio protests

With One-Vote Margin, Ohio State Senate Passes SB 5

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 2, 2011, 4:54PM

John Kasich

The Ohio State Senate just passed the controversial SB 5, aimed a limiting unionized state employees' ability to collectively bargain or go on strike.

In an indication of how divisive the legislation is in the Buckeye State, the final vote in the Senate was 17-16. The bill now moves to the state House, which like the Senate, is under Republican control.

Gov. John Kasich (R) has endorsed the measure and is expected to sign it when it reaches his desk.

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Ohio protests

Ohio GOP Advances Anti-Union Bill After Last Minute Committee Shuffle

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 2, 2011, 4:19PM

State Sen. Bill Seitz (R-OH) and Sen. Scott Oelslager (R-OH)

It took the removal of two -- count 'em -- union-sympathetic Republicans from Ohio state Senate committees, but supporters of Gov. John Kasich's (R) plan to limit collective bargaining rights for state workers were able to move their plan one step closer to Kasich's desk today.

By a vote of 7-5, a State Senate Committee charged with reviewing the collective bargaining proposal -- known as Senate Bill 5 -- moved the bill toward a floor reading and its expected passage. Shortly after that, a similarly close vote moved the bill out of the Senate Rules Committee.

The bill is now on the Senate floor and passage is expected imminently. But opponents of the law say the pathway to today's vote shows how hard a sell Kasich's plan is to the broad swath of voters in the Buckeye state.

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Ohio

Union Fight Heating Up In Ohio

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 1, 2011, 3:40PM

The battle over collective bargaining being fought in Wisconsin is far from over, but even as it rages a new fight is gathering steam in Ohio. For more than a week now, union supporters have gathered around the State Capitol in Columbus to protest Gov. John Kasich's (R) plan to limit collective bargaining rights for more than 300,000 state workers.

On Tuesday, protests reached their largest and loudest yet, according to reports from the ground.

As in Wisconsin, Ohio's new Republican governor isn't backing down. And just as protestors remain in the streets of Madison, so too are they in Ohio.

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