As Ohio’s Gov. John Kasich continues on the campaign trail while contemplating a 2016 presidential bid, his recent comments regarding Right to Work come as welcome news to the state’s labor unions.
According to Cincinnati.com, during a recent campaign stop in Georgia, Gov. Kasich told reporters that he didn’t believe a Right to Work push was necessary for Ohio, and that the state currently wasn’t dealing with any “disruptive labor situations.”
While it’s far from an endorsement of unions, the governor’s increasingly moderate stance has many labor supporters in the state feeling cautiously optimistic about the future.
“We’ve fought against Right to Work here in Ohio for years,” said Pat Sink, Ohio’s International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 18’s business manager. “Even though we fully plan to keep fighting any developments on the horizon, it’s nice to know Gov. Kasich appears to be on our side and we appreciate that. We believe he’s on the right side of this issue.”
Last fall Gov. Kasich downplayed the importance of Right to Work in Ohio while referring to the state’s competitive reputation among business leaders.
“I don’t have them say, ‘Well, you know, if you only had right to work.’ I just don’t hear anything like that,” Kasich told The Enquirer. “We have a pretty good labor climate here. You’re not seeing a rash of strikes.”
Despite his tumultuous history with state labor groups and the Republican party’s well entrenched positon on the issue nationwide, the Governor’s recent stance on the issue has prominent labor supporters hopeful that the change of heart will last.
“Hopefully the defeat of Senate Bill 5 is a constant reminder that Right to Work isn’t something that Ohioans want,” said Sink. “As long as he continues to listen to the will of the people, I think we’ll continue to see him erring on the side of caution when it comes to disrupting the state’s labor climate.”
Opponents of the recent Ohio Right to Work effort, including the “Workplace Freedom” bills, contend that the initiative’s true purpose is to kill unions and worker protections, ultimately leading to a weaker middle class.
By stripping workers of their rights and freedoms, business owners would be free to lower worker pay, reduce worker benefits and ignore worker rights.
Whether Republicans call it “Paycheck Protection,” “Workplace Freedom” or Right to Work, opponents of the efforts remain dedicated to ensuring the voting public knows the truth about the GOP’s divisive agenda.
SOURCE: Keep Ohio's Heritage
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