Businesses help fund Issue 2 battle

Supporters say it will cut taxes; opponents say many will have less to spend.

Have you made up your mind on Issue 2? At facebook.com

Man, 68, drowns at Caesar Creek Lake
5/26/12
Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Lynn Hulsey, Staff Writer Updated 2:00 AM Wednesday, November 2, 2011

State Issue 2 is garnering financial support from businesses and their advocacy groups, such as the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, which view limits on collective bargaining by public employees as an important way to curtail the growth of taxes and encourage companies to create jobs in Ohio.

But opponents of Issue 2 — including some business owners — say businesses who support the law are being shortsighted because it will financially harm the middle-class government workers who buy their products and services.

“Henry Ford knew that folks who were making the cars had to be able to afford to buy them,” said Tim Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO. “We have to have middle-class wages and benefits in order to help our Main Street businesses.”

On Tuesday, voters will decide on Issue 2, which, if approved, would reform public employee collective bargaining.

“Business supports lowering taxes, reducing the cost of government and making it more efficient,” said Phil Parker, president and chief executive of the Dayton chamber.

Parker said it is “a reach” to assume that approval of Issue 2 would do great harm to the middle class, since there are only 350,000 unionized public employees in the state.

In any case, said Parker, the taxes used to pay those employees’ salaries and benefits are too high and could go even higher if the cost of government isn’t reined in.

“There is a growing trend that there is no stomach for more taxes,” said Parker. “People are wanting to put more of it back in their pocket, not less.”

AK Steel was among a handful of businesses that self-reported contributions supporting Issue 2. The West Chester Twp.-based company gave $100,000, according to paperwork filed with the Ohio Secretary of State.

“We think it helps lower the cost of government in Ohio,” said Alan McCoy, vice president for government and public relations, adding that lower costs benefit both businesses and individuals.

State Issue 2 is a referendum on Senate Bill 5, approved in the Ohio Legislature and signed by Gov. John Kasich earlier this year. It limits collective bargaining for public employees who work for the state, counties, cities, townships, schools, colleges and universities.

Senate Bill 5 establishes merit pay, forbids strikes and allows jurisdictions to impose contracts when impasse is reached.

The bill also requires that employees pay 10 percent toward their pensions and 15% of health care costs, ending the practice of some government employers allowing employees to pay less.

Proponents the bill say it provides a tool to control costs and cope with state budget cuts without raising local taxes. They say it puts public workers on more equal footing with the taxpayers who pay their salaries.

Opponents see it as an attack on unions and say that it could lead to unsafe conditions for police, firefighters and other workers who will no longer be allowed to bargain over staffing rules.

“Ohioans know that collective bargaining has generally worked,” said Gary J. Leppla, a Dayton attorney and spokesman against Issue 2. “You have a billion dollars in concessions over several years by public labor unions, let alone those made in private industry.”

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce supports Issue 2 because “taxes are an economic development issue,” said Linda Woggon, executive director.

“We can no longer sustain the cost of our local governments, our school districts and our state government,” said Woggon. “We have to find ways for them to become less costly and more efficient so they can provide good services ... But at less cost for Ohio taxpayers.”

Campaign finance reports were filed last week by the committees working for and against Issue 2.

We Are Ohio, the Democrat- and labor-backed group opposed to Issue 2, raised $30.5 million and spent $19.75 million through Oct. 20, including money reported in July. An itemized list of contributors and dollars contributed shows strong support from a variety of unions.

Building a Better Ohio, backed by Republicans and businesses, raised $7.6 million and spent $5.97 million during the same period. The Building a Better Ohio political action committee received most of its contributions from a non-profit called Building a Better Ohio, which did not have to divulge its contributors or the amounts. The PAC voluntarily released a list of names of people and companies who contributed, but did not say how much they gave or what companies the listed individuals work for.

“It certainly violates the spirit of the law,” said Catherine Turcer, director of Ohio Citizen Action’s Money In Politics project.

She said the state needs to require that non-profits which contribute to campaigns for issues report who gave and how much they contributed.

Matt Mayer, president of The Buckeye Insitute for Public Policy, a conservative think tank, said he would have kept the names of the businesses secret to protect them from boycotts or other retribution by opponents of Issue 2.

Building A Better Ohio spokeswoman Connie Wehrkamp referred to a statement released by the group last week, which said the committee had “gone beyond what is required of us in the disclosure of our financial status.”

The list includes a variety of businesses, including Discount Drug Mart, Eaton Corp., Owens Corning and Mid-American Health Inc.

“Issue 2 is part of a broader package of reforms to create a more business-friendly environment in this state and I think those employers recognize that,” Wehrkamp said.

Contact this reporter at (937)  225-7455 or lhulsey@Dayton DailyNews.com.

Share this article