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Stakes high for both sides in SB 5 battle

Win or lose, the controversial bill’s impact will be huge.

Union supporters rally against Ohio Senate Bill 5 at the statehouse in Columbus on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The bill would end collective bargaining for state workers and weaken bargaining rights for police officers, firefighters, teachers and other local public workers.

Chris Stewart/Dayton Daily News Staff Photogra Union supporters rally against Ohio Senate Bill 5 at the statehouse in Columbus on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The bill would end collective bargaining for state workers and weaken bargaining rights for police officers, firefighters, teachers and other local public workers.

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Richard Ringo, a members of The Ohio Liberty Council, a coalition of over 60 tea party groups and liberty minded organizations across Ohio, holds a sign in support of Senate Bill 5, at the Ohio Statehouse Thursday, Feb 17, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio.

Terry Gilliam/FRE Richard Ringo, a members of The Ohio Liberty Council, a coalition of over 60 tea party groups and liberty minded organizations across Ohio, holds a sign in support of Senate Bill 5, at the Ohio Statehouse Thursday, Feb 17, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio.

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By Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Bureau Updated 9:46 AM Sunday, September 18, 2011

This is the first of five in-depth stories about how Senate Bill 5 affects Ohioans. 

COLUMBUS — As the multimillion dollar Senate Bill 5 campaigns ramp up, Ohioans will be bombarded with claims and  counterclaims, pleas and appeals, and images and sound bites delivered in 30-second TV ads. Voters can expect robo-calls and glossy literature about what the collective bargaining reforms could do for Ohio or could do to public employees.

Business leaders and Republicans say that Senate Bill 5 contains reasonable reforms such as requiring workers to pay their entire pension contribution and at least 15 percent of their health care premiums, and switching to pay based on merit similar to pay structures for private workers.

Union leaders warn that the bill so dramatically curtails worker rights that collective bargaining will become “collective begging,” public workers will likely see pay cuts, workplace safety will be compromised and Ohio could return to the days of labor unrest when illegal strikes were commonplace.

Spokespeople for both sides are making their final arguments.

“We are going to focus on what the bill will do to local communities. It is unfair, unsafe and it hurts middle class families,” said Melissa Fazekas, spokeswoman for We Are Ohio, the campaign to defeat Senate Bill 5.

“This is arguably a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to deliver some very reasonable, but fundamental, reforms that could significantly improve Ohio’s economy. It is a course correction,” said Jason Mauk, spokesman for Building a Better Ohio, the campaign in favor of Senate Bill 5.

“This will be a very close election. The polling indicates that people are supportive of reforming Ohio’s government employment policies. This is something we have not done in nearly 30 years,” Mauk said.

One thing is certain: Senate Bill 5 is far-reaching. If enacted by voters, it will impact more than 180,000 schoolteachers and another 123,000 school district workers, 30,000 cops and firefighters, 57,000 state workers and more than 300,000 general government employees. The combined state and local government payroll totals $29.7 billion a year. The new law has the potential to impact 11 million Ohioans who pay taxes to operate 3,700 different government jurisdictions across the state.

Senate Bill 5 limits collective bargaining to wages, hours and terms of employment as well as personal safety equipment.

If passed, it would also:

• Ban strikes;

• Allow management to impose its last offer as a three-year contract if both sides reach impasse;

• Require workers to pay all of their pension contribution and at least 15 percent of their health care premiums;

• Switch to a merit pay system for most government employees;

• Limit leave time for vacation and illness and caps how much time may be banked by workers;

• Restore management rights over issues such as shifts, work assignments, transfers, promotions and layoffs; and eliminates seniority as the sole factor in deciding who gets laid off.

Supporters of Senate Bill 5 say these tools will allow cities, school districts, counties and other local jurisdictions to manage their personnel costs, operate more efficiently and save taxpayer money.

Exactly how much money could be saved is subject to how far elected bodies push to make changes once current contracts expire. Savings also depend on how merit pay provisions would be implemented by management.

For example, would the Dayton City Commission impose pay cuts on workers? Would principals in Kettering schools be lenient in how they evaluate classroom teachers and determine that a large number deserved hefty merit-pay bonuses? Would Montgomery County tell its employees that they must use all their sick and vacation time in the calendar year in which it was accrued so that they wouldn’t be able to bank unused time?

“Local governments and state government need to have the fortitude to use these tools,” said Chris Kershner, vice president of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, which endorsed Senate Bill 5.

Dan Kaman of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services estimates that the state could save $216.9 million a year if it eliminated step increases and longevity pay and bumped up the percentage of health care costs that workers pay. Local governments could save $1.1 billion a year by taking advantage of the same tools, he wrote in an analysis released during earlier legislative debate about SB 5.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is among a handful of closely watched freshmen Republican governors across the nation who took on public employee unions this year.

Kasich sent his fundraiser and other staff to Building a Better Ohio and the governor is helping raise campaign cash to try to save Senate Bill 5.

“The vote is a referendum — literally — on Senate Bill 5, but because the governor supported the bill, it can also partly a referendum on the governor’s approach to policy change at the state level,” said University of Akron political scientist John Green.

A loss on Senate Bill 5 would hurt Kasich’s political profile but “a victory would be positive for the governor in terms of national ambitions, and it could help him eventually obtain national office — elected or appointed,” Green said.

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