Niehaus said senators also are discussing whether to keep a provision to eliminate binding arbitration for safety forces such as police and firefighters. He added that lawmakers may set up a third-party review system to settle public labor disputes.
Bacon says the state Department of Administrative Services suggested that keeping some sort of collective bargaining would be more cost-efficient than eliminating it entirely.
Ohio Civil Service Employees Association President Eddie Parks said the union is encouraged by the proposed change but “our rights are still severely limited, and there is no process that would bring management to the middle in any negotiations. We still have no way to negotiate some very basic things like discrimination based on political contributions, a 40-hour work week, health and safety provisions ...”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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