Ohio facing nasty SB 5 battle

COLUMBUS

It’s too bad Gov. John Kasich and Statehouse Republicans didn’t sit down with union leaders and Statehouse Democrats eight months ago to hash out a reasonable approach to collective bargaining reform.

It’s too bad proponents and opponents of Senate Bill 5 couldn’t reach some kind of agreement in June, when they apparently discussed the issues and a potential compromise to keep the controversial collective bargaining law off the November ballot.

It’s too bad that both sides now have to resort to meaningless press conferences with scripted comments that add little to the public discourse on the real issues involved and instead serve as stages for political theater.

It’s too bad Kasich had to make all those now-public statements about buses and idiots and whatnot, setting the tone for the legislative debate over Senate Bill 5 and the coming ugly referendum campaign.

It’s too bad union leaders, after the spanking Democrats experienced last November, didn’t offer some early concessions to GOP lawmakers in exchange for protections — binding arbitration for police and firefighters, for example — for the 350,000-plus public employees they represent.

It’s too bad Republicans refused to acknowledge the organizational strengths of Ohio’s labor unions, putting the state in the national limelight when thousands of protesters descended on the Statehouse and more than 1 million signed petitions to repeal the new law.

It’s too bad Democrats in the House and Senate didn’t offer a few realistic amendments to Senate Bill 5 — even with their realization that the Republican-controlled chambers wouldn’t include them in the bill.

Last minute

It’s too bad Kasich waited until the last minute to make his public offer to compromise on the issue, leaving opponents to question whether he was sincere or positioning himself for the fall campaign.

It’s too bad union leaders won’t acknowledge that their public employee members are receiving taxpayer-funded pensions and benefits that, in cases, far outweigh the retirement and health-care packages that private sector employees receive.

It’s too bad that both sides have been unwilling to admit the legitimate concerns that have been raised in the Senate Bill 5 debate.

It’s too bad that both sides seem more interested in stirring up the electorate in advance of next year’s presidential contest than doing the hard work that would ultimately benefit all Ohioans.

It’s too bad that teachers, police officers, firefighters, snow plow drivers, etc., face public vilification in coming months simply because of their chosen professions.

It’s too bad that our televisions, computer screens, radios and mailboxes are going to be inundated with vitriolic campaign rhetoric short on substance but long on buzzwords carefully crafted by high-priced political consultants.

And it’s a shame that tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions can be raised so quickly and easily by politicians in control of the public coffers but adequate funding can’t be generated to help feed, clothe and care for the most vulnerable people in our society.

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.