Saturday, May 21, 2011
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
A little more than a month after being given the green light to begin collecting signatures, opponents of controversial collective- bargaining reform say they’re well on their way to placing the issue on the November ballot.
Melissa Fazekas, spokeswoman for We Are Ohio, the group behind the petition drive, said volunteers and paid circulators have collected 214,399 signatures to date.
“This is an unprecedented level of support from communities all across the state,” she said. “We continue to struggle to keep up with demand for petitions.”
Senate Bill 5 places limits on collective bargaining, changing the way more than 350,000 public workers have negotiated contract terms for nearly three decades. The new law also prohibits strikes and enables state and local governments and schools to base employee pay on performance.
Proponents say the law is needed to enable state and local governments to better control their costs, but opponents say it’s a politically motivated attack on unions.
We Are Ohio needs more than 231,000 valid signatures by late June to put the referendum before voters. If successful, the new law would not take effect until after the November election, or possibly never if voters repeal it.
Fazekas said more than 10,000 volunteers representing the latter have been working to collect signatures as part of the petition drive.
“Our goal is to collect between 450,000 and 500,000 [signatures],” she said.