Saturday, May 23, 2015
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Republican Gov. John Kasich has rescinded two executive orders, signed by his Democratic predecessor more than seven years ago, that enabled state-contracted home health and child-care workers to unionize.
In a one-page executive order of his own Friday, Kasich said those workers can now buy health care coverage on the open market, so the earlier provisions established by former Gov. Ted Strickland are no longer necessary.
“Allowing these independent contractors to collectively bargain also gave them access to health care insurance their chosen unions provide to their members of a benefit of membership,” Kasich wrote. “Since that time, health care insurance has become widely available through other means, such as the federal health insurance and Medicaid.”
He concluded: “Accordingly, union membership is no longer one of the few, accessible ways for these contractors to potentially obtain health insurance.”
In July 2007, Strickland signed an executive order establishing collective bargaining for home health care workers. He did the same for in-home child-care workers the following year.
Both categories of workers are independent contractors and are not state employees, but Strickland’s orders allowed them to join unions to better access health care benefits and address other issues.
Kasich’s executive order Friday took effect immediately and quickly drew concern from labor groups.
“I am appalled by Gov. Kasich’s unilateral decision to rob tens of thousands of Ohio home care and childcare workers of their collective-bargaining rights and voice on the job,” Becky Williams, president of the Service Employees International Union District 1199, said in a statement. “By stripping collective-bargaining rights from home care and child-care workers, Kasich is effectively attempting to silence thousands of low-wage workers, women and people of color from their ability to advocate for their clients and preserve quality care and services to the children, seniors and people with disabilities in our communities.”