For months, a conservative state lawmaker has said he was working on a so-called “right to work” bill, banning employers from requiring workers to join unions. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports he’s finally introduced it.
Cincinnati Republican Tom Brinkman says Indiana and Michigan have had economic growth since passing so-called right to work legislation, and the lack of it is keeping Ohio from luring in companies that have built big factories in other states.
“We need those types of economic engines being brought to Ohio,” Brinkman said. “And ‘right to work’ could be one of the keys to do that.”
Opponents have said workers in right to work states have lower wages.
The bill doesn’t cover public sector unions, which were the focus of Senate Bill 5, the law that voters overwhelmingly rejected in 2011.