8,500 union protesters rally at Ohio Statehouse over Senate Bill 5

[OhioChick]

Tuesday, March 01, 2011, 4:11 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Senate Republicans continued to massage a collective bargaining proposal in a Statehouse committee, introducing 15 amendments to Senate Bill 5, as public union workers again led a spirited daylong rally outside against the proposal.

The changes proposed to the bill today include new procedures for settling workplace disputes with management to replace binding arbitration, caps on employee vacation and sick leave payments, and prohibiting basing layoff orders solely on seniority.

The amendments also call for state workers to be allowed to collectively bargain on wages only and prohibit strikes by any public employee, state or local, provisions previously announced by Senate President Tom Niehaus.

But the changes still did not win immediate support from all Republicans on the GOP-controlled Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee. There are eight Republicans and four Democratic members of the committee. But Republican Sen. Bill Seitz, of Cincinnati, said he is still against it and Sen. Jim Hughes, of Columbus, said he needed more time to review the amendments.

More: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/03/ohio_senate_republicans_offer.html