I’m sure we all remember how it was, not all that long ago, when Ohio voters put on a demonstration of stupidity the level of which left many of us scratching our head, and on a statewide level. It was they who apparently thought that it was a good idea to side with unions in a battle over collective bargaining rights last November. But oh what a difference a few months seems to make. Because, you see, now it’s a majority of those very same folks who have now, apparently, turned against those very same unions over right-to-work legislation. At least that’s what a poll published Tuesday would seem to indicate. Those folks in Ohio sure are a fickle bunch.
It was a recent Quinnipiac University survey that showed that there is a 14 percentage point margin in favor of a ban on forcing workers to join a union in the famously blue-collar state. Ohioans polled showed 54 percent support passing right-to-work legislation while 40 percent were opposed. Which, I suppose, could be described as being more than a bit odd since back in November a state Senate bill, known as SB 5, which would have curbed union bargaining rights among public-sector workers, went down to defeat, 61 percent to 39 percent. So what is it that might have occurred to bring these people to their senses? Or, is this all nothing more than a spike in sanity that will prove to be only temporary?
“Given the assumption that the SB 5 referendum was a demonstration of union strength in Ohio, the 54–40 percent support for making Ohio a right-to-work state does make one take notice,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the university’s polling institute. “In the referendum, Independent voters, who are generally the key to Ohio elections, voted with the pro-union folks to repeal the law many viewed as an effort to handicap unions,” added Brown. Brown said, “The data indicates that many of those same Independents who stood up for unions this past November are standing up to unions by backing right-to-work legislation.” But, why might that be?
Quinnipiac’s figures showed that Independents support right-to-work legislation, 55-39 percent. Republicans are in favor, 77-20 percent, while Democrats, which should come as no surprise, oppose it, 61-31 percent. Support rises with household income, the poll showed. Those earning less than $30,000 a year are in favor, 48-44 percent, while those earning six figures support it, 50-39 percent. Ok, so which is it? Are the folks in Ohio pro-union or are they pro-worker? Nobody can be both. And as much as union leaders would like us all to believe they are pro-worker, they most definitely are not! The sole purpose of those in positions of union leadership is to increase their own political power.
Can this all be summed up by the simple fact that maybe, just maybe, people are finally beginning to come to their senses? Are they finally starting to see the light in that we can simply no longer afford these exorbitant public employee union contracts? Our country is broke and many of our states are broke or going broke, and the only solution that we continue to hear from Democrats is how the raising of taxes will fix the problem. Union leaders accuse those of us who are being forced to foot the bill for excessive union contracts, of being greedy. But from where I’m sitting it’s the overpaid and under-worked public employees who can’t cough up even the most trivial amount toward their own extravagant benefits who are the greedy ones.
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