Teachers, local officials may lose ability to negotiate work contracts under bill
By William Hershey, Columbus BureauUpdated 11:21 PM Wednesday, February 9, 2011
COLUMBUS — Teachers and local government employees would lose the ability to negotiate pay, benefits and working conditions under sweeping legislation that would also prohibit collective bargaining for some 40,000 state employees introduced by Republican lawmakers Wednesday.
Senate Bill 5 also would basically end binding arbitration in stalled labor negotiations for police and firefighters, who are not permitted to strike. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Clearcreek Twp., and has support from Gov. John