Extreme Republican Legislators Continue Assault of Worker Rights for University Professors
A controversial plan to transform how Ohio's public colleges and universities operate is being altered to try and push Senate Bill 83 over the finish line this fall. Not only does the bill radically change what and how colleges and universities and can teach, but it eliminates labor rights for professors.
The biggest difference between what passed the Senate and the bill likely to be taken up by the House centers around the right of faculty and staff to strike. SB 83 originally prohibited all unionized employees from striking, but now that prohibition will only apply to professors.
"We got a lot of pushback from the service unions," Cirino said. "My concern is not shutting down the schools. It's the faculty that’s critical here. I’m not a union buster at all."
But without the ability to strike, Daryl Johnson, political director for the Ohio Federation of Teachers union, told lawmakers that "it will be harder for college faculty and other affected workers to win fair contracts that improve working conditions for staff and learning conditions for students."