Ohio union reps are a no show for meeting with Gov. Kasich

COLUMBUS, Ohio - On Thursday, Ohio union leaders represented by the group We Are Ohio said they would refuse to sit down and talk with Gov. John Kasich about Ohio's new collective bargaining law (commonly referred to as Senate Bill 5) until the law was repealed.

On Friday morning, their words held true as union reps were a no show at the governor's meeting in the Riffe Center in downtown Columbus.

Reporters gathered in a meeting room awaiting a possible discussion between the two sides which have been at odds since Senate Bill 5 passed legislation and was signed into law in March. They waited about 30 minutes before calling it quits.

Kasich told NewsChannel5 he's ready and willing to negotiate, but was disappointed no unions showed. He said unions don't know how to negotiate, but that it's never too late.

We Are Ohio released the following statement Friday morning:

"Today workers representing We Are Ohio and our 1.3 million supporters continued their call on Governor Kasich, Senate President Niehaus and Speaker Batchelder to repeal all of Senate Bill 5, the unfair and unsafe bill that hurts us all. We Are Ohio called on these leaders to first repeal all of Senate Bill 5 to ensure a fresh start to the process."

The group Building a Better Ohio, which represents Ohioans in support of Issue 2 and Senate Bill 5 was quick to respond:

"Despite the rhetoric, Ohio's government union bosses have consistently demonstrated their unwillingness to be part of a meaningful solution. Their political allies failed to offer a single amendment to the bill. They walked away from efforts to open a dialogue earlier this summer. Now, they've arrogantly refused, once again, to even have a conversation about the possibility of resolving this debate outside of a bitter, costly ballot fight," said Building a Better Ohio spokesman Jason Mauk.

On Wednesday, the governor invited union reps to meet and talk about the issues in Senate Bill 5 that were bothering them and offered up an opportunity for compromise to avoid a costly battle at the polls in November.

We Are Ohio, which represents the interests of Ohio's public employee unions were successful in gaining over 1 million signatures to place a referendum on the November ballot (Issue 2) in an effort to repeal the collective bargaining law.

If Issue 2 is defeated, it will effectively abolish the terms of Senate Bill 5. The new law permits public employees to collectively bargain on issues related to the wages, hours, terms and conditions of their employment, but also now requires workers pay a share of their health and pension benefits which is more in line with what workers in the private sector currently pay.

Since its inception, public employee unions have cried the law is an unfair attack on middle class workers. Supporters of Senate Bill 5 said that it is a necessary reform to get the state (which was $8 billion dollars in the hole) back on track to fiscal responsibility.

There is no word yet on whether Gov. Kasich and Republican legislative leaders William Batchelder and Tom Niehaus will try for another meeting.

In the meantime, We Are Ohio stands firm on their decision to take the measure to the polls in November.