There are 83 days till election day, and the fight for and against Ohio's new collective bargaining reform law is gearing up. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler reports Republican leaders are just now asking the leaders of the group that put Issue 2 before voters to come to a meeting to talk about a compromise.
The invitation comes at the end of a two page letter that outlines the need for collective bargaining reform as seen by the three Republicans who signed it - Speaker Bill Batchelder, Senate President Tom Niehaus and Governor John Kasich, who says union leaders approached lawmakers to try to deal during the Senate Bill 5 debate.
“This is not an effort that’s being put forward because we fear we’re going to lose. I don’t think when they approached us they thought they were going to lose. We don’t think we’re going to lose," say Kasich.
But the leaders of We Are Ohio seem confident in a win this fall.
“They could have compromised through the legislative process and they never did. What they did was lock people out of the Statehouse and shove this bill down their throats," says Melissa Fazekas, the coalition’s spokesperson..
Fazekas says We Are Ohio leaders would consider talks if lawmakers commit to coming back to the Statehouse and repealing the entire bill. The meeting is set for Friday morning.