One the most unaddressed aspects of the fight going on in Columbus are the 44 words inserted in Senate Bill 5 which, if adopted, will make Ohio a "Right-to-Work" (RTW) state insofar as public employment is concerned.
It could be that this provision is the opening round in renewed union versus management (proxied in a Democrats versus Republicans context) fight in Ohio over whether or not Ohio is to join 28 other states as a "Right-to-Work" state. Public employment - the first step? Then all Ohio employment to follow?
Back in 1958 there was a huge fight between Republicans and Democrats over "Right-to-Work." A big player for Ohio adopting RTW was none other than Stark County's "Timken Roller Bearing Company."
Timken family members have been stalwart Republican campaign contributors over many decades. Moreover, they are particularly invested in the gubernatorial reign of Republican John Kasich.
From The Huffington Post archives, here is a list of the many contributions made by Timken family members to the Kasich-Taylor campaign.
On Tuesday, February 22nd, Governor Kasich is the speaker at a Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce event: "A Night with Ohio's Governor."
Undoubtedly, the Timkens will be there in full force.
But also there will be Stark County's unions. The Timkens and the Governor's hobnobbers will be on the inside whereas the unionist will be on the outside shouting their protests against Kasich's attempt to take away collective bargaining from public employees and his making Ohio a "Right-to-Work" state as far as public employment is concerned.
Stark's unions are aiming for 1,000 to be on the outside. Tuesday evening promises to be an interesting evening indeed in downtown Canton, Ohio!
