Ohio voters defeated Issue 2 yesterday by a vote of 61% to 39%. If passed, Issue 2 would have permitted Senate Bill 5 to take effect. According to one report, the ballot question saw the union "vote no" campaign spend heavily to achieve victory, to the tune of $24 million.
While the political fallout of the result will be debated for some time, and has already begun, the implications for the labor professional are considerably more clear. The failure of Issue 2 means that current law continues in effect, including the dispute resolution mechanisms like fact-finding and binding conciliation for safety-related employees. The only thing to monitor now is whether proponents of Senate Bill 5 will attempt to pass the pieces of it that received favorable polling response, such as the requirement to pay at least 15% of the cost of health insurance coverage, merit pay, and pension "pickups."