Ohio Not Likely to be Right to Work Anytime Soon

I am often asked these days whether I think Ohio will become Right to Work. My answer is unequivocally the same each time. No. While I am a supporter of employees having the right to decide whether they want to be in a union, early results from Indiana’s recent foray into being right to work may have many employers wishing it was still business as usual.

Indiana had 299,000 paying union members last year, up from 249,000 in 2013, the last year it was a compulsory unionism state like Ohio. This meant that union membership, which had dipped to as low as 9.1 percent in 2012 was back up to 10.7 percent in 2014. And, the number of Indiana workers who are represented by unions but are not paying dues rose to 335,000 last year, which is 12 percent of the total workforce.

Matt Austin is a lawyer based in the Columbus, Ohio office of Roetzel & Andress, LPA who limits his practice to representing employers dealing with labor, employment, and OSHA matters. You can call Matt at (614) 723-2010 or email him at maustin@ralaw.com.