State Vs. Unions Fight Now Playing in Ohio, Too

The nation's newest political hot potato—a strapped state trying to curb public sector unions—turned up in Ohio this afternoon. Thousands showed up at the Statehouse in Columbus to protest the GOP's plan to gut collective bargaining for state and local workers, reports the Dispatch. A vote could come soon, because Republicans here—unlike their counterparts in Wisconsin and Indiana—have enough members to call one.

The war of words in Ohio has played off familiar themes:

• "I am not doing this to punish employees who serve this state day after day,” said the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the bill, notes the New York Times. "I am doing this because I want to give the government flexibility and control over its work force."
• "I believe Gov. (John) Kasich decided he wants to squash unions and found a creative way to do it," said the president of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees.

(More Columbus, Ohio stories.)