Quinnipiac Poll: Ohioans Want Right-to-Work Law

Ohio voters who sided with unions in a battle over collective bargaining rights last November have now turned against them over right-to-work legislation, a poll published Tuesday showed.

The Quinnipiac University survey showed a 14 percentage point margin in favor of a ban on forcing workers to join a union in the famously blue-collar state.

Ohioans polled showed 54 percent support passing right-to-work legislation while 40 percent were opposed. In November a state Senate bill, known as SB 5, which would have curbed union bargaining rights among public-sector workers was defeated, 61 percent to 39 percent.

“Given the assumption that the SB 5 referendum was a demonstration of union strength in Ohio, the 54–40 percent support for making Ohio a right-to-work state does make one take notice,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the university’s polling institute.

“In the referendum, Independent voters, who are generally the key to Ohio elections, voted with the pro-union folks to repeal the law many viewed as an effort to handicap unions,” added Brown.

“The data indicates that many of those same Independents who stood up for unions this past November are standing up to unions by backing right-to-work legislation.”

Read more