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Although over half of Ohio’s electorate favors right-to-work legislation, according to a new Quinnipiac Poll, the state isn’t likely to see any this year.

Unfortunately, after the dismal failure to pass a ballot initiative last year, Republicans aren’t gearing up for another battle. The loss could be due to the $30 million that unions pumped into the state, or the fact that the messaging got mangled in a feud between Republican Governor John Kasich and state GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine.

Regardless of what went wrong, Republicans in the state are still a little shell shocked and Gov. Kasich has no plans to introduce right-to-work legislation any time soon.  It’s unfortunate that Ohio will be sitting 2012 out, considering that many other states have viewed Indian’s passage of labor reform as a green light and worked off of that momentum.

In Michigan, Rep. Mike Shirkey is planning to debut a right-to-work bill that has Speaker Jase Bolger welcoming the debate. Minnesota’s Rep. Steve Drazkowski and Missouri’s Senate President Pro Tem, Rob Mayer, are both advancing similar pieces of legislation.

While Gov. Kasich’s political capital may not be as plentiful as it once was, hopefully he will invest the remainder into passing labor reform – giving business more confidence, employees more freedom, and Ohio a brighter future.

Gov. Mitch Daniels signed right-to-work legislation into law yesterday, solidifying Indiana as the 23^rd right-to-work state. Once Democrats in the House ended their boycott and gave Republicans a quorum, it was smooth sailing. Despite the noisy protestors, the Senate passed the legislation Wednesday and Daniels signed it almost immediately. The Band-Aid approach was hoped to quiet the protestors before the Super Bowl on February 5. The tactic could be working, since an AFL-CIO spokesman confirmed that no large protests are planned for Sunday.

Much to the dismay of Big Labor, Indiana’s success has sparked hopeful chatter in several other states. The victory marked the first time a right-to-work law has passed in more than a decade and the first time in traditionally union heavy “rust-belt” states.

Michigan is a state many are watching for signs of right-to-work support, even though Gov. Rick Snyder has called it too divisive. Michigan State Sen. Colbeck showed his support for the legislation saying, “It’s good for Indiana and bad for [non-right-to-work neighbor] Michigan, but at least some of our working youths will have shorter drives now when they come back to visit Michigan for the holidays.” House Speaker Jase Bolger also supports a right-to-work debate declaring it isn’t something that should be feared or run from.

With the Indiana House passing right-to-work legislation, and the expected quick approval from the Senate and Gov. Mitch Daniels, Indiana might be the first, but possibly not the only state to trim back union influence this year. Other states including Minnesota and Rhode Island, to name a few, have joined the trend to scale back union influence in one way or another.

Minnesota’s 2012 legislative session began on Jan. 24, and interest in right-to-work legislation is already heating up. The Pioneer Press reports State Sen. Dave Thompson (R) plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks, and the conservative think tank Center of the American Experiment released a report claiming if the state had prohibited closed union shops when the majority of other right-to-work states had, then on average Minnesota workers would have made from $2,260 to $3,072 more in 2008.

Providence Eye Witness News reports that Rhode Island State Sen. Nicholas Kettle (R) has plans to introduce a right-to-work bill for teachers. The current laws mandate public school teachers must pay union dues or agency fees as a condition of employment. “The National Education Association uses questionable tactics when dealing with our legislature… harming the reputation of many fine teachers and placing our children at the bottom of our priority list,” said Kettle.

While these bills may not find the same success as Indiana, they are sure to face the same critics – unions. In response to Kettle’s legislation in Rhode Island, NEA government relations director  Pat Crowley said, “The results are always the same: more profits for the 1%, more work for the 99%.” This is a bizarre response considering that giving teachers the option to opt out of union membership doesn’t create profits for anyone (though it would take money away from union leaders). If anything it could reduce the cost to the tax payer (the 99%).

In order to avoid giving Indiana House Republicans the quorum necessary to vote on right-to-work legislation, most House Democrats have been skipping work since the start of the 2012 legislative session. Yesterday, tax payers finally got their money’s worth when the Democrats showed up to the State House to do their job.

After a flurry of passionate floor speeches, House Bill 1001 passed 54-44. The bill will now move to the Senate, where it should easily pass and move on to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ (R) desk. Daniels has already indicated his approval of the bill, so it could be signed into law before the Super Bowl in Indianapolis next weekend.

Once Daniels signs the bill, Indiana will become the nation’s 23^rd right-to-work state, and the first in the traditionally union-frieldly Rust Belt. The last state to pass right-to-work legislation was Oklahoma in 2001.

The win in Indiana should be very encouraging for other states like New Hampshire and Michigan as they weigh their options regarding right-to-work legislation. A right-to-work bill has already passed the NH State House for a second time and could end up on Gov. John Lynch’s (D) desk again soon. Last November Republicans were only 12 votes shy of overriding Lynch’s veto for a similar bill.

The right-to-work battle is heating up in Indiana, and labor unions look desperate. So desperate in fact, that union leaders are contemplating disrupting the Super Bowl, which will be played in the Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Associated Press reports that around 50 Indiana labor leaders met this week for the AFL-CIO’s “labor Table” to discuss a strategy. With all eyes on Indiana on February 5, Big Labor wants to cash in on the free publicity and use the opportunity to bash right to work efforts in the state. The Teamsters are considering blocking the streets around the NFL village with truckers willing to risk arrest for their cause, and other union members could flood the streets marching in protest.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said they don’t expect the game to be disrupted, likely because the unions representing stagehands, carpenters, electricians and painters have a no-strike agreement with the board that runs the Indianapolis Convention Center. But other unions key to the overall success of the super bowl, such as hotel employees do not fall under the no-strike agreement.

It is clear from the hostile attitude of one Teamster organizer saying, “You can tell them we’ll take the Super Bowl and shove it,” that the good of the community might not be Big Labor’s number one interest. With Republicans in the state House and Senate hoping to vote on right-to-work legislation in the upcoming weeks, the half-time show might not be the only controversy at this year’s Super Bowl.

Back in November of 2011, Labor Pains told readers not to hold their breath for a 23^rd right to work state. This is why.

Close to a year after Indiana House Senate Democrats fled the state to protest Republican plans to curtail union rights, the legislators have employed a similar tactic to stall new right to work legislation by once again refused to show up last week.

While Indiana House Republicans have the votes to pass the measure, the House does not have the quorum it needs to conduct business without the Democrats in attendance.  If the House Democrats return, the legislature’s Republicans are expected to pass the measure without difficulty, holding a 60-40 majority in the House and a supermajority of 37-13 in the Senate.

In its last session, the Indiana legislature passed an anti-bolting statute, allowing daily fines of $1,000 to be assessed on members who are absent for three or more consecutive days without an excuse. Although these have yet to be imposed, the fines can be levied at the discretion of Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma.

One indication of the anti-bolting statute’s effectiveness is the recently scheduled vote on amendments to the bill, in which House Democrats are expected to attend this week.

Under the right to work legislation that Republicans are working to pass, employees at unionized private companies would not be required to pay dues to the union. If the bill passes, Indiana would become the first right to work state in what’s considered to be the nation’s traditional manufacturing belt.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, along with other supporters, argues that the bill would attract more jobs to Indiana–a state hit with 9 percent unemployment.

Given the likelihood that the bill will clear the House and Senate, Indiana workers may be able to breathe a little easier.

After the successes of New Jersey’s Chris Christie and Wisconsin’s Scott Walker in tempering the power of public sector unions, the failure of Senate Bill 5 in Ohio was a difficult loss. But the desire to curb Big Labor’s power is not completely lost; Ohio and Indiana are proving otherwise – even if the odds are against them.

Despite the recent defeat of Ohio Senate Bill 5, Ohioans have set their sights on ending forced union membership. “Ultimately, freedom to associate also means freedom not to associate,” said Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law to The New American. Thompson heads the organization, which is one of several attempting to pass a right to work law in Ohio. If the newly proposed “Workplace Freedom Amendment” is approved by Ohio voters in November 2012, then the state will become the 23^rd state to protect the freedom of choice for its employees – unless Indiana beats them to it.

Indiana leaders also have their eye on the right to work prize. In the 2011 session, right to work legislation was tabled after House Democrats fled the state forcing the Indiana House to shut down. Passing such legislation looks more promising this time around, especially since Governor Mitch Daniels is reportedly willing to put his weight behind the bill. Indiana Republicans control both the House and the Senate, so the votes are likely there. That leaves Indiana Democrats with only the extreme option of once again fleeing the state.

Yet despite the somewhat favorable political environment, observers doubt that either Ohio or Indiana will become the 23^rd right to work state. Right to work legislation hasn’t been successfully passed since the 1980’s, with the exception of Oklahoma in 2001. The reason? Labor unions will fight these efforts tooth and nail. It is estimated that Unions spent up to $50 million to successfully fight against SB5 in Ohio.

An excellent example of just how difficult it is to pass this kind of legislation can be seen in Colorado. In the fall of 2008, Colorado sought to pass right to work legislation, Amendment 47. In response, unions launched four “poison pill” measures, Amendments 53, 55, 56, and 57. These initiatives would have been “devastating to Colorado’s economy,” said Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce president Joe Blake to the Colorado Statesman.

The poison pill measures were more or less introduced as union bargaining chips in order to kill Amendment 47 by effectively blackmailing businesses – and it worked. Members of the business community struck a deal and pledged $3 million to defeat Amendment 47 in exchange for the removal of the offending measures. Amendment 47 did not pass, and Colorado was left with its hybrid right to work law, which allows employees by a vote of 75 percent or more, to eliminate right to work privileges and become a closed shop.

Union leaders are so desperate to retain their members that they are willing to go to almost any length to make sure right to work legislation is out of play. Right to work legislation is a great way to expand employee rights, but history suggests you shouldn’t hold your breath for it to pass in either Ohio or Indiana.

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) legal efforts to derail The Boeing Company from opening a new production plant in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, prompted 41 Republican senators to retaliate against President Obama and his pro-union NLRB. The senators wrote in a letter to Obama last Thursday that they’d “use all procedural tools available to defeat” the confirmations of two board members unless he withdrew their nominations immediately.

Specifically, the senators vowed to oppose the nominations of the board’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon and board member Craig Becker, a former attorney who has represented both the AFL-CIO and Service Workers International Union (SEIU), who we’ve written about before.

For a hint at just how frustrated the 41 senators are, here’s a bit more of the letter sent by them to President Obama:

The Senate has been unacceptably denied the ability to exercise its constitutional duty of advice and consent in regards to the NLRB.

In light of the NLRB’s recent actions that would have a deleterious effect on job creation and economic opportunity across the country, it is time to hold the NLRB accountable.

We urge you to withdraw both Mr. Solomon’s and Mr. Becker’s nominations to their respective positions immediately.

If not, we will vigorously oppose both nominations, vote against cloture and use all procedural tools available to defeat their confirmation in the Senate. …

Is this move against Boeing what President Obama meant when he told the AFL-CIO in August 2010 that he was going to “restore some balance” to the NLRB and make it easier for workers in the aerospace industry to unionize? It certainly seems that way.

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