Kasich On Senate Bill 5: 'I Am Very Optimistic'

One day after thousands of Senate Bill 5 opponents crammed the Statehouse to voice their anger with lawmakers pushing collective bargaining reform, Governor John Kasich said he is optimistic the legislation will pass with the changes he wants to see enacted.

"I am very optimistic that there will be a meeting of the minds between the people who are moving this bill and our operation, and I think we'll get there. I feel very good about it," Kasich told reporters Friday afternoon.

"What we're trying to do is to restore some power in management. We want to narrow the scope of bargaining. We want to eliminate the right to strike, but we want people to talk, sit down, negotiate, get through this whole thing."

The Ohio proposal, sponsored by Republican Sen. Shannon Jones, would abolish collective bargaining rights for state workers and restrict teachers, firefighters, police, university employees and local workers in their bargaining abilities. Unions would lose the ability to negotiate salary schedules and step increases in favor of merit-based raises. Unions would be barred from requiring non-members covered by their contracts to pay dues.

On Thursday, the largely union crowd gathered at the Statehouse criticized Republicans pushing SB 5 for attacking middle class workers. One of the most repeated criticisms from opponents was that collective bargaining reform does not create any of the jobs Kasich vowed to create during his 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Asked by NBC4's Patrick Preston about the criticism on Friday, Kasich responded.

"If you can't manage your costs you have to drive up your taxes, you drive up your taxes and you drive out jobs. So this is just one piece of what is going to be a very comprehensive reform bill in the budget," Kasich said. "Your average private sector worker in Ohio pays 23 percent toward their health care. The average city worker in this state pays nine percent. So to suggest that we don't need to restore balance, it wouldn't be fair to the taxpayers."

"There have been a lot of promises made to people that will never be kept. And I'm here to say, 'look, let's deal with reality here. The whole business of collective bargaining reform is really designed to create a platform for job growth and entrepreneurship. Collective bargaining reform is just one tool in an overall process to fix Ohio."

Former Ohio AFL-CIO President Joe Rugola said he was alarmed that union workers are being characterized as "this new privileged class that enjoys a lifestyle and a way of life that other workers, particularly in the private sector, simply can't hope to enjoy."

"I know these people. I've been looking for 33 years. I can't find this privileged class of workers," he said. "I just don't see it."

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