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Kasich Tells Summit That Ohio Won't Be a "Right to Work" State While He's Governor

photo of Gov. John Kasich
KAREN KASLER
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU
Ford CEO Jim Hackett (right) also spoke at the summit about self-driving cars.

Gov. John Kasich talked about one of his favorite subjects – partnering with community colleges to develop workers’ high tech skills – as he opened the Midwestern Governors Association workforce summit Wednesday.  He also talked about what he said won’t be changing when it comes to Ohio’s workforce.

Eight of the 12 midwestern states are so-called right to work states, which ban requiring that workers pay union dues as a condition of employment. But Kasich – who was a key backer of the collective bargaining reform law that was repealed by voters in 2011 – told attendees that Ohio won’t be.

“We are not a right to work state. We don’t intend to be, at least as long as I’m here – but I’m only here four more months. But I didn’t see it as any kind of advantage at all. And I hope we can maintain the integrity and respect our organized labor in our state,” he said.

The group also heard from Ford CEO Jim Hackett about another of Kasich’s top topics – autonomous vehicles – which Hackett says will dramatically redesign roads and transportation systems.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.