Nan Whaley, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Dayton mayor, is laying out how she would lead if she took office.
Whaley was at the Communication Workers of America hall in Columbus Tuesday to roll out what she calls the "Workers' Bill of Rights," a value system she says she would follow as governor of Ohio.
The "bill of rights" includes making sure every worker has the ability to organize, guaranteeing a safe workplace, and prohibiting non-compete agreements.
"We are worker-centered. Workers have a right to these things. And all of our decisions will be based off of these rights for workers," Whaley said.
Though Republicans have dominated Ohio elections since 2010, voters rejected an effort to limit collective bargaining for public employee unions in 2011. Since then, a few other efforts to move Ohio toward becoming a so-called "right to work" state have come from the Republican-dominated legislature, but none has passed.
There is a bill that would ban non-compete agreements for doctors from Sen. Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) and a bill to ban those contracts among broadcasters introduced by Sen. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland). Johnson's bill has had two hearings and Williams' bill has had one.
Whaley is running to be the Democratic nominee for governor in 2022 and will face Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley in the May primary.
Gov. Mike DeWine hasn't officially launched his re-election campaign but has said he will run. He'll face former Congressman Jim Renacci and central Ohio farmer and businessman Joe Blystone in the Republican primary.
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