Celebrating 40 years of legally protected collective bargaining in Ohio

2024 marks 40 years since Ohio's collective bargaining law took effect. Before that, public employees, including educators, could face jail time for going on strike, and the so-called professional agreements they had been able to negotiate with school districts didn't carry much weight. All of that changed with a stroke of Gov. Richard Celeste's pen in 1983, with the law taking effect the following year. OEA-Retired member Bill Lavezzi shares his memories of working in Ohio schools before and after the legal protections that were granted under Ohio's collective bargaining law.

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Important Moments in Ohio's Collective Bargaining History:

• 1947 - Hagerman Decision
  • Ohio Supreme Court case regarding dues checkoff
  • Spoke in “strident terms” against public sector bargaining
  • “[unions] have no function which they may discharge in connection with civil service employees"
  • Deemed it was improper for a public entity to delegate authority to another entity (including a union)
• 1947 - Ferguson Act
  • Banned public employee strikes and expressly allowed discipline, including termination, for participating in a strike
• 1958 - Voters reject a right-to-work amendment to the Ohio Constitution
• 1959 - The Ohio legislature authorizes union dues checkoff, which nullifies part of the Hagerman Decision
• 1975 reversal of the Hagerman Decision
  • The Dayton Classroom Teachers Association won an Ohio Supreme Court case, which stated that a "board of education is vested with discretionary authority to negotiate and to enter into a collective bargaining agreement..."
• 1975 - Gov. James Rhodes vetoes the first public sector bargaining bill
• 1977 - Gov. James Rhodes vetoes the second public sector bargaining bill
• Between 1978 and 1980, there were 183 public sector strikes
• 1983 - Gov. Richard F. Celeste signs into the law the "Ohio Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act"
• April 1, 1984 - Ohio's collective bargaining law comes into effect
• 2010 - Senate Bill 5 would have eliminated nearly all collective bargaining rights for public sector employees
  • On November 8, 2011, 61.33% of Ohio voters reject SB5 in a veto referendum
• 2018 - Janus v. AFSCME US Supreme Court decision eliminates agency fees
  • **Information from OEA Collective Bargaining and Research Consultant Eric Watson-Urban. 

Featured Public Education Matters guest: 

• William Lavezzi, OEA-Retired member 
  • Retired English teacher Bill Lavezzi served as president of two OEA locals both before and after enactment of Ohio’s Collective Bargaining Law. While teaching, he served in a variety of leaders