Ohio voters on track to reject union curbs, early tallies show

COLUMBUS | Tue Nov 8, 2011 9:14pm EST

COLUMBUS (Reuters) - Ohio voters appeared to be on track on Tuesday to repeal a law limiting collective bargaining rights for public workers, handing a major victory to labor unions.

With 6 percent of the precincts reporting, 64 percent of voters had rejected the law, while 36 percent supported it, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State's website, supporters of the union curbs were ahead in only three of the state's 88 counties.

Ohio's Republican-dominated assembly passed the law last spring. But it was put on hold after 1.3 million voters signed petitions to put it on the November ballot. The curbs, which were more sweeping than a law passed in Wisconsin, would have eliminated binding arbitration and banned strikes.

Ohio is a swing state important to the 2012 reelection hopes of President Barack Obama, a Democrat with strong labor union support.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/ ... LP20111109