I don't know if Governor John Kasich played contact sports when he was young, but he's using the familiar strategy of delivering the blow, a head-rattling hit, on the first play of the game.

That first blow is designed to get the opponents’ attention. The Governor did just that with his threat to eliminate collective bargaining and binding arbitration.

The unions hit back with a blow of their own, storming the capitol in numbers.

Now that the macho posturing is out of the way, let's find common ground and cut the cost of government for the betterment of those of us who have had our wages or hours cut, our healthcare contributions and co-pays increased and our 401-k plans ravaged by Wall Street.

Senate Republicans last week were the first to reach across the aisle when they said they would compromise on collective bargaining, the most controversial item in Senate Bill 5. That looks something like this: employees will be able to bargain collectively on wages but not on benefits like health care and personal days. Binding arbitration is gone, however, there will be some type of mediation put in its place.

The Republicans have control of the house, the senate and the governor's seat so change is coming, no matter what the Democrats do. But, they too agree something needs to be done. The state faces an $8 billion deficit.

So, was Gov. Kasich's macho posturing necessary?

Not really, Rep. Matt Szollosi, (D) told The Press last week.

“A lot of this is a simple prelude from the administration that local government funds are going to get cut significantly,” he said.

Here’s the big picture. The state projects $55 billion in income and $63 billion in costs for the upcoming two-year budget. That means major cuts in state funding to local governments and schools.

Gov. Kasich two weeks ago told the Ohio Newspaper Association that S.B. 5 will give local governments and school districts tools to balance their budgets so they don’t try to take more of your dwindling paycheck.

These tools include the following, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission:

•Eliminates the “step increase,” that stealth euphemism for the “annual automatic raise” teachers and some other public employees get. Merit pay would replace it;

•Caps what state and local governments pay toward the costs of  health care premiums;

•Prohibits public employers from paying the employee contribution to pension plans;

•Prohibits the negotiation of health care benefits;

•Authorizes a local government or school district declared to be in fiscal emergency to set aside any portion of a collective bargaining agreement.

The bill also eliminates the right of the union to set minimum staffing levels and maximum class size. And, it reduces the importance of seniority in determining layoffs. Sometimes, an across-the-board pay decrease can eliminate the need for layoffs thus saving jobs and keeping valued programs such as school sports or recycling. However, those whose jobs are not in jeopardy due to seniority tend to vote down this sharing of the pain.

Some of these changes are needed. Last year, Ohio received $5 to $6 billion in one-time stimulus money. That’s gone. The feds are broke too. Consequently, the state will send less money to local governments and schools.

School employees will be hit hard as compensation typically takes 70 to 80 percent of a district's budget. When revenue is stagnant or declining, as has been the case during this recession, paying annual step increases of 3 to 5 percent can result in teacher layoffs and less services to taxpayers and their children, or to a constant presence at the polls.

Most Ohioans value teachers and public employees. They provide needed services that benefit us all. This should not be a fight between the public and private sectors, nor a race to the bottom for wages and benefits. That said, however, the escalating cost of government is unsustainable given the current state of Ohio’s economy.

Rep. Szollosi believes public employees do understand that. He said, “Given the depth of the recession, you can ask them to pay more for their healthcare, you can ask them to allocate more to their pension and more to their co-pay and take unpaid days off, furlough days, nobody wants to do any of these things, but they’ll agree.

“When you threaten their job security the way this bill does though, you’re going to see the reaction that you’re seeing. One of the greatest fears is seeing that unemployment bus arrive and wondering whether you’re next. That type of insecurity is a very, very powerful motivator. If Gov. Kasich wants to take the state back to the days when state jobs are granted on the basis of political patronage, nepotism, cronyism, then this is certainly the track to take. I don’t think that’s good government.”

We’ll take Rep. Szollosi at his word--that public employees will do their part to help balance the budget. And, we urge him to pressure administrators and legislators to also sacrifice.

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