Unions raise and spend big in fight to overturn Ohio law

Opponents of the Ohio law that would limit public employee unions’ collective bargaining power out-raised and out-spent the law’s supporters more than three times over, according to campaign finance records filed Thursday.

We are Ohio, a union coalition that has been leading the repeal effort, by ballot initiative, of the law that passed the Ohio Legislature in March, has raised more than $30 million in contributions and other assistance, drawing largely on national union organizations.

Building a Better Ohio, the leading group in support of the law, has raised about $7.6 million and spent $6 million. The group’s contributions have come from the nonprofit organization Building a Better Ohio Inc., which is not required to disclose its donors or the amounts they gave. The group voluntarily released the names of its donors, but not their contributions.

“This honors a commitment to go beyond what is required of us in the disclosure of our financial status,” the group said in a statement. “Ohioans deserve to know who is supporting this effort to defend taxpayer rights, and we are providing that information in the interest of transparency.”

Also assisting in the effort to gin up support for the law is Americans for Prosperity, an Arlington, Va.-based group founded by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch. The group spent $28,000 on phone-banking and radio ads, a paltry sum compared with the $40 million it claims to have spent helping elect Republicans in the 2010 midterm election.

The Ohio law prohibits public employees from striking and requires workers to pay for their health insurance and pensions. Republican Gov. John Kasich signed the bill into law in late March, but it is now on hold pending the referendum, known as Issue 2, which gives voters the opportunity to repeal it. Ohioans will vote on the measure Nov. 8. (To further confuse matters, a “yes” vote on Issue 2 would count as a vote in favor of keeping the law, while a “no” vote would be a vote in favor of repealing it.)

As is often the case, Washington-based media firms have benefited greatly from the fight. About $12 million of the nearly $20 million spent by We are Ohio went to Washington-based media and polling firms, according to the group’s campaign finance filings, which detail transactions through Oct. 19.

“Opponents of Issue 2 have spent an extraordinary, perhaps historic, amount of money to defend their grip on our tax dollars,” said Jason Mauk, spokesman for the Building a Better Ohio campaign. “…While we will be dramatically outspent in this contest, we’re committed to waging an aggressive effort in the closing days of the election.”

kim.geiger@latimes.com