Republican attack on collective bargaining halted

There is a certain paradox in what just happened in Ohio.  Thanks to the provision in some states for direct democracy as opposed to a singular reliance on representative democracy a Republican law that would have in all but name abolished collective bargaining for public sector workers was trashed in a popular referendum officially abrogating the law.

As per the FT

Ohio rejects move to limit workers’ rights

Voters in Ohio have overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-backed measure to limit collective bargaining and curtail strikes by public sector workers, in a referendum widely seen as a dress rehearsal for next year’s presidential election in the critical battleground state.

Although opinion polls had shown a clear lead for the “No” campaign, early results suggested that the outcome of Tuesday’s ballot was even more emphatic, with almost two-thirds of the votes being cast against the measure. With more than 2m votes counted, 62 per cent had voted against the proposal.