Sick Days issue to be pulled from Nov. ballot

What would have been dubbed Issue 4 on the Nov. 4 ballot this fall will be taken off the ballot at the request of the Service Employees International Union District 1199, according to SEIU President Becky Williams.

OCSEA and other unions joined the coalition, Ohioans for Healthy Families, which pushed for the ballot issue that would have ensured seven paid sick days for Ohio workers.

This comes two weeks after Gov. Ted Strickland announced that he would not be backing the issue, nor would Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher.

Strickland and Fisher wrote a statement Aug. 22 on the decision:

“While we would hope that all Ohio businesses would make paid sick days available to their employees whenever possible, we believe that this initiative is unworkable, unwieldy, and would be detrimental to Ohio’s economy, and we will be opposing it and asking Ohioans to oppose it as a result."

The statement was sent to The Toledo Blade and other publications across the state.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Thursday morning that U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown plans to push for a different law mandating paid sick leave at the federal level.