Large Public Union Argues Ohio Courts Can Hear Contract Disputes

A lawyer for a unit of the largest public employee union in the US urged the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday to rule that judges, and not solely a state board, can hear labor contract disputes.

Kimm A. Massengill-Bernardin of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Ohio Council 8, told the justices that state law gives the courts the ability to hear such cases. An appeals court ruling said the State Employment Relations Board must hear the underlying dispute, which involves an employee fired from a Cleveland suburb and the city’s subsequent refusal to enter arbitration.

The interpretation ...