State Sen. John Boccieri (D-Alliance) is hitting state Sen. Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson Township) back on the issue of the Employee Free Choice Act. Schuring hit Boccieri over the issue on Tuesday, saying that Boccieri was on the "wrong side of workers' rights."

Boccieri is now saying that Schuring's support for workers can, "Rest in Peace."

The Boccieri campaign says it took Schuring "a mere three weeks to abandon his halfhearted attempts to paint himself as a supporter of workers and friend of the American labor movement."

At issue is the Employee Free Choice Act. Also known as the "card check" legislation, the bill would require employers to permit a card-check method outside the workplace as an alternative to a secret ballot to determine worker support for union representation. The legislation passed in the U.S. House before being filibustered by Republicans in the Senate.

Schuring argued Tuesday that workers need a secret ballot to be free from intimidation. Boccieri is saying that Schuring "threw working families under the bus for his own political gain" by "attacking expanded collective bargaining rights for millions of working Americans." The Boccieri campaign notes this comes after Schuring had been touting support from labor earlier in the month.

"In today's economy, the right of workers to come together and collectively bargain for better pay, benefits, working conditions and pension protections is more important than ever. In America, working families should have the right to organize," Boccieri said. "Our current leaders on Wall Street and in Washington certainly aren't looking out for American workers, and with this attack, Senator Schuring isn't either."

The Boccieri camp said Schuring's announcement "could not have come at a more inopportune time."

"After a week-long meltdown on Wall Street that brought calls for corporate accountability even from right-wing Republicans, Schuring was deafeningly silent on that issue while attacking one of the few options American workers have left to protect their livelihoods from corporate America's reckless behavior: joining a union," the Boccieri campaign said in a release.

Schuring addressed the federal bailout in a statement to PolitickerOH.com on Wednesday.

The Boccieri campaign argues that the Employee Free Choice Act would simplify the process for forming a union by giving workers the option of signing up for it as they would any other organization. The Boccieri camp says the Act maintains the option of a secret-ballot vote for workers worried about intimidation, contrary to Schuring's claim.

"I think most workers are a lot more concerned about being intimidated out of joining a union by their employers than they are about being intimidated into one," said Dan Sciury, President of the Hall of Fame Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

"Wall Street brought us the Great Depression and the current financial meltdown that is jeopardizing the future of our children and grandchildren. Unions brought us the weekend, the eight-hour workday, good wages, health care and retirement pensions that helped create the American middle class. The Employee Free Choice Act simply gives workers who want it one more option for forming a union and advocating for better rights at work."

Sciury was also unimpressed by Schuring's professed concern for workers' rights.

"Kirk Schuring is not a friend to working people in this district and that is the reason that the Hall of Fame Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO has strongly endorsed John Boccieri for Congress," Sciury said.

Update:

Schuring campaign manager PJ Wenzel responded to Boccieri's attack.

"Only one candidate has a proven track record on the economy. Only one candidate voted to cut taxes and that was Kirk Schuring," said Wenzel. "Talk is cheap. John Boccieri's record on the economy speaks for itself. When Boccieri was faced with the opportunity to stand up for lower taxes and economic growth here in the 16th district and beyond, he failed to do so."

Schuring and Boccieri are vying to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Navarre) in Ohio's 16th Congressional District.