While Michigan Republicans chose their lame-duck session to press legislation to become the 24th “right-to-work” state, backers of a similar law change in Ohio seem pointed toward a different venue: the ballot box.

Political leaders here show little interest in taking on that fight in the legislature, where memories of the ill-fated Senate Bill 5 remain strong. But a grassroots organization may force the issue with a November 2013 statewide ballot initiative.

Chris Littleton of Ohioans for Workplace Freedom is seeking 386,000 valid voter signatures by the first week in July to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. “Politically, it’s very difficult for a legislature, regardless of who is in control, to do something this big,” Littleton said. If the voters weigh in on it, then the direction Ohio should take is much more clear, he said.

“If Michigan goes this direction, we almost don’t have a choice,” Littleton said. “It’s hard to say what this would mean to Ohio’s economy over the next five years if two of our biggest border states, except for Pennsylvania, go right to work.”

Indiana adopted a right-to-work statute earlier this year.

Republican lawmakers in Michigan rushed through two right-to-work bills without committee hearings or a single Democrat vote. The state House on Tuesday passed a pair of bills that make it illegal to require payment of union dues as a condition of employment. The measure is widely seen as limiting union power while supporters say it gives workers both freedom and choice.

Ohio Republicans this week watched closely the developments in Michigan, though it doesn’t appear likely that a similar strategy will be attempted here. Gov. John Kasich this week tried to divert attention away from a discussion about right-to-work legislation and toward his agenda for 2013 and 2014, which includes education reform, tax reform and infrastructure changes.

“That’s the agenda I’m focused on,” the Republican governor said. “That’s all I got to say.”

Senate President-elect Keith Faber, R-Celina, said there have been no discussions or plans to push a bill to make Ohio a right-to-work state. “All along, we’ve said anything (along those lines) would have to be voter-approved because it would likely end up that way anyway,” Faber said.

Mike Dittoe, spokesman for Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, said the issue hasn’t come up and isn’t expected to anytime soon.

In 1958, Ohio voters rejected a right to work proposal by 63 percent of the vote. Last year, the GOP-controlled General Assembly adopted the 300-page Senate Bill 5 bill, gutting collective bargaining rights and union power in Ohio. After labor organizations collected more than a million voter signatures to put the bill up for a referendum vote, voters rejected the SB 5 reforms 62 percent to 38 percent.

After the vote, Kasich made clear that he wouldn’t ignore the message sent by voters.

Glenn Spencer, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce workforce freedom initiative, said each state is different in terms of when and how they consider adopting right-to-work laws. The SB 5 statewide vote may have a dampening effect on Ohio leaders willingness to push for a right to work law, he acknowledged.

But Tony Seegers, director of the labor and human resources policy for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, said he thinks Michigan’s decision will spur discussion in Ohio next year. “Realistically, it does put a little pressure on Ohio to remain competitive,” he said. “I think it’s something the state needs to consider now that we have two neighbors moving to right to work.”

Mike Gillis, spokesman for the Ohio AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization of labor unions, said Republican lawmakers will encounter a battle if they move to make Ohio a right-to-work state.

“We are an organization built to fight,” he said.