The Ohio Roundtable fired back Thursday at Gov. Ted Strickland’s attempts to strike a legislative compromise over a proposed sick-leave mandate that is headed to the ballot this fall.

At a news conference in Columbus, the public policy group said it vehemently opposes the governor’s call for an agreement on the measure, which proponents are working to put on the November ballot. Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher on Wednesday said they sent letters to 500 business executives in Ohio, asking that they attempt to reach a compromise before the issue can hit the polls.

If the proposal makes it onto the ballot and is supported by voters, it would require employers with 25 or more workers to provide seven days of paid sick leave annually for employees working 30 hours or more a week.

Ohio Roundtable CEO David Zanotti urged Strickland to join the policy group in opposing the measure. He argued Ohioans deserve more adequate representation than any offered by the selected 500 executives.

Zanotti dismissed the notion that the proposal cannot be defeated, and he called for government and business groups to fight the measure’s supporters, including Ohioans for Healthy Families and the Service Employees International Union.

The measure’s advocates have cited survey data indicating more than two-thirds of voters would OK such a mandate if it made it to the ballot.

If the proposal is passed, opposition groups will have opportunities to fight for changes and modify the legislation through the courts, Zanotti said.

“The idea of giving up now is very poorly timed,” he said of Strickland’s push to settle the issue. “If (unions) get mandatory sick leave in Ohio, they’ve won.”

More information on Ohio issue 4.