If passed, the bill would eliminate collective bargaining and salary schedules for public employees across the state. Supporters said the measure could help control spending and provide more flexibility for cash-strapped governments.

Across the Alleghenies, 27 unions are bargaining, and six of those unions represent teachers and staff in school districts. An official with the Pennsylvania State Education Association said that's how they can make sure it's a level playing field.

"Taking away our collective bargaining rights is not going to balance the budget, said Lonnie Luna, a PSEA representative.

Collective bargaining has played out in schools across the Alleghenies and, in some cases, resulted in strikes to negotiate a deal for district employees. Despite big budget problems, Luna said if collective bargaining is taken away, it will tip the balance of power toward management.

"I'm not saying that all managers are bad, but what happens, when you tip the scales in that direction, we're going to have lower standards of living; we're going to have lower wages. We're going to have lower benefits," Luna said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and Republicans in the House and Senate said they haven't even talked about stripping unions of bargaining rights. The governor has reportedly said if a right to work bill landed on his desk, he'd sign it. That would give workers the right to choose whether they pay their union dues or not. Luna said, along with watching that closely, they're also looking at the domino effect.

"Without union wages, we're not going to have enough money to spend on the local businesses, and if I don't have that money to spend at a local business, then they're going to suffer," Luna said.

Some officials from the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, are meeting with union members in downtown State College at 6 p.m. Wednesday to talk about the challenges facing public sector employees in Pennsylvania.

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