COLUMBUS, Ohio — After three weeks of raucous debate that drew thousands of protesters to the state Capitol, the Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved by the slimmest margin possible a bill that would drastically reduce collective bargaining rights for Ohio's public workers.

Support for the controversial plan, known as Senate Bill 5, was so splintered among majority Republicans that Senate President Tom Niehaus was forced to yank two GOP dissenters from Senate committees earlier Wednesday so the bill could move to the floor for a full vote.

Six Republicans joined all 10 Senate Democrats in voting against the bill, resulting in a final vote of 17-16. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, which has a 59-40 Republican majority.

After the vote was announced, loud boos could be heard throughout the Statehouse as union workers jeered senators. "Shame on you," one yelled while departing the Senate chamber.

Senate Bill 5 has thrust Ohio into the national spotlight, along with Wisconsin and other states where workers' rights are under review. Union workers and their allies have packed the Capitol in recent weeks, but their efforts were not enough to topple the dominant Republican majority in the Senate and Republican Gov. John Kasich's support of the bill.

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The bill would overhaul Ohio's nearly 30-year-old collective bargaining law. Democrats and unions have pledged to put the bill before voters if it also passes the House and the governor signs it into law.

The bill redefines what contract terms public workers can collectively bargain with their employer. Wages can still be negotiated. Health care benefits, pension pick-ups and other provisions, however, will be off the table. And management can decide to negotiate other terms, including safety forces' equipment.

The bill also bans public workers from striking, establishes penalties for striking -- including jail time -- and establishes a new system for resolving labor disputes. Instead of binding arbitration, the employer's legislative body, such as a city council, would decide whether to side with a union or management.

A merit-based pay system would be established . If workers are laid off, length of employment could not be the only factor under consideration.

Republicans who supported the bill said workers have too much power at the bargaining table under current law, and reform is needed to help local governments cope with tightening budgets.

Sen. Shannon Jones, a Republican from Springboro who introduced the bill, said the current law has produced too many costly labor contracts .

"These contracts have slowly clogged the arteries of state and local governments," Jones said. "Their hands are tied by collectively bargained agreements."

But Democrats, labor groups and a handful of Republican senators said the bill goes too far.

"This law is not only unjust, it is unconscionable," Sen. Nina Turner, a Cleveland Democrat, said. "But it is also un-American. It strips middle class Americans of their rights."

The replacement for binding arbitration in particular caused unrest among Republicans who opposed the bill. They couldn't fathom the logic behind allowing a city council to resolve labor disputes between city workers and city management. They predicted councils would almost always favor employers. (An earlier version of this story incorrectly said councils would typically favor workers.)

"The city council, the school board, the legislature can do whatever they want to do because the fatal flaw in Senate Bill 5 is the absence of any check and balance on the legislative authority," Sen. Tim Grendell, a Republican from Chesterland, said. "That is a crime against the Constitution. It is a crime against the people of Ohio."

Five other Republicans joined Grendell in opposition: Sen. Bill Seitz, of Cincinnati; Sen. Gayle Manning, of North Ridgeville; Sen. Tom Patton, of Strongsville; Sen. Scott Oelslager, of North Canton; and Sen. Jim Hughes, of Columbus.

Opponents also worried about the impact on safety forces. Union leaders for police and firefighters said the law would leave it up to management whether quality of equipment, such as bulletproof vests, could be bargained.

"This bill provides for our safety to be contracted out to the lowest bidder," said Jay McDonald, president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio.

Seitz and Oelslager were removed from their committees on Wednesday to get SB 5 on the floor for a vote. As president, Niehaus can remove any Republican from a committee and pick a replacement.

Sen. Cliff Hite, of Findlay, replaced Seitz on the Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee. With Hite's support, the committee voted 7-5 in favor of the bill. Hughes voted with the committee's four Democrats against the bill.

""The bill needed a second committee vote to get to the floor Wednesday, and Niehaus had to make another change. He removed Oelslager from the Rules and Reference Committee, which then voted to put the bill before the entire Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Capri Cafaro said reshuffling the committees was an abuse of power.

"It goes too far when the president of the Senate abuses that power and uses it to achieve a desired outcome," said Cafaro, a Youngstown-area Democrat.

Gov. Kasich said he appreciated "the courage and resolve members of the Senate have shown in working with me to get Ohio back on track."""'John Anthony, a member of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association at the Statehouse Wednesday, said union workers will be back to protest when the bill is heard in the House.

"They only passed this by one vote. Is that representation?" Anthony said. "There's going to be a backlash on the Republican Party."