On both ballot issues, the Ohio Chamber plans to leverage support from its members through newsletters and e-mails, Feasel said. The group also wants to work with other local chambers to educate voters.

The Ballot Board's decision on the wording of the collective bargaining law question followed hours of testimony as well as negotiations by Secretary of State Jon Husted, the board's Republican chairman. Having "yes" support the original law and "no" oppose it echoes years of Ohio ballot tradition.

Proponents of the law signed by Gov. John Kasich in late March wanted a "yes" to favor repeal of the controversial Senate Bill 5 and a "no" vote to oppose repeal. They argued the committee fighting the law has spent more than $4 million making clear it is a repeal question.

"They framed the issue, now they want to flip the issue," said Don Brey, an attorney for supporters of the law.

The state has 655,000 union members, who constitute 13.7 percent of the work force, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's more than the U.S. average rate of 11.9 percent.

Chamber president and CEO Andrew E. Doehrel said that in its decision to defend the law, the board "recognized the fundamental imbalance" between the cost of government and Ohio's economic reality.

"By committing the Chamber's resources, financial and otherwise, to this important endeavor, Ohio's job creators are reiterating the message that Ohio must be open for business," Doehrel said in a written statement.

The chamber's support should give the backers of the collective bargaining law and the so-called Healthcare Freedom Amendment a welcome boost from businesses going into what's expected to be a bitter fall campaign against labor unions.

The most recent campaign filing reports show that the group opposing the collective bargaining law has raised about $7 million.

The state's labor groups representing teachers, police officers and firefighters have also turned to their members to help pay for the repeal campaign. For instance, members of the Ohio Education Association have already agreed to a one-time, $54 dues increase. The move was expected to yield $5.5 million for the ballot effort.

The law restricts collective bargaining rights for more than 350,000 teachers, police officers, state employees and others. It bans public employee strikes and gets rid of automatic pay increases, replacing them with merit raises or performance pay.

Other business groups have also recently thrown their support behind upholding the collective bargaining restrictions. They include the Greater Cleveland Partnership, one of the largest metropolitan chambers of commerce in the country, and chambers of commerce in Cincinnati and Dayton.

Opponents contend the collective bargaining restrictions are an unfair attack on public employee unions that had worked cooperatively with their government employers for decades. They accuse lawmakers of exploiting a state budget crisis to pass a measure unpopular with a majority of Ohioans.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 56 percent of Ohio voters say the new collective bargaining law should be repealed, compared with 32 percent who favor keeping it in place.

However, Kasich, a first-term governor, and his GOP colleagues argue the legislation will help city officials, school superintendents and others control their costs at a time when they, too, are feeling budget woes. Kasich has said he wants to play a visible role defending the law.

The governor has enjoyed strong ties with the chamber since his campaign for office. Last September, the chamber's political arm broke a 117-year tradition of not wading into the gubernatorial election by endorsing Kasich over then-Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.

Also Wednesday, the state Ballot Board approved the wording Ohioans will see Nov. 8 when they vote on the health care amendment and on whether to raise the age limit for judges.

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AP Statehouse Correspondent Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report.