In the end, Ohio voters called for change and rejected big money and gutter politics in favor of union-endorsed candidates up and down the ballot. At the top of the ticket, Ohioans overwhelmingly voted for Dr. Amy Acton in the governor’s office and will send Sherrod Brown back to the U.S. Senate. In all, 68 of 76 of OCSEA's endorsed candidates were elected by the voters of Ohio.
With the election of Acton, Brown and union-endorsed candidates to all but one statewide office and union-endorsed flips throughout the Statehouse and Congress, "Ohioans have chosen a new direction, where decency is a priority and there is an agenda that puts working families first," wrote Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga yesterday. This includes breaking the Republican supermajority in the Ohio House, limiting the lawmakers’ ability to override vetoes from the incoming governor. This is particularly important against any legislation that could be harmful to public union members, their rights to collective bargaining, their public services and their pensions.
"Ohio’s working people showed up––OCSEA activists showed up and made their voices heard and demanded change! Now the real work begins!" said OCSEA President Chris Mabe of this week's election victories.
"This begins with our continuing real engagement with governor-elect Acton and her transition team that focuses on putting Ohio working families and our members first!" said Mabe. Alongside Pres. Burga, Pres. Mabe says he will push for policies that strengthen workers’ rights, create good paying jobs, and ensure that the voices of working people are heard in the decisions that shape their lives.
"The real mission at hand right now is that we are on the eve of an expiring state union contract, and we must be hyper focused on that," said Mabe. "That means making sure that we are going to the table prepared to continue our mission of protecting the issues prioritized by our members in our recent bargaining survey," he said.
Union members on the OCSEA State Contract Bargaining Team began meeting this week. They have begun building a winning strategy around the union's bargaining theme: Our Contract! Our Future! "That means doing everything we can to maintain the legacy of our 40-year-old contract while strengthening it for future generations," said Mabe.