"I Can't Just Sit Back and Watch"

CWA Volunteers Fight Tirelessly to Overturn Ohio’s Anti-Bargaining Law

It’s because of CWAers like Diane Bailey and Barb Allen that petitions to repeal an anti-bargaining rights law in Ohio had to be hauled to the secretary of state’s office in a semi-truck.

The two private-sector workers were among thousands of CWA members and allies who gave up evenings and weekends to collect signatures to overturn SB5. Pushed by Gov. John Kasich and Republican leaders at the statehouse, the law strips public workers of their collective bargaining rights.

But the record-breaking petition drive — 1.3 million signatures collected, more than 900,000 of them certified valid — put the law on hold until the Nov. 8 referendum.

Bailey and Allen, who are now collecting signatures to overturn a new voter suppression law, say volunteer activism is just part of their DNA.

Local 4310’s Bailey says: “I come from a labor family and I know how we got the things we have, how we got Social Security and Medicare and our benefits at work. I can’t just sit back and watch it be stripped away. All the hard work that those before me did to make my life easier will be robbed from my children and grandchildren if I don’t take action.”

Allen, of IUE-CWA Local 84722, says she can’t sit still either. “I can’t watch something happen that I don’t believe in. I love my union, I love my job and I love the people in my local, and it’s worth it to me to give my time.”

Bailey and Allen were creative in circulating anti-SB5 petitions. Bailey often posted her location on Facebook so people could find her and sign. Allen said she kept petitions with her at all times and always wore her anti-SB5 button. That drew voters to her wherever she went.

Since delivering the petitions, CWA members and coalitions of activists are working just as hard to educate voters and ensure SB5 never takes effect. Like Bailey and Allen, many of the volunteers have private-sector jobs, meaning they don’t have a personal stake in the battle — at least not yet.

But Bailey says it’s all related. “We know that it will trickle-down to the private sector if we don’t get out there and fight,” she said. “I can’t let that happen. I like to be someone who does something about things, instead of just talking about it.”