Ohio Polls Encouraging, But Campaign Volunteers Taking No Chances

Exhaustive Work Continues to Repeal Anti-Collective Bargaining Law

As CWA members continue their tireless efforts to overturn Ohio's anti-collective bargaining law, a new poll indicates they and the thousands of other campaign volunteers are having the desired impact: 57 percent of voters say they oppose the unjust law.

In every category of voter polled by Quinnipiac University — men, women, blacks, whites, college-educated, no college degree, union and non-union households — a majority said they want to repeal the law stripping collective bargaining rights from public workers. Only 32 percent of voters said they support the law.

Gov. John Kasich and Republican leaders rushed the law through the legislature in March. Less than three months later, unions and broad coalitions of allies had collected a record 1.3 million petition signatures for the referendum Nov. 8.

Activists have been working even harder since then to make sure voters understand what's at stake and go to the polls to vote "No" on Issue 2. A majority "No" vote would overturn the law. Among creative campaigning, firefighters distributed 250 pounds of "Vote No" peanuts Sunday to thousands of football fans arriving for the Cleveland Browns' game.

The Quinnipiac poll and others are encouraging, but no one is resting until Election Day is over — and even then there's still plenty of work to do, CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen said.

"Across Ohio, hundreds of CWA members, officers and staff are knocking on doors, and talking with their co-workers about the importance of turning out to vote," Rosen said. "While we are far ahead in the polls, the only poll that counts is on Election Day, so turnout is critical. We need to win big because the fight isn't over on November 8th. We are focused on building a movement that fights for good jobs and strong communities over many election days, not just one."

The campaign volunteers include thousands of retirees. Last week, 25,000 retirees participated in a telephone town hall meeting with Alliance for Retired Americans President Barbara Easterling, CWA's retired secretary-treasurer and an Ohio native.

Easterling called Issue 2 "a pure, old-fashioned power grab" and said, "What upsets me the most is how the people who have dedicated their lives to public service — state and local government workers — are the ones being blamed for our state's financial problems.

"This is just flat out wrong. Public employees aren't the problem. They are the ones who make our communities better, safer places."