Ohioans Reject Extremist Agenda and Attack on Communities

The 99 Percent Have Spoken Loud and Clear

Cleveland, Ohio -- Tonight, Ohio citizens sent a message to extremist politicians: stop the attacks on working families and against workers who keep our communities secure.

This really was a victory for the ordinary people of Ohio. And it was a sharp lesson for Ohio politicians and their right-wing supporters who thought they could push through an extremist agenda at the expense of Ohio citizens and communities.

Elected officials who are considering more tax giveaways to the 1 percent should take a close look at this vote. The 99 percent have spoken loud and clear.

“We need to rebuild the American Dream. The attacks on workers’ rights, civil rights, our communities and environment are all connected, and we will stand together,” said CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen. “In Ohio, union members, community groups and individual citizen activists, are building a broad movement to fight for good jobs and strong communities, over many election days, not just one.”

Some politicians tried to claim that this campaign was all about taxes and spending, but Ohio citizens pushed back. Working people stood together, whether they worked in telecommunications and other private industry jobs or public service, and stood up for strong communities and bargaining rights for all. From gathering more than 1 million signatures to get this issue on the ballot, to calling neighbors and going door-to-door, Ohio workers were determined to make sure voters had all the facts about the harm Issue 2 could have caused.

Working families know that this measure threatened the rights of all workers, just as it threatened Ohio schools, hospital care, universities and other vital public services. Ohio voters also recognized that it’s Wall Street and greedy corporate interests that have caused the state’s budget shortfall, not the workers who keep us, our children and our communities safe.

Contact: Candice Johnson or Chuck Porcari, CWA Communications, 202-434-1168, cjohnson@cwa-union.org and cporcari@cwa-union.org