COLUMBUS — Dr. Amy Acton is statistically tied with presumptive GOP nominee Vivek Ramaswamy in the race for Governor of Ohio, while holding a double digit lead in net favorability, according to polling conducted by Hart Research on behalf of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. The survey of 800 likely voters also found, in stark contrast to the opinions of many political commentators, that voters are more likely to support Dr. Acton for Governor after being reminded of her experience protecting Ohio’s public health during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A memo detailing the poll’s findings can be read here. 

Librarians and library workers at Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) are coming together to form our union. We deserve a voice in the policies that affect us, and we will use that collective voice to make our library system stronger, more accessible, and more equitable.

Rather than respect the choice of a supermajority of workers, CML management has decided to oppose our union by sharing anti-union propaganda that is more typical of a for-profit company, not a public institution.

COLUMBUS —  Despite providing a 3% pay increase to non-union staff, Equitas Health is only offering a 1% raise to union employees. The 1% offer, which management has stuck to over multiple bargaining sessions, was made during wage negotiations last week between the healthcare system and Equitas Health Workers United (EHWU), the union for nearly 200 frontline employees. Equitas Health management explicitly connected their lowball offer with an unfair labor practice charge from 2023 that is set to receive a hearing in December. 

COLUMBUS — The Executive Council of the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) recently voted to endorse Sherrod Brown for Senate in the 2026 election. The Executive Council is made up of OFT member leaders from across the state. 

Melissa Cropper, OFT President, released the following statement about the endorsement: “Sherrod spent his career fighting for the dignity of work and economic justice for Ohio families. Ohio — and the rest of the country — were better off when we had his unabashedly pro-worker, pro-union, pro-education voice in the Senate."

COLUMBUS — Today, members of the Ohio Education Association (OEA), the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT), and the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors (OC AAUP) filed a lawsuit in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas challenging an unconstitutional and discriminatory provision in the most recent Ohio state budget that strips educators of their rightful voice on the the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) Board.

“This policy is the latest in a long line of attacks against educators in Ohio,” said Glenetta Krause, a district-wide teacher mentor for Cincinnati Public Schools and member of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, who is the lead plaintiff. “Statehouse politicians have underfunded our public schools, rolled back our collective bargaining rights, fully eliminated Ohio’s elected State Board of Education, and told us what we can and can’t teach. Now they’re taking away our representation on our own retirement board. This lawsuit is about restoring fairness and protecting our fundamental right to have a say in how our retirement is managed.”

Tell State Representative Bob Peterson, Chair of the House Public Insurance and Pensions Committee, to hold a second hearing on HB 719, a bipartisan bill that would protect elected seats on the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) Board.

There has been just one hearing on HB 719 where only the sponsor was able to speak. Educators across the state deserve an opportunity to testify on HB 719, a bill that impacts their retirement..