Vote NO on Issue 1 — August 8 Special Election!

If passed, Issue 1 would amend the Ohio constitution to require a 60% vote for passage of amendments instead of the simple majority requirement that’s been in place for more than 100 years. This means 40.01% of voters could defeat 59.99% of voters on important constitutional issues. This would end majority rule in Ohio and take away our freedom to decide what happens here. It undermines the principle of “one person, one vote.” We need to protect our constitution, not permanently change it to give up our rights.

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KIPP Columbus Educators Win Union Vote

COLUMBUS — Today, a strong majority of educators at KIPP Columbus voted to form their union, KIPP Columbus ACTS (Alliance for Charter Teachers & Staff) in a secret ballot election administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The vote followed a months-long union busting campaign by KIPP Columbus’s administration. The union includes approximately 130 teachers, intervention specialists, social workers, teacher fellows, student life coordinators, and paraprofessionals who work at the four schools on the KIPP Columbus campus (Primary, Elementary, Middle, and High).

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Yes! I'm interested in forming a union at my library!

Libraries are essential infrastructure in our communities, providing information, entertainment, and public services. In order to meet the needs of our patrons and to set standards that allow us to recruit and retain highly skilled staff, librarians and library workers need a voice. We also need and deserve fair treatment and job security. That’s why library workers in Central Ohio — across multiple library systems — are coming together to build their union and have a voice at work. 

Interested in learning more? Email OFT's organizing department at organize@oft-aft.org

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Workers at Worthington Libraries Ratify First Union Contract

Worthington, OH — Librarians and other workers at Worthington Libraries voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first union contract. The union members held their vote on Monday and Tuesday, March 20 and 21. The Worthington Libraries Board of Trustees also voted to ratify the agreement during their Board meeting on Tuesday evening. The contract makes huge gains on the issues that motivated library staff to form their union, including paid leave, job security, and competitive wages. 

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What unions do

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

Tell your legislators: Don’t defund Ohio schools, libraries, and children’s services

Tell your legislators to reject two dangerous proposals* that would sabotage Ohio’s budget and jeopardize funding for public schools, higher education, libraries, children’s services, and other essential public services. Instead, tell them to meet their constitutional obligation to fully and equitably fund Ohio’s public schools.

*HB1 is a regressive tax scheme that would lead to big tax cuts for the rich and create a $4 billion revenue shortfall over the next two years.

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