Rugola, Easterling among leaders who joined launch in Columbus

On Thursday July 21st, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka came to Columbus to join Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga for a series of events to mark the launch of the massive Ohio AFL-CIO effort to repeal SB 5.

President Trumka and President Burga listen as community allies share their perspectives on SB 5 and explain why their groups are opposing the bill.

At the first event of the day, President Trumka and President Burga were joined by Ohio AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Pierrette Talley and more than a dozen representatives from allied community organizations for a roundtable discussion on the campaign and how SB 5 will hurt working families. The diverse set of participants included NAACP, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Alliance of Retired Americans, clergy, community advocates, Gene Branstool, the author of the original collective bargaining law in 1983, and a number of other union and non-union individuals from across the state.

The highlight of the day was a rally of more than 600 Labor leaders and allies from all over the state, assembled to kick off the labor-to-labor campaign to repeal SB5 on the November 8 ballot and receive some inspirational speeches from President Burga, President Trumka, and others.

Coincidentally, the Ohio Secretary of State certified the referendum to repeal SB 5 for the ballot just minutes before the mid-day event. President Burga shared the news that more than 915,000 signatures had been validated, far exceeding the 231,000 necessary. “Because of the work of everyone in this room and working families from across the state, we made the ballot,” Burga announced to a roar of applause. Burga called on all Ohio labor organizations to mobilize for the coming fight saying “labor was borne from struggle, and we will take this struggle, overturn SB 5 and usher in a new progressive movement for all workers.”

President Trumka and President Burga rally more than 600 labor leaders at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall in Columbus.

For his part, President Trumka delivered an equally inspiring oratory themed “Ohio Ground Zero: A Call for Unity”. He warned of the grave situation that the labor movement presently faces in Ohio and emphasized the need for every union member and ally to engage in the effort. “If SB 5 is not repealed, it will destroy the ability for us to achieve the American Dream in Ohio and across America,” Trumka said. For the finale of his speech Trumka spoke of the future of the labor movement. “We’ll fight for it together,” Trumka exclaimed to the wall to wall crowd at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall in Columbus. “To bring out the best in Ohio. To bring out the best in ourselves and each other and we will never, ever back down." Also speaking at the event was TWU International Representative Theotis James, AFSCME Council 8 President John Lyall, OFT President Sue Taylor and OAPFF President Mark Sanders.

To wrap up the day, President Trumka and President Burga were joined by OAPSE/AFSCME Executive Director Joe Rugola and Alliance for Retired Americans President Barbara Easterling for a tele-town hall which involved more than 65,000 statewide union activists. All four leaders called on rank-and-file union members to engage like they’ve never done before for this epic fight. They answered questions from participants about the campaign and the serious threat to working people that SB 5 represents.

Collectively, these events serve as the official kick-off for the statewide labor-to-labor campaign that has been organized under the leadership of President Burga. The effort, the most sophisticated and robust in Ohio labor history, will also be launched and rolled out in a series of Central Labor Council launch events across Ohio starting next week.