Posts tagged Columbus Water & Power
Opinion Editorial Board: Ohio can hire goats if it wants to
July 1, 2026 // Humans domesticated goats about 10,000 years ago, but Harmon is against them, too. The common denominator is that neither goats nor computers pay union dues. If the city believes it can get a job done for $2,900 worth of goats rather than more expensive options that the union would accept, it should be able to hire the animals without a second thought. Not all subcontracting decisions are smart, of course, but they shouldn’t be disqualified just because union bosses aren’t getting a cut.
Ohio City Worker Union Complains That Goats Are Eating Its Lunch
June 17, 2026 // The “blatant disregard” of labor through subcontracting is the crux of the issue for Will Harmon, the local’s president, rather than the voracious ruminants clearing vegetation at the facility. The union filed a complaint with the Columbus Water & Power department this month after the agency promoted its partnership with a goat grazing company on social media. The grievance accuses the management at the facility, the Southerly Water Reclamation Plant outside Columbus, of failing to properly notify the union of its intent to subcontract the work, which, it said, violates their collective bargaining agreement. “Now it’s animals doing my work,” he said. “Before long, they’ll be having A.I. doing my bargaining unit work.”