Posts tagged Ohio
Union workers at Cleveland Public Library vote to authorize strike if a deal cannot be reached
July 15, 2026 // Union Cleveland Public Library workers, represented by SEIU District 1199, voted to authorize a strike as contract talks continue after eight months of bargaining.
Columbus Metropolitan latest among central Ohio libraries to form union
July 9, 2026 // According to secret ballot election results released July 7 by Ohio’s State Employment Relations Board, 86% of valid ballots agreed to unionize. The new union includes about 600 librarians, customer service specialists, youth engagement specialists, materials services associates, drivers, sorters and other library workers. It does not include management or security staff. The vote count was 368-60, with roughly 428 employees casting mail-in ballots, according to the Ohio Federation of Teachers, which began organizing the library's union in 2024. The union also represents many of central Ohio's suburban public libraries, including Worthington, Grandview Heights, Pickerington, Upper Arlington and Delaware County. All six now have labor contracts.
Commentary: Faster Contracts, Bigger Problems
July 7, 2026 // TThe FLCA isn’t just about wages and hours. Some argue that it is also a backdoor for big unions to impose radical left ideology into the workplace. The Wall Street Journal editorial board recently warned, “Unions, allied with Democrats, have long supported a progressive agenda that includes collective bargaining for abortion coverage and transgender healthcare.” Under the FLCA, government arbitrators could force provisions for things like abortion coverage, gender-affirming care, and DEI mandates into a contract and lock them in for two years. Employers and workers alike would have little recourse. Not only is this bill flawed, but it also skipped the normal legislative process.
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.
Pennsylvania minimum wage bill stalls in state senate amid push for $15 an hour
July 1, 2026 // Citing the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office, many GOP members say an increase in the minimum wage would result in layoffs, reduced hours, increased costs to customers, and the destruction of small businesses. At this point, House Bill 2189 remains in the Senate but off the table and unlikely to be debated or voted on—at least for now.
Faculty unions oppose 3-year degrees as Massachusetts, Virginia and Ohio push ahead
July 1, 2026 // A bachelor's degree in the U.S. typically requires about 120 credit hours — a number with surprisingly arbitrary roots. The standard traces back to the Carnegie Unit, created in 1906 by the Carnegie Foundation, which tied college funding and faculty pensions to a fixed measure of seat time rather than actual learning. Within a few years nearly every American college had adopted it, and the 120-credit, four-year degree became the default. That history matters because the four-year length was never sacred. In fact, the "original" liberal arts colleges, including Oxford and Cambridge, award most undergraduate degrees in three years. Much of Europe runs on a three-year bachelor's degrees. The American four-year model is a convention we selected 100 years ago, not a law of learning.
Columbus Metropolitan Library workers begin union vote
June 18, 2026 // Columbus Metropolitan Library employees begin voting on Tuesday to decide whether to unionize. The vote is scheduled to take place by mail from June 16 through June 30, with votes counted on July 7. The election comes after an estimated 600 eligible employees signed authorization cards in support of a vote to create a union. The employees would be represented by the Ohio Federation of Teachers.
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.”
Editorial: Why are some Republicans pushing price-hiking, pro-union bills in Congress?
June 15, 2026 // Democrats have long pushed pro-union measures sure to boost prices, even as they pretend to care about “affordability.” But why are Republicans now joining them? On Tuesday, a full 20 GOPers crossed the aisle to pass the Faster Labor Contracts Act, 230-193. The bill, lifted from Dems’ PRO Act, aims to boost unionization by forcing employers to agree to labor contracts within 90 days after a newly formed labor group calls for talks.
Commentary: Why Are Union Officials So Comfortable Stealing From Their Own Members?
June 8, 2026 // That’s why we’re highlighting legislation like Iowa Senate File 472, championed by Iowa State Senator Adrian Dickey. The legislation requires public-sector unions to obtain affirmative consent from workers before deducting union dues from their paychecks and to renew that authorization on a regular basis. Workers must actively opt in rather than being treated as automatic revenue sources. The measure strengthens transparency, reinforces worker choice, and ensures unions maintain the support of the people whose paychecks fund them. Organizations that serve their members well have nothing to fear from accountability. Accountability strengthens trust. It forces leaders to remain responsive to the people they represent. Union members deserve the same protections, transparency, and financial safeguards that shareholders expect from corporations and taxpayers expect from government.