The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. (Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com)Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com
A new coalition of Ohio’s public employee unions has formed to fight against legislative attacks on their pension systems—but on cleveland.com’s Today in Ohio podcast, hosts asked why these powerful groups aren’t taking the more direct approach of voting out the lawmakers targeting them.
The podcasters discussed the formation of an umbrella group including the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Ohio Education Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters, AFSCME Council 8, and the Ohio Association of Public School Employees. The organizations are uniting to protect their retirement systems from legislative interference.
But Chris Quinn challenged the strategy’s effectiveness, pointing out the raw political power these groups could wield if properly organized: “The thing is, when you look at this umbrella group, it is a boatload of people. Every teacher, every cop, every firefighter, public employees everywhere. Why aren’t they using the power of the ballot box to wipe out all these clowns who are targeting them? That’s the thing that strikes me.”
This provocative question cuts to the heart of a political paradox in Ohio. Despite representing tens of thousands of members across the state, the unions have struggled to translate their numbers into electoral victories against the Republican supermajority that frequently targets them.
Laura Johnston agreed with Quinn’s assessment: “Representation is how you’re going to get anything changed in the Statehouse. And the unions do have political power when it comes to raising money.”
Quinn didn’t hold back on what he sees as a missed opportunity: “They can wipe out all these fringe people in the legislature with a concerted effort. It’s just they’ve never been able to get organized. The Democrats have fallen apart in this state completely.”
The podcast discussion highlighted that union members aren’t just concentrated in urban areas but are spread throughout Ohio’s rural and suburban districts. The geographic distribution could potentially give them influence in legislative races across the state if they coordinated their voting power.
The threat to these unions isn’t hypothetical. The Legislature has repeatedly targeted public pensions, which workers have paid into throughout their careers. Rather than forming defensive coalitions after attacks begin, Quinn suggested a more proactive approach: identifying and supporting candidates who would champion their interests.
“If they decided to, they could pick candidates and say, look, we want you to run against Joe Schmo because he’s targeting public schools and all these other things. We need somebody who’s going to stand for what’s right,” Quinn said.
The discussion revealed a broader concern about the state of political organization in Ohio and the failure of opposition groups to effectively challenge the entrenched power structure despite having the numerical advantage.
It’s an essential conversation for anyone interested in understanding how political power actually operates in the Buckeye State. Listen to the episode here.
Listen to full “Today in Ohio” episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.
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