Foreword

Ohio’s Secretary of State had never seen anything like it. Volunteers toted hundreds of boxes with hundreds of thousands of signatures into his office. The 1.3 million signatures—only about 230,000  were required—were so heavy that the Secretary of State had to call in a structural engineer to make sure that the floor could support the weight. Issue 2—the ballot initiative to repeal Ohio Senate Bill 5, the anti–collective bargaining law—brought together a coalition of seasoned activists and regular working people who had never before been so engaged in the political process.

Some months before, I convened a roundtable of Ohioans at Trinity Episcopal Church across the street from the statehouse to listen to what collective bargaining meant for workers. A teacher said that she negotiates not only for wages and benefits, but also for class size. A police officer explained how he negotiates not just for materials, but for safety equipment. A nurse negotiated for better patient safety.

As new threats to organized labor emerge in statehouses throughout the nation, Collective Bargaining and the Battle of Ohio traces the victory over Ohio SB 5 and explains why it is a twenty-first-century turning point in Ohio politics.

Some time ago, I met with a group of janitors working in downtown Cincinnati who just that day had signed their first union contract. I asked one of them what being in a union meant to her. “At the age of 51,” she said, “this is the first time in my life I will have a paid vacation.” These custodians understood—as people all over my state understand—that collective bargaining is the ticket to the middle class. This was the first time in American history that a ballot initiative defended collective bargaining. Never before have we witnessed this kind of organized, well-financed effort to destroy gains made by American workers.

This resounding 22-point win to preserve collective bargaining rights was a triumph for hotel workers and firefighters, for small business owners and police officers. It was a victory for middle-class workers—and for those who aspire to join the middle class.

Sherrod Brown
United States Senator