In Ohio's August special election voters resoundingly defeated Issue 1 aimed at making it more difficult for citizens to amend the state’s constitution.
Backed by special interest groups and power-hungry politicians, Issue 1 was an initiative brought forward to raise the threshold for approving future changes to Ohio’s constitution through the ballot box from a simple majority (50% plus one) to 60%. If passed, it would have been a departure from 110 years of history in the state and severely weakened the power of working people.
Unions across the state jumped on this issue early on to mobilize against this change. AFGE was deep in the fight to educate union members to vote no on Issue 1 on August 8. AFGE Legislative and Political Organizer Steven Campisi helped lead the union’s efforts to organize volunteers, reach out to union households, and explain the dangers this initiative would have on the important principle of ‘one person, one vote.’
In a press release following the defeat of Issue 1, Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga said, “For the entirety of this year, politicians supporting Issue 1 ignored the will of the people in the legislative process, flip-flopped on their ruling not to hold August special elections, costing taxpayers millions of dollars, and spread misinformation and lies from start to finish. In the end, voters would not be fooled by this unprecedented, corrupt attempt to silence our voice and we said emphatically, NO.”
AFGE joined thousands of union members across the state to make sure voters were educated and would turn out to the polls during an off year special election. LPO Campisi, along with other AFGE members from across the state of Ohio, were on the ground in May at the State House to make their voices heard about how Issue 1 was bad for Ohioans.
Throughout the summer Campisi himself knocked on 1,536 doors and galvanized dozens of AFGE members to complete 64 volunteer shifts to support the Labor-to-Labor canvassing efforts. The all-out ground game from the labor community included door knocking, lunch & learns, phone banks, and post card writing events. AFGE Local 31 activist and South Euclid City Councilwoman Chanell Elston joined the outreach efforts and recruited fellow local politicians to assist as well. AFGE Local 31 Legislative & Political Coordinator Marie Martin personally wrote 600 post cards to fellow union members urging them to vote no on Issue 1. AFGE activists Melissa Schardine and Joe Graceffo were also stand-out volunteers. All-told, AFGE staff, leaders and activists contacted more than 5,000 union members over the course of this critical campaign.
“I’m most proud of all the volunteers that came out and participated in an off year special election – it was amazing,” said Campisi. “The way we all worked together. A lot of groups we have common interests with came together and worked together. It was really beautiful to see. A lot of retirees came out to knock on doors, write post cards and make phone calls. The teamwork with the whole union solidarity movement — we haven’t seen in a long time in Ohio.”
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