Press

With Substandard Wage Offer, Equitas Health Seeks to Punish Union Employees

A photo of Equitas Health Workers United member leaders

COLUMBUS — Despite providing a 3% pay increase to non-union staff, Equitas Health is only offering a 1% raise to union employees. The 1% offer, which management has stuck to over multiple bargaining sessions, was made during wage negotiations last week between the healthcare system and Equitas Health Workers United (EHWU), the union for nearly 200 frontline employees. Equitas Health management explicitly connected their lowball offer with an unfair labor practice charge from 2023 that is set to receive a hearing in December.

OFT President Cropper: Ohio Budget Chooses to Move Us Backward

“It is clear from the policy choices made in this budget that Governor DeWine, Ohio House Speaker Huffman, and Ohio Senate President McColley value profits over people and stadiums over students."

AAUP and OFT Call on Governor DeWine to Veto SB 1/HB 6

“SB 1/HB 6 is a slow motion wrecking ball aimed at Ohio’s public colleges and universities. It will strip faculty of their collective bargaining rights, demolish bedrock principles of academic freedom, overload administration with unfunded mandates, and put politicians in charge of what can be taught and discussed. This will drive talented faculty, staff, and students out of Ohio, lower the quality of research and education, and erode the prestige and reputation of some of the finest public universities in the country."

“This ruling further confirms what we’ve reported in the past, that during our organizing campaign, KIPP’s management engaged in illegal acts of intimidation and retaliation. We were not deterred by their actions because we, the workers, have the final say over whether or not we form our union."

Overwhelming Majority of Upper Arlington Public Library Workers Call for Union Recognition

UPPER ARLINGTON, OHIO — Today, an overwhelming majority (69.3%) of librarians and library workers at Upper Arlington Public Library (UAPL) called on their Director and Board of Trustees to voluntarily recognize their union. Copies of signed union cards from an overwhelming majority of library employees were delivered to management, while the originals were filed with the State Employee Relations Board (SERB) to request voluntary recognition of the union.

CCAD Faculty Votes to Form their Union with the Ohio Federation of Teachers by Overwhelming Majority

COLUMBUS — Today, an overwhelming majority of the 154 full-time and adjunct faculty at the Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) voted to form their union with the Ohio Federation of Teachers, naming themselves the CCAD Faculty Alliance (CFA). They voted by secret ballot administered by the NLRB after the CCAD Board of Trustees refused to voluntarily recognize their union.

“We could not be more thrilled to have finally won our union after months of organizing,” said Patrick Lay, an adjunct faculty member. “Having our union in place will allow us to focus on providing the best education possible instead of being bogged down by struggles to make ends meet or fighting to change an inefficient and inequitable system. It is a win-win for students, faculty and our community.”

Workers at Worthington Libraries Ratify First Union Contract

Worthington, OH — Librarians and other workers at Worthington Libraries voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first union contract. The union members held their vote on Monday and Tuesday, March 20 and 21. The Worthington Libraries Board of Trustees also voted to ratify the agreement during their Board meeting on Tuesday evening. The contract makes huge gains on the issues that motivated library staff to form their union, including paid leave, job security, and competitive wages. MORE

KIPP Columbus is Using Public Education Funding to Delay and Oppose Union Vote

Columbus, OH — The administration at KIPP Columbus, a campus of four charter schools that serve students from pre-K through the 12th grade, has declined to recognize KIPP Columbus Alliance for Charter Teachers and Staff, the union that was formed by a supermajority of eligible educators. Instead, they have hired an anti-union legal team and have filed a frivolous legal challenge that seeks to delay and stop a secret-ballot union election. KIPP Columbus is a private entity that relies on public education funding, including $15 million for the 2020-2021 school year.

OFT Endorses Candidates for the State Board of Education and the Ohio General Assembly

COLUMBUS, OH — Today, the Ohio Federation of Teachers announced additional endorsements for this year’s general election, including endorsements for the Ohio State Board of Education and the Ohio General Assembly. The endorsements were approved by a majority vote of OFT’s Executive Council, which is composed of member leaders from every OFT local union.

STRS Members File Lawsuit to Defend Educators’ Voice on the STRS Board

COLUMBUS — Today, members of the Ohio Education Association (OEA), the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT), and the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors (OC AAUP) filed a lawsuit in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas challenging an unconstitutional and discriminatory provision in the most recent Ohio state budget that strips educators of their rightful voice on the the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) Board.

“This policy is the latest in a long line of attacks against educators in Ohio,” said Glenetta Krause, a district-wide teacher mentor for Cincinnati Public Schools and member of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, who is the lead plaintiff. “Statehouse politicians have underfunded our public schools, rolled back our collective bargaining rights, fully eliminated Ohio’s elected State Board of Education, and told us what we can and can’t teach. Now they’re taking away our representation on our own retirement board. This lawsuit is about restoring fairness and protecting our fundamental right to have a say in how our retirement is managed.”