Press

Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper released the following statement about SB 104:  “Every child deserves a safe and welcoming learning environment. We have been dismayed in recent years as extremist legislators have pushed for laws that target, intimidate, and harass trans and non-binary students. They do so at the expense of actually solving the real problems that students and educators face..."

CINCINNATI, CLEVELAND, TOLEDO, AND ENON, OHIO — Today, members of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, Cleveland Teachers Union, Toledo Federation of Teachers, and Greenon Federation of Teachers conducted literacy instruction for select groups of parents in their respective school districts. These trainings, developed by AFT) members and adapted by Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) members, were the start of a new phase in the OFT’s ongoing work to support literacy education. 

DELAWARE, OHIO — Today, an overwhelming majority of librarians and library workers at Delaware County District Library (DCDL) called on their Director and Board of Trustees to recognize their union. 

“We love our libraries and many of us want to build long-term careers here,” said Kaleb Kramer, adult services specialist at the Liberty Branch Library. “That’s why we’re coming together to form our union so we can fight for a voice in decisions that affect our work and for improvements — like parental leave, equitable benefits for part-time workers, and wage increases — that will reduce turnover and improve workplace standards.”

“Voluntary recognition of our union allows us to immediately begin working collaboratively with our Board and administration on a fair union contract and on other shared priorities, like building support for our levy in this year’s election. Most importantly, voluntary recognition of our union is a clear statement to the community that ACPL staff, administration, and Board members are united to provide the highest quality libraries and resources to our patrons.”

ATHENS, OHIO — Today, an overwhelming majority (72%) of librarians and library workers at Athens County Public Libraries (ACPL) called on their Director and Board of Trustees to 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.

“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."

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Federation of Teachers is opposed to HB 556 and HB 622 and plans to testify against these bills if they receive legislative hearings, the union announced today. HB 556 would change existing laws in order to subject teachers and librarians to a felony charge for the offense of pandering obscenity, without providing sufficient clarity on what constitutes obscenity. HB 622 would require public libraries to adopt a policy that prohibits its libraries from displaying matter that may be “harmful to juveniles.” Under HB 662, an Ohio resident can file a complaint against any library system in the state, and libraries that are found to have violated the law would be stripped of their state funding. 

COLUMBUS — Sara Kilpatrick, Executive Director of the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors (OCAAUP), and Melissa Cropper, President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, released the following statement in response to baseless, politically-motivated accusations against Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum, an STRS Board member since 2021:

“On Wednesday, May 15, the Ohio Attorney General filed a frivolous lawsuit claiming that STRS Board Member Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum breached his fiduciary duties and therefore must be removed from his position on the Retirement Board. The lawsuit arrived on the heels of anonymous, spurious allegations made against Dr. Fichtenbaum, which he thoroughly rebutted in a public statement."

UPPER ARLINGTON, OH — Today, a strong majority of staff at Upper Arlington Public Library (UAPL) voted to form their union, Upper Arlington Public Library United Staff (UAPLUS), in a secret ballot election administered by Ohio’s State Employment Relations Board. The new union, which includes around 90 librarians and library workers, is the fourth group of Central Ohio library workers to successfully organize with the Ohio Federation of Teachers since 2021.

Melissa Cropper, President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT), released the following statement congratulating Michelle Flanigan on her election to the STRS Ohio Board and responding to recent news reports about STRS Ohio: