Follow the Ohio Fire Fighters' Get Out the Vote Bus Tour

UPDATED November 8, 2011 -- For months, IAFF members throughout Ohio have been working hard to repeal SB 5 - Governor John Kasich's legislation that eliminates collective bargaining rights and jeopardizes public and fire fighter safety. In the final days leading up to the election, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger joins Ohio fire fighters for a Get Out the Vote Bus Tour November 5-8 to encourage all IAFF members and their families to campaign in their communities to help get citizens to the polls to Vote No on Issue 2 on November 8.

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Photos:

Warren
Youngstown
Akron
Middleburg Heights
Cleveland
Toledo
Lima
Findlay
Dayton
Middletown


Media Coverage

Ohio Vote on Kasich’s Union Law May Set Tone for 2012 National Elections - Bloomberg, 11/08/11
After efforts across the U.S. this year to rein in government-worker unions, Ohioans today will decide whether Governor John Kasich and Republican lawmakers went too far. Voters will consider a referendum on a law Kasich signed in March that was billed as a way to cut costs by limiting collective bargaining. Polls show the law may be headed for repeal, which would give Democrats a victory in a debate with Republicans over government’s scope heading into the 2012 presidential race. The outcome “is going to have a lot to do with where this country goes politically,” Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Firefighters, said during a Nov. 5 rally outside the main fire station in Warren, Ohio. “In every way you can measure it, this is really a national election.”

The Ed Show, 11/07/11

Firefighters Union Campaign Bus Stops In Fostoria - WFIN, 11/07/11
The International Association of Fire Fighters in their "Get Out The Vote" tour made a stop in Fostoria on Sunday. The Review Times reports the bus made a stop to greet and rally members of the Fostoria Fire Division at Central Fire station on W. South St. IAFF president Harold Schaitberger talked with firefighters and their families about the importance of repealing Senate Bill 5. The campaign crew canvases neighborhoods with information and visits fire stations to rally support. Schaitberger said more than 12,000 doors were knocked on in Toledo alone. IAFF members along with Mark Sanders, president of Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters.
 
Rallies, rhetoric mark end of SB 5 fight - Cincinnati Enquirer, 11/07/11
On the eve of a vote that could boost or do considerable damage to his governorship, Gov. John Kasich spoke to about 300 tea party supporters here in a speech that made scant mention of the issue so important to his future - Issue 2. "In about 28 hours, we are going to shove Senate Bill 5 down the throats of John Kasich and the Republicans," Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Firefighters told about 200 volunteers gathered at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall in Bond Hill.

Issue 2 debate heated on election-eve - FOX 19, 11/07/11
On the eve of Election Day, cheers for equality between the public and private sector rang out in Liberty Township. Gov. John Kasich used the example of a single mom, struggling not only to pay for her own family’s health care, but also forced to pay for the health care for those in the public sector.  Those hoping to repeal Issue 2 on Election Day have been just as vocal. Local firefighters are concerned collective bargaining reform means less power to negotiate for staffing and equipment. "For us in Middletown, we're already short staffed, now we can't negotiate safe standards on our fire gear and response times and those types of things that we feel are very important to us," said Jon Harvey with the Middletown firefighters union.

International Firefighters union makes final push against Issue 2 - FOX 19, 11/07/11
With their message big, bold and on wheels the International Association of Firefighters union bus pulled into Middletown for a pit-stop, bringing a strong message on board. A caravan of IAFF union leaders traveled from Washington DC to Middletown for one last push before voters head to the polls. "This is really all about power, and this about the governor and everyone who supported the governor's SB5 bill, that simply wants to have all the power," said IAFF Union President Harold Schaitberger.

Both sides make final push before Ohio union vote - Dayton Daily News, 11/07/11
Both sides are making their closing arguments on Ohio's collective bargaining law ahead of an election that will decide its fate.

Issue 2: Opponents rally while supporters continue to work to gain support - WOIO.com, 11/07/11
Issue 2 continues to be a very emotional decision for all Ohioans. There's just two more days left for those on both sides of the Issue to make their case to voters. In Independence there's been a phone bank up and running for weeks. The people there are trying to get voters to side with the Governor and his plan, keeping Senate Bill 5.

Issue 2 campaign rolls into Fostoria - Fostoria Review Times, 11/06/11
The energy ran high as local firefighters gathered to welcome a "Vote no on Issue 2" campaign bus to the Fostoria Fire Division Sunday. In its second day of a four-day "Get Out the Vote" tour, the International Association of Fire Fighters campaign bus made a stop to greet and rally members of the Fostoria Fire Division.

Unions try to get out the vote - Warren Tribune, 11/06/11
Supporters of an effort to vote no on state Issue 2 in Tuesday's election were told Saturday now is the time to work even harder. Two big guns from organized labor - Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers of America, and Harold A. Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters - addressed a crowd of about 100 people and said they need to ignore polls that show Issue 2 going down to defeat need to be ignored. Watch the Warren Tribune video.

Unions geared up for Ohio referendum vote - The Hill, 11/06/11
The International Association of Fire Fighters launched a get-out-the-vote bus tour Saturday that will stop in 13 of Ohio’s cities to encourage voters to head to the polls.

NO: It threatens public safety - Toledo Blade, 11/06/11

Opponents of Issue 2 Make Final Push - WKBN, Youngstown, channel 27, 11/05/11
As Election Day approaches, opponents of Issue 2 are making their final push to encourage voters to say no to the issue on Tuesday. On Saturday, a wrapped-bus, courtesy of the International Association of Fire Fighters, pulled into the AFSCME parking lot in Austintown. Dozens of fire fighters from both the Valley and out-of-state, came to rally for the repeal of SB 5.

Eyes of nation on Ohio vote on union-limiting law - WKBN, Youngstown, channel 27, 11/05/11
The fight over Ohio's new collective bargaining law pits the union rights of public workers against Republican efforts to shrink government and limit the reach of organized labor.

An all out effort to get people to vote no on Issue 2 - WFMJ, Youngstown channel 21