Electing Your Own Boss

1. Electing Your Own Boss

2. An Overview of what we will Cover in this Workshop • Why it’s so important to be involved politically • How to go about being involved politically at your workplace • What we can help with and offer from the State Office • How to carry out the plan/the campaign itself • The ins and outs of a Levy Campaign • The PEOPLE program

3. Why be Involved in the Election Process • To have a voice and influence what happens at your job and workplace • To elect a good, competent, and qualified boss • To elect someone who supports OAPSE’s issues • To impact contract negotiations • To keep a good boss or remove a bad boss from office • To gain or retain control of a board

4. How to go about being involved politically at your workplace • Defining the context of the Election: • Running for an open seat • Running as an incumbent • Running against the incumbent • The mood of the voters • Determine available resources • Talk with your field staff • The earlier you start the better

5. Candidate Recruitment • Determine if they share OAPSE values • Verbal inquiring of candidates positions on issues important to OAPSE members • Are they labor friendly • Have them complete a written questionnaire • Are they Electable • Do they have name recognition • Are they well respected and thought of in the community

6. Candidate Recruitment (cont.) • Offer a Pledge of OAPSE Local’s Support • Volunteers • Call members, pass out literature, phone bank, place yard signs, circulate petition for candidacy • Possible campaign donation • Involvement of OAPSE political department/organization

7. What we can help with and offer from the State Office • Help develop a strategy and campaign plan • Polling • Phone banks • Develop campaign message and literature • Donations • Mailings

8. How to carry out the plan/the campaign itself • Election Information Research • Newspaper Articles • About candidates • Any pertinent issues in the community • Data Collection • Voter file information • Previous election results

9. How to carry out the plan/the campaign itself (cont.) • Campaign Plan • Implementation: Getting the message out • Core committee/volunteers • Attend functions in district • Phone banks • Endorsements • Door-to-door • Yard Signs • Mailings – message and/or endorsements

10. The ins and outs of a Levy Campaign • Early Involvement • Timing of levy • Ballot Language • Research • Strategy of the plan • OAPSE coordinating with local committee • OAPSE coordinating with professionals • OAPSE driven campaign

11. The ins and outs of a Levy Campaign (cont.) • Resources • Field Staff • Donations • Phone banks • Mailings • Polling

12. The PEOPLE Program • Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality • Where we get the monies to conduct our political action activities and provide a strong political voice for public employees • Great information on the OAPSE and AFSCME websites explaining the program

13. Examples of why it matterswho we elect – State Budget Bill • Issues included by Governor Strickland and Ohio House Democrats in their budget proposals • Eliminates school bus privatization language that had been passed into law by former Governor Taft’s last State Budget (HB 66) • How these issues were dealt with by the Republican controlled Senate in their budget proposal • Removed the House and Governor’s language to repeal this issue

14. Examples of why it matterswho we elect – State Budget Bill • Eliminates RIF language that had been passed by former Governor Taft’s last State Budget (HB 66) • Places a moratorium on new Charter Schools • Prohibits for-profit management companies from running Charter Schools • Removed the House and Governor’s language to repeal this issue • Removed the House and Governor’s language to place a moratorium • Removed Governor Strickland’s language to repeal this program

15. Examples of why it matterswho we elect – State Budget Bill • Language requiring Charter Schools to be held to the same standards as public schools • E-school funding per student will be reduced from $5,600 to $2,500/student • Severely watered down Governor Strickland’s language to ensure a continued lack of accountability • Restored the funding back to $5,600/student

16. Examples of why it matterswho we elect – State Budget Bill • The Governor vetoed both of these ideas • The Governor and the House Democrats deleted this language in HB 1 • Increased the funding amount for vouchers and those that were eligible to receive them • SB 192 re-introduced and passed the Senate

17. 2010 November Election-Statewide • Governor Strickland and McGee Brown • Secretary of State Maryellen O’Shaughnessey • State Auditor David Pepper • Attorney General Richard Cordray • State Treasurer Kevin Boyce • Ohio House of Representative • Ohio Senate • Ohio Supreme Court Brown and Trapp

18. 2010 November Elections-Federal • U. S. House of Representative • U. S. Senate • ARRA-Jobs package • Health Care • Second Jobs package • Government Pension Offset and Windfall • President Obama’s election in 2012