Ohio Teamsters fight for voter-controlled redistricting

Ohio Teamsters have been working hard with other union members and community activists to put voters in charge of legislative redistricting. They've been gathering petition signatures for an amendment to put it on the ballot.

This week, Voters First, the coalition behind the amendment, announced they collected enough signatures to put the Voters First amendment before Ohioans in November.

Fred Crow, a trustee at Local 507 who collected signatures, explained the importance of the amendment this way:

The bottom line is if we don’t fix this, we could have Senate Bill 5 every day. Right now the Republicans control everything, so they are the ones drawing up the districts behind closed doors. There’s a lot of gerrymandering that’s going to hurt workers until voters are put in control of redistricting, not politicians.

Every 10 years legislative and congressional districts are redrawn based on new census information and shifting demographics. In Ohio, the current system gives politicians a free hand to draw the lines of their own districts. That means anti-worker politicians – the same ones who pushed for union-busting Senate Bill 5 – can abuse their power and hold on to office so they can continue their war on working families.

Teamsters throughout the state have been active in the Voter First campaign, running drive-through signature collections and a blood bank organized by Local 507. Brother Matt Ford at 507 and Steve Meade at Local 436 have been heavily involved.

Voters First teamed up with We Are Ohio, the group that helped defeat SB 5 last year. As We Are Ohio points out on its website:

It's a conflict of interest for a politician to draw his or her own legislative map. When they do this, they pick their voters. Voters should choose their elected officials and the Voters First amendment will create a citizens' commission to draw fair maps so that we have competitive elections. Right now, these self-serving politicians draw their own maps so they are safe and never have to worry about losing an election.

As the Ohio AFL-CIO wrote in an email blast,

The Voters First amendment ensures every Ohio voters' right to fair, competitive elections by replacing the current system where politicians draw their own legislative and congressional districts with an independent, non-partisan, citizens commission that will draw districts out in the open for everyone to see. 

Let’s hope our brothers and sisters in Ohio can beat back undemocratic redistricting the same way they defeated SB 5!
                                                                                                                                    --Union Thug