Columbus City Council Labor Day Celebration and Panel on Worker Organizing - August 31, 2026
Columbus City Council Labor Day Celebration and Panel on Worker Organizing - August 31, 2026
On August 31, 2026, Columbus City Council held a Labor Day celebration in City Council Chambers featuring remarks by Council President Rob Dorrans (also an IBEW member) and Central Labor Council Executive Director Jamie Shoemaker, followed by a panel discussion with four workers who recently organized their workplaces. The event highlighted the importance of unions and the ongoing efforts to organize workers across various industries.
Opening Remarks
- Council President Rob Dorrans, a second-generation IBEW member, shared his personal story of how the labor movement transformed his family's economic stability. He emphasized that union members are building and running the city, and urged continued organizing to counter attacks on workers at the state and federal levels.
- Jamie Shoemaker, Executive Director of the Central Labor Council, acknowledged labor leaders in the room and noted that unions face coordinated attacks. She stressed that the fight is not over and encouraged attendees to connect with the panelists.
Panel Discussion: Worker Organizing Experiences
- Abby Gross Close (Nurse at Nationwide Children's Hospital) described their unionization effort over nearly two years, prioritizing patient care over profits. She learned that management does not always have workers' best interests in mind, and that many young workers lack basic knowledge about unions.
- Violet Musser (Worker at Jenny's Ice Cream) emphasized that every worker deserves dignity, fair pay, and the ability to afford their city. She learned that workers are more alike than different, and that organizing breaks down barriers.
- Jude Verosco (Adult Services Librarian, Columbus Metropolitan Library) recounted the library's organizing drive, noting that library leadership hired expensive lawyers and engaged in union busting, but they still won. The key lesson is that organizing is about listening more than talking.
- Ashby Doherty (Gateway Film Center worker) described how workplace conditions deteriorated, leading to their successful unionization and contract. They were surprised by the strong community support from patrons.
Key Advice for Workers Considering Organizing
- Stick with it; it will be a grind but worth it (Abby, Ashby).
- Make friends and build buy-in across the bargaining unit (Abby).
- Recognize that you have power; your work matters (Violet, Jude).
- Don't psych yourself out; management will try to scare you (Jude).
How Community Members Can Support Organizing Efforts
- Communicate directly with companies as consumers; they care about customer sentiment (Ashby, Violet).
- Listen to the union's specific requests rather than going rogue (Jude, Ashby).
- Use yard signs, social media, and petitions to apply pressure (Ashby, Violet).
- Engage with workers and educate them about unions (Abby).
Closing Remarks
- Council President Rob Dorrans thanked the panelists and reiterated the importance of listening to workers. He noted that his council has partnered with workers during organizing drives and that unionization strengthens workplaces. He wished attendees a safe and happy Labor Day.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes or decisions were made. The event served as a celebration and educational forum. The panelists' stories and advice were shared to inspire further organizing. The city council affirmed its support for worker organizing.
Meeting Transcript
Cut the lunch off. Hopefully everyone's enjoying enjoying themselves here in City Council Chambers. If you don't know who I am, I'm uh Rob Dorrans. I have the pleasure of being president for Otama, Columbus City Council. Oh thank thank you, Dorsey. Um in addition to being able to serve the residents on this body, I also have the honor of being an IBW member here in Columbus outside of council. Uh they represent every everyone in my office and uh proud second generation IBW member. It's been an honor to be part of a union that literally helped to raise me. Uh if you've heard my story before, um you know where I'm about to talk about. But you know, I was literally born on a Saturday, and my dad was walking to Picket Line on s on on Monday. Um and the reason for them being out on strike was his company trying to take away healthcare benefits from workers. So literally, from the first days of my life, it was the labor movement who was standing up for me to make sure that I had the resource to have uh a good and strong life. Um it made sure that my sister and I were the first uh of our family to have the opportunity to attend college, and it was really transformational. When you go back and talk to a lot of family members about their union stories, you sort of hear the before and the after. Uh, you know, my dad went to barber college actually right here in in Columbus, and this is back in the 1980s when you know cutting hair was not enough to potentially uh put enough food on the table to make sure you could have a family. And uh, you know, there's this old family story that my mom likes to tell about how her uncle, who was in the IBEW mentioned that there was an apprenticeship class that was opening up and that my dad should apply. And he had you know had never really worked with the tools before, but you know, he was always the kind of guy who was working on cars and that kind of thing, and thought that that was going to be a good opportunity for him. And fortunately enough, uh he stepped up and took that opportunity. Uh, but the labor movement was there to provide it. The labor movement was there to make sure that uh they were right there to help provide the training and the career pathway for him. Um that was the clear change in trajectory for my family. Uh our economic stability changed almost literally overnight. And we know that that is the power of the labor movement, right? We have organizations and we have an instant institutions whose sole mission is to make sure that we are moving the ball forward for working people. Um, literally in Columbus right now, whether or not you're going to get coffee, whether or not you're going to a hospital, whether or not you're dropping your kid off at school, whether or not you're having something built, you are interacting with union members. Union members are literally building this city, keeping it running uh in ways that I think many folks in generations have not even thought of about how the labor movement can have the impacts on society. Uh, because without it, uh we know what is going to happen. We know whether or not it's elected officials at the state house or at the federal level who want to strip workers of rights, who want to empower the billionaire class to make sure that those folks come first and workers come last. And the ability for anyone to stand up against them, it's gonna be the labor movement. It has to be labor leaders in this room, union members of this room to stand together to make sure that they have one another's backs, to make sure that it's not just one worker standing in that breach, that it's dozens or hundreds or thousands or millions of workers, making sure that they have the ability to have that collective action. Because at the end of the day, we are always stronger together than we are as individuals. And that is ultimately what this movement is all about. And as we enter into the the Labor Day weekend, um many folks just think about it as the opportunity to have another day off and hopefully have a barbecue and a little more time with your family. And those things are important. Um it also is an important time for us to step back and really think about the folks who came before us, the folks that helped to build this labor movement. Um many people don't realize that literally the AFL CIO as an institution was founded right here in Columbus, Ohio. That we've had a labor tradition in this city that goes back generations. Uh but one of the things that makes me so proud to look across this room is that it's easy to just talk talk about the history of an institution as a whole is labor. Um, but what we actually need to talk about is the future of it. Because there are so many folks right now that are putting their time and sweat equity into organizing the next generation of union workers because that's what matters to make sure that we don't stay stagnant at a time in which again we're facing unprecedented attacks uh at the state and federal level uh on workers. That is so important to bring more people uh into this labor movement. Um more people that maybe haven't even thought of themselves as being part of the labor movement before. Um, you know, in the last couple years we've seen just an incredible amount of organizing across Central Ohio. Whether or not it's folks scooping ice cream, serving coffee, um, providing legal defense to folks in on the courthouse. Um it has been an amazing time to watch it this generation step up and help build a labor movement that is something that has incredibly strong for them. Um that again provides that counterbalance, provides that ability for workers to have that seat at the table from a collective standpoint, because absent that we know what we're up against, we know what those folks will do. Um so just want to thank you all for for taking a little bit of time out of your Labor Day weekend to be here with me and everyone here. Uh wanna thank uh I've got a number of council colleagues that have taken time to be here today. Um, both uh Councilman Remy, Councilmember De Akauer, Councilmember Ross, uh I know we have uh State Center Bill DeMora is here with us as well. Uh have I missed anyone?
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