After previously walking back its endorsement of Issue 22, Cincinnati’s prominent labor council has announced its members support the sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern.
The Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council (CLC), which represents more than 40,000 area workers, first announced their endorsement of Issue 22 on Sept. 7, saying the city’s “weighty backlog” of infrastructure projects needs to be addressed.
But during an Oct. 4 CLC delegate meeting, a delegate successfully motioned to retract the labor council’s endorsement of the sale. The motion came as other groups in the city were beginning to come out in opposition to the sale, including Cincinnati’s NAACP chapter, the American Federation of Government Employees and Railroad Workers United.
Then, on Nov. 2, CLC issued a press release saying that aspects of the Oct. 4 motion were “incompatible” with CLC by-laws and “Robert’s Rules of Order.”
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“According to Robert’s Rules of Order Revised, Fourth Edition. Section 37. Rescind, Repeal, or Annul, any vote taken by an assembly… may be rescinded by a majority vote, provided notice of the motion has been given at the previous meeting or in the call for this meeting. No such notification was given,” CLC wrote in the release. “Furthermore, any such motion may be rescinded without notice by a two-thirds vote, or by a vote of a majority of the entire membership. The motion to rescind did not receive a two-thirds majority of those present at the meeting or by a majority of the entire membership at any time since.”
The release goes on to say that, because the announcement of CLC’s endorsement of Issue 22 had already been disseminated by media and in printed materials, the rules make the Oct. 4 motion to rescind the endorsement “undoable.”
Workers represented in CLC make up dozens of trades, including boilermakers, bricklayers, firefighters, teachers, musicians, air traffic controllers and more.
“Derail the Sale” campaign
CLC’s initial endorsement in September came as a shock to Abby Friend of the “Derail the Sale” campaign.
“At Derail the Sale, we are disappointed and surprised to learn of the close vote by the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council,” Friend told CityBeat. “But we are undeterred in our mission to stop the sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern. We have union workers on our side, including Railroad Workers United and many working Cincinnatians are with us as well.”
The Derail the Sale campaign is an organized group of citizens campaigning for “No” votes on Nov. 7, when Cincinnati voters will be asked to approve the CSR sale. Derail the Sale insists it’s a better financial decision for the city to retain ownership of its railway.
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“We know that this sale is a bad financial deal for Cincinnati and that we have the power to negotiate a better lease,” Friend told CityBeat. “If we retain ownership of this essential public asset, then we as citizens maintain oversight and transparency. The [CSR] has generated revenue for Cincinnati for generations upon generations. A carpenter wouldn’t sell her tools.”
Issue 22 in a nutshell
This November, Cincinnati voters will decide whether or not to sell the CSR to Norfolk Southern in exchange for a $1.6 billion trust fund to shore up basic services for the city. The city estimates it would have an annual return on the investment ranging from $50 million to $75 million, up to three times what the city earns from owning the railroad now. Legally, earnings from the sale could only be spent on maintaining existing city facilities like roads, rec centers and fire stations, which city leaders say is crucial given the city’s $300 million deficit.
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But the proposed sale of the CSR comes at a time of heightened public awareness of the sins of its buyer, Norfolk Southern. A train belonging to the rail behemoth derailed in East Palestine, a small Eastern Ohio village near the Pennsylvania border, on Feb. 3. The derailment ignited a chain of events that ended in a controlled burn of the train’s toxic load of chemicals. More than half of the small town is afraid to drink its own tap water to this day.
Among other major ballot items, voters will decide on Issue 22 on Nov. 7.
Where to vote
The polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7. Absentee ballots are due by close of polls.
If you’re not sure where you’re supposed to go to vote, click this link and select your county. From there, you’ll scroll down to where it says “Find Your Polling Location” and enter your home address.
If you’re unsure of the results that pop up, or you get an error message, call the Board of Elections at (513) 632-7000 to confirm your registration status.
If you live in Hamilton County, there’s a slight chance your polling location has moved since the last time you voted. These are the polling locations that have recently moved:
- Cincinnati 12E at the Corryville Library has moved to the Corryville Recreation Center at 2823 Eden Avenue.
- Cincinnati 8C at Playhouse in the Park has moved to the Cincinnati Park Board at 950 Eden Park Drive.
- Indian Hill A and B have moved from the Indian Hill Church to the Madeira-Indian Hill Fire Department at 6475 Drake Road.
- Springfield Township G and Z have moved from the Springfield Township Arts Connect Center to the Northminster Presbyterian Church at 703 Compton Road.
What you need to bring
A controversial new law requires voters to present a valid ID to vote in person in Hamilton County. Acceptable forms of ID include:
- Ohio driver’s license
- State of Ohio ID card
- Interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV
- U.S. passport or passport card
- U.S. military ID card
- Ohio National Guard ID card
- US Department of Veterans Affairs ID card
All photo IDs must have the following:
- An expiration date that has not passed
- A photograph of the voter
- The voter’s name, which must substantially conform to the voter’s name as it appears in the poll list or in the poll book.
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This article appears in Nov 1-14, 2023.
