UAW Mobilizes to Oust Lorain County Commissioner for Contract Refusal

UAW Mobilization Leads to Electoral Shift in Lorain County

In a determined campaign effort that started in July, the United Auto Workers (UAW) have successfully campaigned to unseat Lorain County Commissioner Jeff Riddell. His refusal to agree to a satisfactory contract with striking workers from Lorain County Job and Family Services spurred the union's decision to take action at the ballot box. The UAW reached out to tens of thousands of its members in Lorain County, urging them to support Riddell’s challenger, Carolyn White.

"Our members put in the work to ensure elected officials are held accountable to the voters they serve," stated UAW Region 2B Director Dave Green. "UAW members stayed focused on making sure county, state, and federal governments work to make people’s lives better, not harder. When elected officials fail working people, UAW members have shown they will hold them accountable at the ballot box."

The union's electoral initiative engaged 150 UAW members and volunteers in an extensive outreach campaign. They engaged in door-to-door canvassing and phone banking efforts that spanned Elyria, North Ridgeville, Avon, Vermilion, Oberlin, Wellington, Grafton, and Sheffield, aiming to connect with union members in the community. The strike initiated on February 18 by UAW Local 2192 involved demands for a $1-per-hour wage increase to combat the rising cost of living, which county commissioners, including Riddell, resisted.

"This is absolute proof: voters in Lorain County are sick of corrupt elected officials like Jeff Riddell who are bad at their jobs," remarked the UAW Local 2192 bargaining committee chair and a striking case worker. "We’re facing too much of an affordability crisis that all of us are hurt by. Our strike has been the clearest example of how important it is to elect people who represent the interests of the working class."

The inability of Riddell to reach a favorable contract agreement extended the longest public-sector strike in Ohio's history, and it approached the lengthiest in the nation's history. The UAW canvassers, including those on strike, mobilized on weekends to engage with fellow UAW members and their families across Lorain County about the need for a change in leadership on November 3.