For Immediate Release

JUNE 23, 2022

Namita Waghray (440) 305-1117

The administrator proposes laying off ten police officers and twenty city maintenance employees amidst union organizing drive

Obetz City Administrator Threatens Layoffs to Thwart Union Efforts 

Obetz city employees plan to use the public comments period in tonight’s Obetz City Council meeting to speak out against the Obetz City Administrator’s plan to lay off ten city police officers and twenty city maintenance employees in what they believe is a response to their respective union organizing efforts. 

Obetz’s Maintenance and Police department workers first heard about the City Administrator’s proposed plan after being told there were budget gaps that could not be filled. The proposal came months after the City’s official budget was approved in February 2022. The budget included potential rollover funds as well as an influx of pandemic-related federal and state aid. There were no calls for potential layoffs and employees were surprised to learn about the supposed need for them. 

Street Laborer Donnie x, a native of Obetz and current City employee, was disappointed in the decision and plans to raise questions about its legitimacy and timing at tonight’s Council meeting. The layoffs were announced just as employees are beginning the unionizing process. “We only recently heard about these supposed budget gaps, but we don’t have any proof they truly exist or that City Administrator actually made any effort to find alternative solutions to the layoffs. We believe in transparency and there has been little to no transparency around this issue. As a city employee and as a resident I urge the City Administrator to tell the truth around his claims.”

City employees also pointed out that the proposed layoffs are only in the Police and Maintenance Departments, where the employees are actively trying to organize their respective unions. The City administration and main office employees appear to be exempt from future layoffs. AFSCME Ohio Council 8 is supporting Obetz’s city employees in their attempts to organize. The FOP was recognized as the representative of the police officers’ union. 

Thursday’s City Council meeting is not the official finance meeting, however city employees, their families, and supporters plan to show up to voice their dissatisfaction with the proposal. 

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AFSCME Ohio Council 8’s members provide the vital services that make Ohio happen. With members in communities across the state, serving as everything from nurses to social workers, child care providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME Ohio Council 8 advocates for fairness in the workplace, safe and healthy worksites, excellence in public services, and freedom and opportunity for all of Ohio’s working families