Stow Unionmembers Gather Signatures, March on Columbus for SB 5 Repeal

The decision to repeal Senate Bill 5 will be left to the people, after 1.3 million signatures were collected in 88 counties to put the measure on the ballot.

where they collected 50 signatures, and while that might seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the overall tally, Mark Hodson, President of the Stow Firefighters International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1662, said that they reached out for signatures later.

"We heard from just as many that were there that had already signed a petition," Hodson said. "My Local 1662 brothers were able to gather close to 350 petitions ourselves, and I believe the other unions also did well."

Unionmembers, volunteers and others marched in Columbus on June 29 to deliver the signatures to the secretary of state's office. Melissa Fazekas, spokeswoman for We Are Ohio, said that this march is being dubbed "the people's parade."

"[June 29] was truly a historic day," Fazekas said. "We had a 42-foot-long semi-truck that carried all of the petitions from the state of Ohio. We needed 1,502 boxes to carry all of those signatures."

Out of the nearly 1.3 million signatures, the group needs at least 231,149 of them to be valid for this measure to reach the ballot.

"Our goal was 450,000 to 500,000 signatures," Fazekas said. "It's a testament to the volunteers' hard work."

And while this was an important step, Hodson and Fazekas both know that the campaign ahead of them is a long one. 

"The next step for us will be getting the word out," Hodson said. "Over the next few months the airwaves, newspaper, and Internet will be filled with information from both sides trying to push for support. I want Local 1662 to be a source of information, factual information, on why we believe this is a bad bill."

For more information on Senate Bill 5 (and to read the full text of the bill), click here.