Statement on Voluntary Recognition of OEC Workers United

Emily Bacha, Vice President of Public Affairs, August 20, 2019

Last week, the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) received notice of a National Labor Relations Board Petition for Certification as Representative of a bargaining unit of the employees of OEC. Today, OEC leadership voluntarily recognized the union and began work with OEC Workers United on next steps in the process:

The following statement can be attributed in full or in part to Heather Taylor-Miesle, Executive Director of the Ohio Environmental Council:

“As the state’s most comprehensive, effective and respected environmental advocate for a healthier, more sustainable Ohio, the Ohio Environmental Council has led many of the state’s major environmental policy wins over the past 50 years. Our success is built upon people — our talented staff, dedicated board members, generous funders, passionate members, and the many broad-based coalitions of which we have been a part.

“If we’re going to successfully tackle climate change, we must value everyone as a collective part of the solution. That is why the OEC is dedicated to building a leaderful movement that brings diverse people together, forges strategic partnerships to strengthen Ohio’s environmental movement and honors community leadership. And that is why we have chosen to voluntarily recognize OEC Workers United.

“The OEC and our family of organizations are proud, long term partners of labor unions. Unions make our world better and the labor movement has been central to major advancements in the protection of people and the environment. We are proud to work with OEC Workers United to build an even stronger environmental movement and continue to successfully tackle Ohio’s most pressing environmental issues.”