Ohio AFL-CIO's Tim Burga on Labor Roundtables, Elections and Voter ID

Tim Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast fresh off a seven-city labor roundtable tour designed to energize union leaders and activists ahead of November's general election. Affordability dominated every stop, with workers expressing a clear demand for a government that serves them rather than billionaires and the super wealthy.

Burga described strong momentum behind labor-endorsed candidates Amy Acton for governor and Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate, and noted that Democratic primary turnout in Ohio reached its highest level since 2006. He also raised a sharp warning about Republican efforts to add voter ID to the state constitution — a move he described as political maneuvering rather than policy necessity, given that voter ID is already the law in Ohio.

• Burga completed a seven-city roundtable tour covering Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, Marietta, Columbus and Toledo to brief labor leaders on the November general election landscape, the issues driving voters and where endorsed candidates Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown stand on the issues that matter most to working families. He described enthusiasm at every stop and said the response to the question of whether working people want dramatic change was overwhelming.
• Democratic primary turnout in Ohio reached its highest level in a midterm cycle since 2006, the year Sherrod Brown first won his Senate seat, which Burga said is being reinforced by public polling. In summary, the polling found Democratic candidate momentum and comparatively lower enthusiasm among Republican base voters. That left independent voters expected to play a decisive role in determining statewide outcomes in November, he said.
• Ohio Republicans, who hold a supermajority in both the Ohio House and Senate, are expected to place a voter ID constitutional amendment on the November ballot without needing to gather signatures, despite the fact Ohio law already requires voters to show identification to vote. Burga said 3,000 eligible voters were turned away at the polls last year for lacking proper identification. He argued that any voter ID requirement must be accompanied by guaranteed free state ID access for all eligible voters.

Seven Cities, One Message: Enough Is Enough

Tim Burga has been making the rounds. Following an appearance as honorary speaker at a Cleveland Port Council meeting, he launched a seven-city labor roundtable tour, with stops in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, Marietta, Columbus and Toledo. Each stop brought union leaders and activists together to discuss what is at stake in November, where the candidates stand and what the Ohio AFL-CIO is going to do between now and Election Day to educate members and mobilize the vote.

Burga said enthusiasm was high. At every stop, he asked labor leaders if workers want to reward the same failed leadership that has handed government over to billionaires and the super wealthy, or do they want something fundamentally different? The answer, he said, was clear across all seven cities.

Affordability Is the Defining Issue

Burga identified affordability as the dominant concern at every roundtable stop, describing it as the number one issue on workers’ minds. Rising costs across every category of household spending, combined with a sense that those in power have been focused on everything except the financial reality facing working families, have produced what he called a reckoning that the November election will begin to resolve.

He described the labor movement's endorsed candidates as part of that reckoning. Amy Acton for governor and Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate, Burga said, are the candidates who are clearly on the side of working people.

Primary Turnout Data and the 2006 Parallel

Burga found similarities between this year’s May Democratic primary and 2006, the year Sherrod Brown first won his Senate seat. Both years, voters had reached a breaking point with the entrenched Republican governance. Burga stopped short of predicting outcomes for November, but said what he is feeling on the ground aligns with polling data: Democratic candidates have momentum, Republican base enthusiasm is comparatively lower and independent voters, who cast a long shadow in Ohio elections, will be the decisive factor.

Voter ID, the Constitution and Political Maneuvering

Burga also raised a legislative development he expects to materialize imminently. Ohio Republicans, who hold a supermajority in both the House and Senate, are expected to place a voter ID constitutional amendment on the November ballot. This will not go through the usual petition drive, he said, but through a direct legislative vote, a mechanism their supermajority makes available to them.

Burga's objection is not to voter ID as a concept but to the process and the politics behind it. Voter ID is already the law in Ohio. Enshrining it in the state constitution serves no legal purpose. And 3,000 eligible Ohio voters were turned away at the polls last year because they lacked the required identification. Burga believes that if you are going to require voter ID, you have to guarantee free access to acquire that identification for every eligible voter. Anything less is a barrier, not a safeguard, he said.

Looking Ahead to Minneapolis

Burga is heading to Minneapolis for the 30th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention June 7 through 10, where he expects significant discussions around artificial intelligence and its impact on the workforce, the November midterm elections and structural questions about modernizing the labor movement. The Ohio delegation, he said, is ready to do its part. More information is available at ohioaflcio.org.

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