The LookoutGreat-grandmother says she feels ‘violated’ after image used in anti-union ad
A bruising fight over unions' collective bargaining rights in Ohio just got a little uglier.
A great-grandmother and Cincinnati resident says she feels "violated" after a group that supports ending collective bargaining rights for unions stole her appearance in a pro-union ad to make it seem as if she supported their side of the issue.
Marlene Quinn cut a 60-second ad praising Cincinnati firefighters for saving her great-granddaughter from a raging fire. She tells Ohioans to vote against Issue 2, which would prohibit unions from bargaining over staffing minimums. That means firefighter crews could be pared down to an unsafely low number of men, she argues.
"If not for the firefighters we wouldn't have our Zoey today," she says in the "We Are Ohio" ad. "That's why it's so important to vote no on Issue 2."
Quinn is seen telling the same story in another ad by "Building a Better Ohio," a group that is campaigning to get the collective bargaining ban passed. In their version of the ad, Quinn tells Ohioans to vote yes on Issue 2.
"It's insulting to the brave firefighters that saved the lives of my grandson and my great-granddaughter Zoey," Quinn said in a statement. "I'm outraged. They did not ask my permission. I feel violated."
The group that appropriated Quinn's image and story, Building a Better Ohio, is not apologizing. "Opponents of Issue 2 chose to use a personal story to make a political argument, but the same story makes an even more powerful case for supporting the reasonable reforms we're asking of our government employees," spokesman Jason Mauk told the Dayton Daily News.
Dozens of TV and radio stations have vowed not to run the ad, according to We Are Ohio.
Issue 2 is a voter referendum on Senate Bill 5, which was passed by Republicans lawmakers in Ohio earlier this year. The law restricts public unions' collective bargaining rights to wages and hours, bans strikes, and will base teachers' pay off their students test scores, among many other changes. Supporters say it will save taxpayers' money. The Dayton Daily News has a great primer on the issue.
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