Ohio grandmother caught in union fight

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The plea of a 78-year-old grandmother urging a repeal of Ohio’s overhaul of collective-bargaining rights is being distorted by an opposing group using her statements in an ad to defend the new law.

Marlene Quinn’s great-granddaughter was saved from a house fire in November, and she told the story in a statewide television spot paid for by We Are Ohio, the union-backed coalition that’s fighting the law signed in March. Now, she’s suddenly at the center of a high-stakes battle over the future of public labor unions in the state.

Ohioans will vote Nov. 8 on whether the law should be tossed out. Quinn, of Cincinnati, urged repeal because she said the law jeopardizes firefighters’ ability to negotiate for safe staffing levels.

Defenders of the law operating as Building a Better Ohio recut footage of Quinn for their own ad and used it to say the bill would help, not hurt, firefighter staffing.

Both ads open with the same images of a burning building. Quinn then appears before the camera. “If not for the firefighters, we wouldn’t have our Zoey today,” she tells viewers.

The ad by the law’s supporters doesn’t include the next line of her comment: “That’s why it’s so important to vote no on Issue 2.”

The referendum on the law will appear as Issue 2 on the ballot.

About 30 television stations in Ohio media markets have pulled the commercial, according to a count by We Are Ohio.

Quinn has called on Building a Better Ohio to take down the second ad, saying she feels violated by its use of her image without her permission.

“I’ve lived a long time and seen a lot of things, but I’ve never seen a group of people sink so low,” Quinn said in a statement. “I think it’s dishonest and downright deceitful that they would use footage of me to try to play tricks and fool voters.”

Doug Stern, a Cincinnati firefighter who has appeared in different ads supporting the repeal, told The Associated Press that he was with Quinn when she watched the second ad.

Stern described her as teary-eyed and apologetic about the use of her image.

Building a Better Ohio maintains its ad is appropriate and lawful. Its attorneys have reached out to stations to get them to put the ad back up.