About 40 SEIU District 1199 members came out to a Leadership Dinner held in Youngstown, Ohio, on May 19 to hear about our Union's plans to repeal Senate Bill 5 and fight the devastating cuts to the social safety net our State depends on through the Ohio Budget. During the meeting they got a visit from U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan (D-17) who echoed the theme of the night which was the need to fight back against the unprecedented attack on working people in Ohio. He talked about the current anti-worker legislation being pushed through the Ohio legislature and his work to help protect our most vulnerable citizens.

Members later discussed ways to mobilize and educate voters to make sure that the voices of working people would be heard on November 8th. They committed to working on a leadership strategy for Youngstown and agreed to meet later this summer to create a plan to engage and mobilize members of the community. To get involved/to join this project, email media@seiu1199.org

In addition to meeting Congressman Ryan, members met with Union Secretary-Treasurer Lisa Hetrick, Senior Executive Vice President Al Bacon and Executive Vice President Kathy McCormick. They were given updates on the Union's political campaigns and encouraged to stay connected to the latest updates on the Union web sites (seiu1199.org and fightforafaireconomy.org), Facebook (SEIU District 1199), Twitter (SEIU1199wvkyoh) and via text message alerts (text ohio1199 to 787753 - message rates apply).

For more pictures from the event, click here.