A Different Kind of Sunday Service
by Cynthia McCabe | November 06, 2011
OCSEA/AFSCME Local 11 retiree Jamie Fant gave up his usual routine to volunteer with the campaign to defeat Issue 2. (Photo by Cynthia McCabe)
DAYTON, OHIO – The reverend would have to forgive AFSCME retiree Jamie Fant. Even though it was Sunday morning, Fant needed to duck out of the Turner Road Church of Christ a bit early and do some preaching of his own.
Fant is just one of the thousands of volunteers who gave up their usual Sunday routine to knock on doors and call voters to urge them to vote ‘No!’ on the anti-worker Issue 2 this Tuesday. He took a little good-natured ribbing at the union hall when he turned up to collect his neighborhood walk packet in a pinstripe suit and tie. It was all worth it though, to fight back against Gov. John Kasich’s union-busting Issue 2.
“If this guy gets his way, the pension system as we know it is not going to exist,” says Fant, an Ohio State Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA/AFSCME Local 11) member who served 18 years as a corrections officer, until retiring in 2001. “We as retirees need to protect and preserve the rights of those who come after us.”
As for skipping out early on church, Fant says he hopes his fellow congregation members will understand. With the election just three days away, there isn’t any time to waste.
“I’m always out here trying to do what’s right,” says Fant. “I’m out here fighting the good fight.”
