Ohio Zookeeper Worries About Security at Work, Home

by Cynthia McCabe  |  November 07, 2011

Columbus zookeeper Matthew De Voe is concerned about the impact Issue 2 would have on his family and every Ohioan. (Photo by Tessa Berg)

COLUMBUS, OHIO – In a state where the release of exotic animals recently wreaked havoc, the importance of zoo safety and proper working conditions for those responsible for it, isn’t an abstract concern.

Gov. John Kasich and conservative lawmakers might not have considered that, or much else beyond their corporate interests, when they pushed through Senate Bill 5, a measure that silences workers’ voices and is up for a citizens’ veto Tuesday. That worries Columbus zookeeper Matthew De Voe.

De Voe and his colleagues at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium now have seats on a safety committee that weighs in on everything from equipment quality to staffing numbers and shift lengths. Seats that could be eliminated if employees lose their voice in employment conditions.

“We’re dealing with a lot of large, dangerous animals,” says De Voe, a member of AFSCME Local 2950 (Council 8). “Our customers can bite. It’s unfair in that (Issue 2) is going to restrict us from our rights to negotiate and have a say.”

De Voe, a 19-year veteran public employee, loves his job at the world-famous zoo.  Feeding and caring for kangaroos, komodo dragons, kiwi birds and the occasional gorilla each day is a dream realized for the man who, as a boy, met famed zookeeper and Ohio native Jack Hanna and set off on his unusual career path. Each year more than two million visitors come to De Voe’s workplace and he knows that he and his colleagues keep all involved – both humans and animals – safe.

And it’s not just the potential cuts in service to both of those groups that’s troubling De Voe about Issue 2. If voters don’t reject the anti-worker legislation on Tuesday, public employees who already pay as much as 10 percent into their health insurance and pensions – contributions that workers volunteered through their collective bargaining agreements – could see those percentages climb higher. For families on a fixed income like De Voe’s, a sudden loss of take-home pay would have disastrous implications.

“I’m scared for my family,” says De Voe, seated at the kitchen table in his family’s modest home in west Columbus, motioning to his three children playing nearby with the family’s pet chihuahua. “Every penny is budgeted. If I lose income I could lose my house, my car. The impact is just so incredible.”

He knows the fear isn’t just felt within the walls of his own home. It is echoed across the Buckeye State, in rural communities, suburbs and every city.

“It’s going to affect every Ohioan – our friends, family,” De Voe says of Issue 2. “Everyone knows someone it will hurt.”

That’s hard to accept for a man used to keeping people safe. So he won’t. On Tuesday he will vote ‘No’ on Issue 2.