Labor history to take place in Cincinnati

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

Some unions dissatisfied with the AFL-CIO plan to formally establish a new federation Sept. 27 in Cincinnati.

Details on the convention are in flux, including which unions in the Change to Win Coalition will participate.

Certain to attend are the three unions that defected from the AFL-CIO last week: the Service Employees International Union, the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Four other unions also are among the Change to Win insurgents. Three of those are still affiliated with the AFL-CIO - the United Farm Workers, the Laborers' International Union of North America and Unite Here, which represents textile, hotel and restaurant workers. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America left the AFL-CIO in 2001.

The article continues by explaining why Cincinnati was chosen:

Cincinnati was chosen for its central location, because Ohio is "always up for grabs, politically," and because it is home to Cintas Corp., the laundry company that is the target of a coordinated organizing campaign by the Teamsters and Unite Here, said Jim Papien, a spokesman for the Food and Commercial Workers.

Between the 2004 Presidential election, the Taft scandal, last week's 2nd Congressional district special election, and this upcoming labor meeting, Ohio has become a regular hotspot for national political news, information, and events.

According to a recent Enquirer article, the

Change to Win Coalition has been in discussions about holding a daylong meeting as early as next month at the Millennium Hotel Cincinnati on Fifth Street downtown.

A sales executive at the Millennium also confirmed that discussions have been ongoing but said no deal has been signed. A representative for Change to Win said the group should be ready to discuss plans in more detail by early next week.

Question for the commenters:

Will Ohio's new role in national politics soon be forgotten or is it here to say?

This post was made by Josh Nelson of Cincinnati News.