FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 26, 2026
Media Contact: Kimmon Williams, [email protected], 571.451.6307
Sherrod Brown’s Race Holds the Keys to the Future of Working-Class Politics
UNITE HERE Local 24 workers knocking doors in Cleveland believe a Sherrod Brown victory could change American politics around the country
CLEVELAND, OH – Across Cleveland, canvassers are walking the streets and talking to voters to elect Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate. They’re primarily talking to the working-class voters that Brown’s path to victory runs through, including swing voters.
UNITE HERE Local 24 canvassers come out of the hospitality industry and are working-class voters themselves. They live, work, and struggle in Cleveland alongside their friends and neighbors. They see the Ohio Senate race as a bellwether for the big national questions about whether Democrats running on economic issues can make up the ground they’ve lost with working-class voters since Trump entered the national scene.
“A lot of people in my community don’t think politics can change their lives. They don’t want to vote, or worse, voted for Trump because they were just so mad. But because of how much everything costs now, they are looking to do something. And Sherrod Brown has always been for the people. He’s talking about worker issues and unions all the time. People who have given up are giving him a second look. And I think politicians around the country have a lot to learn from that,” said Gina Flautoo, Bartender, JACK Cleveland Casino.
Local 24 has nearly 50 canvassers on the ground. UNITE HERE canvassers are union members and leaders in their own communities. They are on the frontlines of the affordability crisis, experiencing it firsthand. They have good union jobs, but everyone is feeling gas and grocery bills. Because UNITE HERE canvassers have fought and won good wages and benefits on the job, they know economic conditions won’t change in their city without working-class people using their voting power.
“Ohio matters for more reasons than one Senate seat. If the tide changes here, in November, it’s because Sherrod Brown put economic issues front and center. When he wins, it completely changes what’s possible around the country. If politicians put workers first, if they really talk about healthcare and affordability every day and deliver on it, they can win anywhere. From what we’re hearing on the doors, that’s exactly where we’re headed in November,” said Terrell George, President of UNITE HERE Local 24.
This is not UNITE HERE Local 24’s first canvassing push in Ohio. During the 2024 Presidential election cycle, 1,800 members
and volunteers knocked over 3.5 million doors across seven states, including Ohio. This midterm cycle is also an expansion of the program—with other UNITE HERE canvasses running in Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona.
###
UNITE HERE Local 24 is the hotel and hospitality workers union in Michigan and Ohio, representing workers at hotels, casinos, airport food service, campus and business food service, stadiums and convention centers.
