SANDUSKY, Ohio — City workers in one Midwestern city are swapping one paid holiday to make way for a brand new one, all for democracy: Election Day.
What gets the boot? Columbus Day.
City leaders recently allowed the change, which takes effect this year, while noting police officers and firefighters still will work their scheduled shifts and receive holiday pay as usual, according to the Sandusky Register.
"A lot's happened in the last three years that had us thinking a lot about voter access and democracy, and so we thought it was a really natural switch," Sandusky City Manager Eric Wobser told NPR.
Conversations about the holiday swap had its roots in 2014 when the city -- in negotiations with the unions of police, firefighters and other municipal workers -- proposed dropping Columbus Day, NPR reported.
The loss of a paid holiday? That wasn't going to work.
In the years since, controversy and debate over Christopher Columbus and the connotations with slavery made city leaders reconsider the holiday when negotiations came up again for 2019-2021.
Everyone agreed to swap Columbus Day for Election Day this time around.
"Participation in the government at all levels is essential for everyone," says Ed Dayringer, president of Local 1519 of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, speaking with NPR.
"As a city, we want to ensure to give our people the opportunity to get out and vote."
The city's 250 city workers will be affected by the change, which Wobser says is a small but important gesture.
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