Daily Prize Winners

Recipe for
Union Success

12 Days of Christmas: OCSEA's holiday celebration of members!

It's that time of year again! OCSEA's 12 Days of Christmas, the annual holiday celebration of OCSEA members, kicks off on Monday, December 1. This festive 12 days of raffle prize drawings is the perfect way to say THANK YOU to our union members this holiday season. Each drawing will be accompanied by "recipes" for success to help grow our union strength and solidarity. There's real value in being union, and it's the ingredients that come with collective solidarity that will cultivate a labor movement that supports working people and our communities.

OCSEA's 12 Days of Christmas prize drawing starts Monday, December 1 and ends on Friday, December 12. One prize per day will be awarded to one OCSEA member beginning on December 1 and each day for the 11 days that follow. If you’re an active, dues-paying OCSEA member, you will automatically be entered into the daily drawings for some really great prizes. No entry is required. The only requirement is that you are an OCSEA member, and you'll automatically be entered.

In addition to being announced on this webpage, daily winners will be contacted at the phone number and email on file with the union. LOGIN HERE to make sure that your contact information and membership is up to date.

Know a co-worker who needs to sign an OCSEA membership card to become a member? Share this JOIN link with them today. Or email MRC@ocsea.org for assistance.

12 Days of Christmas Prize Winners!

For 12 days total, one OCSEA member's name is drawn each day for a prize. The daily winners will be listed below. To win, you have to be an OCSEA dues-paying member in good standing. All members are automatically entered into the daily drawings that take place Monday, December 1 through Friday, December 12.

DAY 1 - Mark Rapp - ODOT - Ross Chapter 7100
PRIZE: Apple IPad
DAY 2 - Justine Takangayou - DODD - Columbus Developmental Center -
Hilltop Chapter 2509
PRIZE: Echo Show 15
DAY 3 - Keith Blankenship - DR&C - Correction Reception Center Chapter 6545
PRIZE: Switch 2
DAY 4 - Sabrina Newland - DR&C - Chillicothe Correctional Chapter 7120
PRIZE: Laptop
DAY 5 - Christopher Henwood - ODOT - Knox/Licking Chapter 4500
PRIZE: Oakley Meta Glasses
DAY 6 - Bryan Duzak - Commerce - Commerce Franklin County Chapter 2501
PRIZE: Playstation 5
DAY 7 - Carolyn Wendy Rogers-Lash - DR&C - Lorain Correctional Chapter 4720
PRIZE: Ninja Creami XL Deluxe
DAY 8 - Randall Demchak - ODOT - Medina Chapter 5200
PRIZE: Beats headphones
DAY 9 - Kerry MacGregor - BWC - Chapter 2535
PRIZE: Echo Show 21
DAY 10 - Miranda Shroyer - ODOT - Mad River Chapter 1230
PRIZE:X-Box
DAY 11 - Orrie Carter - Ohio Veterans Home - Sandusky OVH Chapter 2200
PRIZE: Meta Quest 3

Recipe for Union Success

See a different ingredient for union success each day for 12 days!

It takes a lot to make a strong union! The major ingredients include a full cup of union members who are involved and educated and a heaping tablespoon of public employees who care about their work, their co-workers and their communities. Add a dash of activism and service and we have one strong union! Here are just a few ingredients for success to become more involved in your union:

Ingredient #1: Attend chapter meetings

Directions: Reach out to your local union leaders, including your chapter president, and ask when the next chapter meeting is taking place and how you can get involved. Chapter meetings are an important way of building solidarity on the local level where it matters most. Not sure who your chapter leaders are? Contact the OCSEA Member Resource Center at MRC@ocsea.org or 888-OCSEA-11 (627-3211).

Ingredient #2: Sign up for union emails

Directions: OCSEA’s weekly emails are a great way to stay on top of important union news. From bargaining news, union actions, legislative updates and more on union benefits, OCSEA’s weekly e-news helps members stay up to date. Know a union co-worker who is not receiving union emails? They can sign up HERE.

Ingredient #3: Talk to new employees and encourage them to join the union

Directions: It’s important to talk to new employees in your chapter about the importance of being union. Having a union contract affords public employees a voice on the job about everything from wages and leaves to health care and safety. Joining OCSEA allows public employees to unite in solidarity for the betterment of all! New members can join the union HERE.

Ingredient #4: Learn about your union benefits

Directions: There’s a lot of benefits to being union! And that includes those afforded by the union contract, like the Union Benefits Trust and the Union Education Trust, as well as member-only benefits, like travel perks, discount college, and workplace security insurance. Learn more HERE at ocsea.org/benefits.

Ingredient #5: Download your union contract

Directions: Your union contract is available to view and download in the union website Toolbox. Getting to know your union contract is key to being an active and productive union member. Not only are you learning about YOUR workplace rights and benefits, but you can become a contract enforcer and help your co-workers as well. Download your union contract HERE.

Ingredient #6: Sign up for text alerts

Directions: OCSEA doesn’t send a lot of text messages, but when we do, those mobile alerts are important! Sign up for text alerts by texting OCSEA to 237-263 to stay on top of union news, especially during contract bargaining.

Ingredient #7: Learn more about union trainings

Directions: Union trainings help you learn more about what it means to be union. All members are encouraged to take Basic Steward Training as soon as they are off probation. Once that is completed, you can take Advanced Steward Training and much more. Learn more about OCSEA’s Labor Education HERE.

Ingredient #8: Find time for union conferences & networking

Directions: Attending union conferences and networking with other union activists is a vital part of being in a union. Conferences offer the opportunity to meet other OCSEA members across Ohio and to gain insightful education you can take back to your chapter members. Contact your chapter leaders about conference opportunities or contact the OCSEA Member Resource Center at MRC@ocsea.org or 888-OCSEA-11 (627-3211).

Ingredient #9: Support union-friendly candidates

Directions: As union members in public service, it’s vital to elect leaders who have our backs. Our wages, benefits and working conditions are in the hands of politicians. When we voluntarily support pro-union politicians (no union dues), we support strong contracts, no outsourcing, affordable health care, retirement security and no cuts to vital public services, to name a few. Learn more about the voluntary political action fund, PEOPLE, HERE.

Ingredient #10: Become a PEOPLE MVP

Directions: AFSCME PEOPLE—our union’s political action arm––is a biweekly voluntary pay-roll deduction to the political action committee (PAC) and is critical to ensuring we have the necessary resources to fight attacks to our jobs, union contracts and more. Learn how to sign up HERE.

Ingredient #11: Buy Union-Made

Directions: Buying "Made in America" “Union-Made” products is an important act of solidarity that promotes good jobs in the United States. That means supporting working people in unions and their hard work and craftsmanship. To find updated shopping lists and suggested products that are made in America and union-made, go HERE.

Ingredient #12: Encourage your chapter to give back to the community

Directions: Public service and union activism goes beyond the work we do. OCSEA chapter and members play an important role in their communities. Work closely with your chapter leaders to make sure chapters are giving back to their communities––not just financially but also by volunteering. This is important, not just during the holidays but all year long. Share your Labor Gives Back stories to communications@ocsea.org.