The following union benefits are available to all OCSEA members that fall under a local government (city or county) union contract.
Member-only Benefits | Education Benefits | Health Care | Retirement
Member-only Benefits
OCSEA Extras Sign in required
OCSEA Extras are exclusive consumer discounts for members and their families. Sign in with your member-only MyOCSEA account to see what's new. This includes Family Fun discounts, summer member-only discounts to Ohio theme parks, water parks, zoos and more.
Workplace Security Insurance
OCSEA has teamed up with Pearl Insurance to offer free, member-only Workplace Security Insurance, which covers death and dismemberment while on the job and in the event of a hostage situation. The $10,000 insurance policy is provided at absolutely no cost to members ONLY. Non-members can receive the benefit if they sign a union membership card.
AFSCME Advantage afscme.org/advantage
Being an AFSCME member doesn’t only get you an advantage at the bargaining table – it also gets you access to discounts and benefits that can help make life a little easier.
Union Plus unionplus.org
Union Plus is a non-profit consumer benefits organization created and endorsed by the AFL-CIO. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for union members and their families by providing valuable benefits and services.
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Education Benefits
Scholarships
OCSEA members and their families are eligible to apply for the union's college scholarships. The annual OCSEA Les Best Scholarship program, with a total of $12,000 awarded each academic year, includes scholarship for members, dependents and spouses. Members and families may also be eligible for the AFSCME and AFL-CIO Union Plus scholarships.
Discount College
All active OCSEA members and their immediate family members are eligible to participate in the Union College Benefit program. The program covers a diverse range of discounted educational programs, including certificates, Associate, Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees at online colleges and universities nationwide. Additional Discount College programs are also offered through the OCSEA Extras and through the AFL-CIO Union Plus program (see below).
Additional Tuition Discounts Sign in required
OCSEA members and their immediate family are eligible for tuition discounts at select online universities through the OCSEA Extras member-only discount program. This includes the following online universities: Columbia Southern University, Drexel University Online and University of Arizona Global Campus. Looking for additional nationwide Discount College programs? Visit the AFL-CIO Union Plus education resource page for more options.
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Health Care
OCSEA members in local government workplaces have negotiated separate collective bargaining agreements, including health care agreements.* Go to Local Government Contracts to find your workplace collective bargaining agreement.
*Local government members are not covered under the Union Benefits Trust dental, vision and life insurance plan.
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Retirement
Retiree Union Membership
OCSEA retirees can become an active OCSEA Retiree Member and get many of the OCSEA benefits of being union.
Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) opers.org
Public employees work hard and depend on their pensions when they reach retirement. OPERS provides for retirement, disability retirement and survivor benefits programs for more than 1 million members, including 49,300 state employees.
While OCSEA IS NOT involved in the administration of state pension plans, OCSEA's President is an elected representative on the OPERS Board of Trustees working on behalf of state employee union members to ensure those pension dollars are being properly managed.
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