The OCSEA State Board of Directors has officially endorsed OCSEA President Chris Mabe to represent state employees on the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) Board of Trustees. While according to Ohio law, OCSEA members can not bargain for their pension, maintaining a seat on the pension board has been a priority of the union for years. The pension system board has one seat for a current state employee representative. This will be Mabe’s second run for that seat.
Mabe is currently the Vice Chair of the OPERS board and sits as co-chair on the chair of healthcare and deferred compensation subcommittees. He is a passionate supporter of defined pension systems and believes they are the clearest route to a dignified retirement for public employees. Read more about the advantages of defined benefit plans here. Mabe also believes that labor (not management) should have a serious place at the table when it comes to our pensions and is working to get a “labor majority” on the OPERS board.
“With public sector unions under attack in the Supreme Court, we know they’re going to come after our pensions even harder,” said OCSEA Secretary-Treasurer Kathy Stewart. “That’s why we need a strong union leader to maintain our voice on the pension board. And that’s why I’m voting for Chris Mabe,” she said.
Under the leadership of President Mabe, OPERS has made incremental but necessary changes to ensure state employees’ pension funds stay solvent and healthy for many years to come.