The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
Union News / November 1, 2022
Honor our member veterans at Nov 12 celebration of service
You are invited to come together in solidarity to honor our veterans and celebrate Veterans Day. OCSEA's Veterans Conference will be held on Saturday, November 12. The union's annual conference will honor all who have served and will celebrate OCSEA's member veterans, past and present. All members are welcome to attend the celebration! A virtual option is available to those who cannot attend in person. OCSEA Veterans Conference registration is open through Friday. REGISTER HERE.
Speakers for the conference include Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther; Jean Wilson, Past Departure Commander from the American Legion; and Sean McCarthy, Assistant Director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services. Get the agenda at OCSEA.org/Veterans.
WHAT: OCSEA Veterans Conference & Veterans Day Celebration
WHEN: The event will be held in-person on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: Hilton Columbus/Polaris, 8700 Lyra Drive, Columbus, OH 43240.
Please note, the lodging rooms block for this event is sold out. Contact the hotel directly to inquire about available lodging.
Join DYS union rally for safe staffing and accountability
OCSEA members are being asked to join their SEIU union brothers and sisters for a rally for "Safe Staffing and Accountability" at the Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon. The rally will take place tomorrow, Nov. 2, from noon to 6 p.m. DYS union staff say that the best solution is to increase staffing and protect staff within the three juvenile correction facilities around the state.
After a series of violent incidents at Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility, union leaders from all the unions represented met with the DYS director and management to begin talks about some solutions to deal with the increase in violence at the facility and around the DYS agency. Union leaders say they will continue to work with management on these issues but hope the rally will bring more public support to the dangers of understaffing in Ohio's juvenile correction facilities.
In addition to a need for more staffing, the union said staff need the tools to be able to deal with youth who continue to offend and assault officers. The union is demanding a weekly meeting with management on these issues to come up with solutions together.
Download and share the rally flier.
Feeling THANKFUL this november? Tell us all about it!
As fall festivities wind down and the holiday season approaches, November is often a time to reflect on what makes us thankful. From family and friends to a roof over our heads and comfort in our lives, so many people use the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving as a reminder to give thanks for all that is a blessing in our lives and to bring about kindness and goodwill to others.
For so many, having a union voice is definitely something for which they are thankful. "We spend so much of our time working, anything that improves that part of our lives is worth our gratitude," says OCSEA Vice President Rocky Jolly. "I'm thankful for being a member of a union which made all the goodness in my life possible," he says. And, as a union activist, brother Jolly is thankful that he's been able to help others do the same.
Are you thankful for the benefits and security that come with being a public union member? Tell us why you're thankful to be union HERE. With so much negativity in the world, we'd love to share what OCSEA members are thankful for and spread a little gratitude this holiday season.
Here are just a few ideas from union members about why they are thankful to be union. Right click to save and share to with your friends on social media:
EArly voting is open every day now up until Election day
Early voting is officially underway, and Ohioans are voting early in record numbers. Make sure your union voice is heard at the polls. And, beat the Election Day crowds and vote early when it's most convenient for you.
There is early voting in Ohio every day up to Election Day. Find your early vote location at the Ohio Secretary of State website: VoteOhio.gov.
Early vote days and hours:
(always double check with your county's Early Vote location)
- Tuesday-Friday, November 1-4: 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Saturday, November 5: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Sunday, November 6: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Monday, November 7: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Or you can vote at your polling location on Tuesday, November 8
Visit OCSEAVotes.org now to make a commitment to vote on or before November 8. While there, check on union-endorsed candidates, get important early vote dates, create your voting plan, attend events and much more.
columbus museum of art staff say union yes to afscme
Congratulations to the employees at The Columbus Museum of Art on their union election victory! CMAWU voted overwhelmingly to join AFSCME Ohio Council 8, one of OCSEA's Ohio sister unions. The staff at CMA join their compatriots at museums across the United States who have moved to unionize in recent years, among them the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Baltimore Museum of Art; the Brooklyn Museum, Dia Art Foundation, New Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, all in New York; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Learn more about their union victory:
ICYMI! Join the Giving Tuesday Chapter Challenge on November 29
Giving Tuesday is November 29, and OCSEA chapters are being challenged to give back. What will your chapter do to give back this Giving Tuesday? We challenge every chapter to join in and make a difference! Download the Giving Tuesday Toolkit and then make a plan to do something good with your chapter brothers and sisters. Make sure to tag @OCSEA on social media with hashtags #LaborGivesBack #GivingTuesday.