The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
Union News / October 19, 2022

Labor Gives back: getting ready for the holiday Charitable giving season

We're not trying to rush on the holidays, but we can definitely feel the generosity in the air as OCSEA members begin preparations for their charitable giving that comes along with the holiday season. Last week we saw how Chapter 2515 members and their co-workers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources thought outside the box to raise funds for the Combined Charitable Campaign. From a "creepy" bake sale to a putt-putt course in the office, ONDR employees reminded co-workers about the importance of the payroll deduction campaign and how giving back just makes you feel GREAT!

What's your chapter's charitable plan for the holiday season? We'd love to hear about it and tell the world about it! Share your Labor Gives Back story and photos at laborgivesback@ocsea.org. Don't forget to tag @OCSEA on social media with hashtags #LaborGivesBack and #OCSEA. Need help promoting your charitable event or want coverage for a union story? We can help with that too!

St. Stephen's "Unions Share" holiday drive

The OCSEA Board of Directors announced this past weekend at its board meeting that it will be joining the Central Ohio Labor Council in supporting the Christmas Cares, Unions Share Program through St. Stephen's Community House. St. Stephen’s is dedicated to helping residents become self-sufficient through programs and services that strengthen families and empower our community. The Unions Share Program with St. Stephen's helps those families who are on fixed incomes, have experienced job layoffs or fallen prey to workplace/plant closures. The OCSEA Board donated $1,000 to the Unions Share cause and will be donating to the food drive at the December board meeting.

Creature Comforts Bear Drive

OCSEA Secretary-Treasurer Kathy Gersper also launched her annual stuffed bear drive this past weekend, with members of the OCSEA Board of Directors donating over 100 stuffed bears. (See Kathy with OCSEA District 9 Board member Jason Underhill, right.) For more than a decade, Kathy's Creature Comforts has been providing stuffed bears and other huggable stuffed animals to children staying at domestic violence shelters. "The love of a soft friend provides the security a child needs in the hardest of times," said Kathy.

Interested in donating to Creature Comforts? Contact kgersper@ocsea.org.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness webinar coming up

The deadline is fast approaching for OCSEA members with student debt to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. From now until the deadline of October 31, public service employees can apply to the program that forgives student debt when a participant makes 120 qualifying payments. New waivers expand the types of loans that qualify and may allow for payments that didn’t previously qualify under the program, to now qualify.

An AFSCME informational webinar on Tuesday, October 25 at 6 p.m. will walk you through the process and give you all the information. Click here to register.

State Flexible Spending Account enrollment deadline is Oct. 28

The State of Ohio enrollment period for the Flexible Spending Accounts program for the 2023 calendar year is now open through Friday, Oct. 28. The State of Ohio offers eligible permanent employees the benefits of flexible spending accounts, which are voluntary accounts established by the IRS that allow participants to set aside funds to pay for eligible expenses on a pre-tax basis. The state pays the monthly administration fee.

• Enroll in Flexible Spending Accounts. During the FSA Open Enrollment period, click the red Enroll Now tile in the For More Information section to enroll online via the Optum Financial portal.
• Get full details about the state’s Flexible Spending Accounts program including the FSA and Commuter Benefits Plan Guide.

This month's virtual Bulletin Board is now available

The November 2022 UBBN fliers are now available for download at OCSEA.org/UBBN.

The virtual Union Bulletin Board Network (UBBN) gives OCSEA members access to informational union fliers with a simple click. With some members continuing to telework, many working hybrid and others working 100% on site, the UBBN fliers, distributed online monthly, give OCSEA members access to important union information, including events, discounts and more. Chapters are urged to place these fliers on their workplace bulletin boards, where applicable, and distribute at meetings. Any chapter that needs assistance with printing fliers should contact the OCSEA mailroom at 614-865-4733.

This month's virtual fliers include information on on LaborGives Back, Great Wolf Lodge, the Newport Aquarium, Purchasing Power and Rocket Mortgage Field House.

Early Voting is underway. What's your voting plan?

Early voting is officially underway in Ohio for the November 8 election. Ohio registered voters can cast their ballots absentee through the mail or at an early vote location set up by your county board of elections. Visit OCSEAVotes.org now for all the important early vote dates, to create your voting plan and much more.

Retiree luncheon is tomorrow at OCSEA

OCSEA's next Retiree Luncheon will be held at the OCSEA Union Hall and also on Zoom tomorrow Thursday, Oct. 20. OCSEA is located at 390 Worthington Rd., Westerville, OH 43082. Registration begins at 10 a.m. with the event taking place from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The event will include lunch and door prizes. There will be speakers from OPERS and the Alliance for Retired Americans.

Let us know you're coming! RSVP with Kiere Miller at kmiller@ocsea.org. Please indicate if you plan to attend virtually so that a Zoom link can be sent to you over email. Interested in becoming a retiree member? Contact Kiere Miller and ask how. You can also sign up at the event.

OCSEA Crime Victim Compensation Shop talk is Saturday on Zoom

An upcoming virtual OCSEA ShopTalk presentation will provide an overview of the Ohio Crime Victims Compensation Program administered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. This training is open to Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections and Dept. of Youth Services members. The webinar will take place on Zoom, Saturday, Oct. 22 beginning at 9 a.m. and will go for one hour. It will be led by Shawn Moser, Lead Investigator of Crime Victim Services. There is still time to register. Sign up HERE.

Union Veteran's Day Celebration is November 12

OCSEA's Veteran's Day celebration will be held on Saturday, November 12. OCSEA activists will come together for the OCSEA Veterans Conference to honor our veterans and to celebrate OCSEA's member veterans, past and present. All members are welcome to attend the celebration!  The event will be held in-person starting at 10 a.m. at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris, 8700 Lyra Drive, Columbus, OH 43240. A virtual option will also be made available to those who cannot attend in person. RSVP for the event and nominate an OCSEA Veteran of the Year at OCSEA.org/veterans.