The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
Union News / April 27, 2022
2022 Family Fun KINGS ISLAND & CEDAR POINT Deals announced!
Summer is just around the corner, and the OCSEA Family Fun discounts of the summer have just been announced! Kings Island and Cedar Point discount tickets are now available to OCSEA members, and all the details, links and codes can be found at OCSEA.org/FamilyFun. These eagerly anticipated member-only deals offer great savings to members and their families every summer.
This year is Kings Island’s 50th Anniversary, and the celebration is officially on! And so are the savings! OCSEA members pay only $42 for single day tickets, saving half off the $85 at-the-gate ticket price! Two-day admission tickets are also available for $75. Kings Island is located in Mason, Ohio north of Cincinnati and is open for the season. Tickets include the Soak City water park starting Memorial Day weekend. PURCHASE TICKETS
The savings continue at Cedar Point, the "Roller Coaster Capitol" located in Sandusky, Ohio. OCSEA members pay $45+ tax for single day admission to Cedar Point (at-the-gate price is $85). Two-day admission tickets are also available for $75 and can be used in any combination for admission to Cedar Point and the Cedar Shores water park. Additionally, OCSEA members can save even more with AFSCME Fun Days at Cedar Point! Enjoy some summer thrills with your AFSCME brothers and sisters! Tickets for these dates are only $39 and are valid on the following dates ONLY: June 18, July 2, July 22 & Aug. 7, 2022. Cedar Point's season officially launches on May 7. PURCHASE TICKETS
**Always check the parks' website calendars for days and hours of operation.**
Join VP Rocky Jolly for Columbus Clippers Public service weekend celebration; purchase tickets now!
Kick off next week's Public Service Recognition Week
with a night out with the Columbus Clippers celebrating Ohio's public employees. The minor league Columbus Clippers' Public Service Weekend takes place THIS WEEKEND over three games: Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
April 29-May 1. Discounted tickets to all of this weekend's games are available for purchase online HERE.
Throughout the weekend, the Clippers will be honoring Ohio's public service employees, including public union members. OCSEA Vice President Rocky Jolly will be a special guest at Saturday afternoon's game to honor public employees and the union members that keep Ohio going. VP Jolly is a proud public employee and union leader at the Ohio School for the Blind.
This special event was negotiated for AFSCME members by your union. Not only does this include exclusive game discounts but also additional promotions all weekend long including $5 Friday, Party at the Park on Saturday and Post Game Fun Run on Sunday. If you and your union co-workers or chapter members attend the event, please send groups pictures to UnionYes@OCSEA.org.
Columbus Clippers Public Service Weekend Ticket Offer:
- Friday, April 29, 6:15 PM - Clippers vs. Bats
- Saturday, April 30, 4:05 PM - Clippers vs. Bats See special guest OCSEA VP Rocky Jolly
- Sunday, May 1, 1:05 PM - Clippers vs. Bats
- Additional Public Service Weekend Promotions:
- April 29 - $5 Friday (Slice of Donatos pizza & small Pepsi for $5 and discounted beverages)
- April 30 - Party at the Park
- May 1 - Post Game Fun Run
Columbus Clippers Wednesday Dollar Day Deals:
Every Wednesday between now and September 14, 2022, OCSEA members have access to discount tickets to the Columbus Clippers games. Tickets available for $8! Additional Public Service Wednesday Promotions: Dollar Days (4-5 concession items priced at $1 a piece)
BUY WEDNESDAY DOLLAR DAYS TICKETS HERE
New Health Care website to go live This Friday, April 29
State of Ohio employees! Mark your calendars for this year’s healthcare open enrollment. On Friday, April 29 a new DAS healthcare website will be launched with all the details about open enrollment for State employees. Open enrollment runs from Thursday, May 12 to Wednesday, May 25, (by 11:59 p.m.) for the benefit year beginning July 1, 2022.
The good news is this year there will be no changes to employees out of pocket for their current health care plan, including no premium increase! There will be some major increases in the Take Charge! Live Well! incentives for OCSEA bargaining unit members, and a new narrow network will also be announced on the DAS website on Friday.
For more information, don’t forget to tune into the DAS health care website on Friday, April 29 at DAS.ohio.gov/benefits. Also, OCSEA Chapter Presidents are a great source of information about your health care benefit, so make sure to reach out to them with any questions.
Additionally, eligible OCSEA members should visit the Union Benefits Trust website at benefitstrust.org to enroll in, review and/or update their dental and vision benefits coverage. The UBT dental and vision enrollment form is available on the website. UBT coverage is premium free, thanks to the OCSEA contract, and maintained by the union.
Workers' Memorial Day: Honoring those who have died on the job with collective action
More than 50 years ago on April 28, Workers Memorial Day, the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect, promising every worker the right to a safe job—a fundamental right. Laws like these have been won because of the tireless efforts of the labor movement, which organizes for safer working conditions and demands action from the government.
But our work is never done and April 28's Workers Memorial Day is always a reminder. Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions more suffer injury and illness because of dangerous working conditions that are preventable. During National Work Zone Awareness Week earlier this month, we did our part to raise awareness yet, still, there have been over 70 instances of Ohio Dept. of Transportation crews and their equipment being struck in traffic in 2022 alone. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated working families and highlighted the fundamental right to and importance of a safe job for every worker. As we head into National Correctional Officer and Employee Week next week we are painstakingly reminded of the losses suffered in our corrections communities as result of the pandemic. And, a lack of investment in staff and staffing puts prison staff in peril on a daily basis. To learn more about the toll of neglect, download the AFL-CIO's annual Death of the Job: The Toll of Neglect report released this week.
This week, the Ohio AFL-CIO is holding Workers Memorial Day events across the state to remind us all that collective actions, with union members at the helm, are dire in the fight to protect each other on the job. Find an event near you HERE. Our collective voices and actions are essential to win stronger safety and health protections in our workplaces and stronger job safety and health laws. "We are standing strong to hold workplace safety agencies accountable to create and enforce laws that protect workers, and to hold employers accountable to keep workers safe. We are organizing to raise the baseline level of safety protections for everyone, including those disproportionately impacted by dangerous working conditions," wrote Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga this week.
Learn more about the Union Difference for on-the-job safety:
ICYMI! Registration now open for May 20 Community & Minority Affairs Conference
Registration for OCSEA's annual Community Affairs and Minority Affairs (CMCA) Conference is officially open online. The event will be held virtually on Zoom on Friday, May 20, 2022. All members are encouraged to attend and learn how union rights positively impact our minority workers and their communities. See how to register at THIS LINK.
NOTE: If you need released from work to attend this event, please indicate during the registration process. The deadline to register and request release time is May 11. Members who DO NOT need release time from work can register up through the day of the conference.