OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / JuLY 17, 2024

AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after a shooting occurred at a Trump Rally in Butler, Pennsylvania:

“Political violence has no place in our nation. We resoundingly condemn this act. Our thoughts and prayers are with former President Donald Trump, the victims of this shooting and their families.”

We are so excited to announce the recipients of this year's OCSEA Les Best Scholarship awards. The scholarship winners include six dependent children of OCSEA dues-paying members and two OCSEA members, for a grand total of $12,000 in scholarship dollars that can be used toward helping these union families pursue a college or vocational school education. Additionally, two OCSEA members were awarded a $250 book scholarship each.

 

The Winners Are...

Dependent College/Vocational Scholarship:

• Blake Johnson - $2,000 - dependent of Brittany Brown, Treasurer of State
• Sujan Sriram - $2,000 -  dependent of Haripriya Sriram, Ohio Dept. of Taxation
• David Bright - $2,000 - dependent of Lukose-Bright Thomas, Ohio Dept. of Health 
• Katelyn Heath - $2,000 - dependent of Curtis Heath, Bureau of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection
• Ethan Lukey - $1,000 - dependent of Jennifer Lukey, Bureau of Workers' Compensation
• Riley Wolfe - $1,000 - dependent of Matthew Wolfe, Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources

Member College/Vocational Scholarship:

• Landon Conley - $1,000 - Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections
• Alicia Perkins $1,000 - Ohio Dept. of Transportation
• Sherlyn White - $250 book scholarship - Ohio Dept. of Mental Health and Addiction Services
• Felicia Edeh $250 book scholarship - Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections

Learn more about the OCSEA Les Best Scholarship HERE. The scholarship programs opens each year on January 1, with a deadline of April 30. It is open to active, dues-paying members as well as their dependents and spouses. Want to promote the scholarship or other union benefits programs at a chapter event or union fair? Contact the OCSEA Communications Department at communications@ocsea.org.

OCSEA President Chris Mabe and former OCSEA President Ron Alexander honor the legacy of OCSEA activist Jean Fightmaster at memorial.

This past weekend, union activists honored the life and legacy of Jean Fightmaster, an OCSEA warrior and a huge part of the union's history since the beginning of Ohio's collective bargaining. Jean passed away in November of 2023. She was 83 years old and served the union since the 1970's. The event was held by her children and her union family. 

 

AFSCME President Lee Saunders, a friend who served alongside Jean at the first OCSEA bargaining table and at the Franklin County welfare department, called her "a force of nature to match her last name" and "a stalwart whose love of the union was infectious." He wrote a letter honoring her legacy to OCSEA and AFSCME as a whole.

 

Saunders wrote: "When Jean joined OCSEA, and when I was an OCSEA member, it was still an independent union. But Jean was instrumental in making sure that OCSEA became a part of the AFSCME family instead of affiliating with another union. She was also a leader in the landmark struggle to win collective bargaining rights for Ohio public service workers. I served with her on that first state bargaining team in 1986, and we were also at the table together negotiating a key contract in Franklin County. So, I saw up close just how tenacious she was, unintimidated by management and unwilling to take no for an answer. Read Lee Saunder's letter on her legacy.

 

OCSEA Pres. Chris Mabe announced that the union High Performance Initiative (HPI) Award program will be named in Sister Fightmaster's honor. The HPI Award, presented every two years at the OCSEA Convention, celebrates the outstanding achievements of our union bodies. Presented biannually to chapters, districts and assemblies, the award program highlights building union power through high performance initiatives. The award celebrates successful initiatives and gives members the opportunity to share their methods with other chapters, districts and assemblies.

The Highway Technician (HT) Modernization Rollout events in ODOT districts wrap up this week. The events detailed the HT Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was negotiated between OCSEA and ODOT management at agency-specific bargaining earlier this spring. This includes the automatic progression and pay increases for approximately 700 HTs, which will go into effect starting the workweek beginning Sunday, July 28. REMINDER! HT3s not wanting to perform construction inspection must sign the HT3 Advance Waiver to opt out of advancement to HT4 by this Monday, July 22. Contact your Staff Representative immediately if you still have questions about the waiver.

 

Any impacted HTs who were unable to attend their district's rollout event will need to attend the make-up HT rollout meeting: Monday, July 22, 9 A.M. at ODOT Central Office. This event will be held in the Central Office Auditorium, 1980 West Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43223. Impacted HTs who still need to make up the rollout event should have been contacted by their ODOT district.

 

Get the HT Modernization Rollout pamphlet HERE.

ODOT District 5 Highway Technicians learn more about how they will be impacted by the HT Modernization, which includes auto progression for a nearly 700 members starting July 28. These changes were negotiated based on feedback from OCSEA members who wanted quicker advancement, improved training opportunities, greater advancement, and flexibility and choice in career paths. 

Great news! OCSEA dues-paying members can now shop hundreds MORE products at Purchasing Power with a summer catalog expansion! Members now have access to everything from coolers and electronics to appliances and grills. Shop now. Pay over 18 months from your paycheck. Click below to download the newest flyer: