Just a reminder! The OCSEA Womens' Action and Community and Minority Affairs Committees joint conference is taking place May 3-5, 2024 at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Sandusky.

There is still time this week to register for the event and get lodging. Visit OCSEA.org/WAC-CMCA for all the information. Today is the last day to book lodging for the event.

While there, check out the full agenda, which includes three speakers with labor and motivational speaking backgrounds.

• The event begins Friday evening with early conference check-in and a hospitality reception. It's the perfect way to network with other OCSEA members from around Ohio.
• The conference begins promptly at 10 a.m. on Saturday and runs through Sunday at 11 a.m.
• Conference check-in on Saturday opens on 8 a.m.

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. 

The law was won because of the tireless efforts of the labor movement, which organized for safer working conditions and demanded action from the government to protect working people. Since then, unions and allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality—winning protections under the law that have made jobs safer and saved lives. But our work is not done. 

Each day, more than 340 workers are killed and more than 6,000 suffer injury and illness because of dangerous working conditions that are preventable.

Workers are winning good jobs and safe jobs through union contracts across the country to secure a better livelihood and safer future for ourselves and our families. A seat at the bargaining table can be a matter of life or death in the workplace, ensuring everyone can go home at the end of a work shift, alive and without work-related illnesses that plague many workers. We thank each and every OCSEA activist who serves on their agency's health and safety committees. It is these voices that matter the most. 

Spring open enrollment for both the Union Benefits Trust (UBT) dental, vision, life insurance and legal programs and the State of Ohio Health Plan is just around the corner. The period begins May 16 and goes through May 29.

It’s a great time to review your benefit plan coverage as well as check your dependents’ eligibility. OCSEA members are also encouraged to check and update their beneficiaries, where necessary. More open enrollment information will be sent out to OCSEA members and all eligible State of Ohio employees in the coming weeks.

A quarter of public service retirees have seen cuts to their Social Security because of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Some have even had their Social Security benefits cut to zero.

GPO and WEP essentially penalize dedicated retirees for choosing careers in public service. Write a letter to your representative now, urging them to repeal GPO and WEP.

WRITE A LETTER »»»

The bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), sponsored by Ohio's Senator Sherrod Brown and co-sponsored by hundreds more in Congress, would repeal GPO and WEP once and for all. 

If this is not repealed, this will eventually impact most public workers who have dedicated their lives to public service. The best way for our union to push this bill across the finish line is by sending a flood of letters to our representatives today voicing our support.

Every member of Congress needs to hear from public service workers and retirees on this issue. Send a letter to your representatives and tell them to fully repeal GPO and WEP, so all public service retirees receive the full Social Security benefits they earned!