OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / AUGUST 21, 2024

The OCSEA President's Conference will take place Saturday, September 14, 2024. At this year's conference, we will be taking on a deeper dive into the "Future Dynamics: Work, Politics, and Societal Change." Reminder: Contact your local chapter leadership if you are interested in attending the conference as a delegate. Last week, chapter presidents received a letter on the conference and registration form. Presidents are responsible for organizing and signing up all delegates to this conference. 

OCSEA Presidents Conference

Saturday, September 14

Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center, 100 Green Meadows Dr S,
Lewis Center, OH 43035

The biennial Ohio AFL CIO Convention will take place on September 24 in Cleveland, Ohio. Pre-convention activity begins on September 23 with the union's Diversity Conference. The conference theme is Union Time: Rising Up, as Ohio's unions rise up together to build a better future for all working people. 

 

If you are interested in attending as an OCSEA/AFSCME Local 11 delegate, contact Gina Ison at gison@ocsea.org by no later than Monday, September 9. Any room reservations will be the responsibility of the delegate not OCSEA. Get hotel info HERE.

Ohio AFL-CIO Convention

Tuesday, September 24

Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel, located at 100 Lakeside Ave E,
Cleveland, OH 44114

OCSEA members at the Ohio Auditor's Office voted last week to ratify their separate union contract. The membership at the agency voted to approve a four-year contract (from three-year contract) with a wage package of 5%, 4.5%, and 3%. The fourth year of the contract will include a wage only increase re-opener, 90 days prior to July 1, 2027. The contract runs from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2028. The three-year wage increase aligns with raises negotiated in the main state contract.
 
The union was able to hold off several harmful proposals by management. This included employer attempts at adding “cost savings days” in the event that management was required to take them. The union valiantly opposed the proposal that would erode the union contract and could potentially lead to wage losses to the members of the agency.  Additionally, the union fought off management's proposal to trade one year of disability leave for guaranteed teleworking days.  

In his keynote address during last week's AFSCME 46th International Convention, AFSCME International President Lee Saunders celebrated our union’s victories over the past two years and presented a bold vision for the future called the “Fearless Agenda.”

 

“The Fearless Agenda will focus on the concerns members have every day at work, like health and safety on the job,” Saunders said. "Whether it’s corrections officers who fear being assaulted or groundskeepers who work in extreme heat," he said, the Fearless Agenda will prioritize a fundamental right to return home at the end of the day unharmed. 

 

The Fearless Agenda will also continue to address the staffing issues that "still push AFSCME members to the breaking point," he said, with a commitment to continue on with the Staff the Front Lines initiative. The initiative aims to improve recruitment and retention and to bring qualified and passionate people into public service. This includes the AFSCME Job Training and Development Center to help affiliates meet their workforce needs. 

Organizing wins topped the list of victories, across a broad swath of sectors throughout the country. OCSEA brother Eric Kusky was one of those union members spotlighted at the convention for his activism in organizing. An activist from OCSEA Trumbull Correctional Chapter 7820 and the Corrections Assembly and a member of the OCSEA Board of Directors, Eric was spotlighted for his efforts as an AFSCME Volunteer Member Organizer (VMO).

 

Eric was one of four VMOs tapped to lead a workshop about members' work volunteering to organize new and current members around the nation. From Colorado to Michigan, Eric has spent countless hours working to grow the power of labor by talking to potential and current union members about the importance of having a union voice and building strength amongst public employee union members. In Colorado, he worked to organize new union members who work in the state's counties. In Michigan, he worked with other AFSCME leaders to recruit new members and talk to non-members about the importance of the solidarity of membership. 

 

"The key to talking to potential union members and non-members is to be friendly, find common ground, and really listen to their concerns and issues," said Eric. "I listen to their story and tell them mine, connect with them and let them know I'm a public employee just like them," he said.

 

Eric also knows it's about calming fears about joining a union and laying out the real reasons for embracing what it means to be a union member: unity and strength that puts workers in the drivers seat to make a real impact in the workplace without fear of retaliation. 

 

"I continue to do this work because, deep down, I know it’s a positive thing. I believe I can make a difference in growing our union because I believe, to my core, in being union," he said. 

 

Eric, a union activist for nearly 15 years, received his VMO training through AFSCME. He hopes to continue growing the labor movement in Maryland and again in Colorado in the coming months. Interested in being a VMO? Learn more here.

AFSCME Volunteer Member Organizers (VMOs), including OCSEA activist Eric Kusky talk about their positive experiences in organizing public union members throughout the country. Eric, second from right, was joined by (from left to right) Jonathan Diaz of CA Council 36, Gwen Alexander of HOPE TX, and Felicia Wilkerson of PA Council during a VMO panel at the AFSCME Convention.

The Social Security Fairness Act would RESTORE full Social Security benefits to public service workers, including law enforcement, firefighters, and other public employees. This legislation has widespread support and would greatly benefit working families and retirees – which is exactly why we need to show our support in getting it passed.

 

And now over 60 bipartisan cosponsors, under the leadership of Ohio's U.S. Senator (D) Sherrod Brown and Maine's U.S. Senator (R) Susan Collins, are calling on the U.S. Senate leadership to take immediate action on this critical legislation. These 64 cosponsors put support over the threshold that could be weakened by filibuster rules that often halt important legislation in its tracks. 

 

But we need your help to push this important legislation through to the finish line. Add your name to a letter and voice your concerns to help ensure this legislation is brought to the floor for a vote. SIGN NOW!

 

This legislation would repeal two provisions of current law – the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) – that unfairly reduce many public service retirees’ Social Security benefits. It would ensure public sector workers like: law enforcement, firefighters, teachers, park rangers, and their families receive the full Social Security benefits they earn. TAKE ACTION NOW!

Check out this new and spectacular family-friendly event in Central Ohio: the Columbus Zoo Lantern Festival, produced by Hanart Culture! This 8-week event is a dazzling spectacle featuring over 70 sets of Asian lanterns highlighting beautiful wildlife scenes from around the world. Multicolored LED animal lanterns will illuminate paths throughout various areas of the Zoo, creating an unforgettable experience.

The Lantern Festival is an event that begins after the Zoo closes for the day. Tickets do not include daytime Zoo admission. Ticket price includes unlimited and free rides and two nightly shows highlighting Asian culture. Parking is free for this event.

Discounted tickets cost $17.99 for adults, and $14.99 for children. Get your tickets HERE , using the following credentials to log in:
Username:CIVIL
Password: OCSEA11
Then, click the “Lantern Festival” option on the right.

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Politicians who oppose a nonpartisan amendment to end gerrymandering in Ohio are pulling out all the stops to play tricks on voters. Last week they wrote ballot language that’s been called “the most biased, inaccurate, deceptive and unconstitutional” the state has ever seen.

 

Backers of the constitutional amendment have filed a lawsuit asking the Ohio Supreme Court to order a rewrite of the ballot language. In its lawsuit, Citizens Not Politicians said, “every single paragraph of the ballot language includes misleading and biased language that further serves to sway voters against the amendment.”

 

Citizens Not Politicians collected more than 700,000 signatures to put the amendment on the November ballot. The bipartisan group’s plan would replace the current system where politicians draw maps for Ohio’s congressional and legislative districts with an Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission. The new commission would have an equal number of Republicans, Democrats and Independents and no politicians or lobbyists could serve on it.

 

The amendment states very clearly that it would ban partisan gerrymandering yet the misleading ballot language makes it seem like the opposite would be true. You can click here to read the actual amendment.