IMPORTANT CONVENTION NOTICE!
In the most recent edition of the OCSEA magazine, we announced some important OCSEA Biennial Convention deadlines. This includes the March 27 submission deadline for candidate statements for statewide office and delegate election notices that will appear in union's spring magazine. PLEASE NOTE: There was an error in the OCSEA winter magazine regarding statewide candidate statement word counts. The allowed word count for candidate statements is 200 words. See the most-recent convention updates on Page 13 of the winter edition of OCSEA Public Employee Quarterly. The word-count error has been corrected in the online version.
Kings Island Family Fun Day discounts are back! Purchase tickets online now
OCSEA and AFSCME are excited to partner with Kings Island yet again for a great season of thrills and family fun. OCSEA members get access to discounted entry into the park all season long. The AFSCME Family Fun Days discount is $42 plus processing fees and is available on public operational days through Labor Day 2023. Kings Island's gates will officially open to the public in less than a month on Saturday, April 15. Tickets are available for purchase now!
The Kings Island 2023 season is quickly approaching, and there's a lot to look forward to this year! New to the park this year, King's Island welcomes Adventure Port! The park’s newest themed area will feature two new family rides, enhanced theming for Adventure Express, Enrique’s quick service restaurant and the Mercado.
The Kings Island operating calendar and safety guidelines can be found at VisitKingsIsland.com.
A member-only Promo Code login is required for this deal. Using your MyOCSEA account, log on at OCSEA.org/extras to access this deal.
Bills that could harm freedoms of union members set for hearings today
House Joint Resolution 1
As we’ve anticipated, House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR 1) has its first hearing today, Wednesday, March 22 at 9 a.m. at the Ohio Statehouse in room 17. This resolution would undermine our ability to get citizen’s initiatives (Like Senate Bill 5) on the ballot.
Many of you remember Senate Bill 5, the anti-union bill that would have stripped us of our rights to collectively bargain. Some of you went door to door with us to get signatures. You rallied at the Statehouse. You marched to the Secretary of State’s Office with tens of thousands of signatures. You sat in hearings. And you talked to as many people as you could to defeat that measure at the ballot box. And we did it!
Now, House Joint Resolution 1 would undermine our ability to bring citizen-led initiatives to the ballot. HJR 1 is unfair, undemocratic, and unnecessary. It makes it harder for us to have the freedom to voice our concerns on matters--such as our collective bargaining rights---via a citizen ballot initiative.
In fact, HJR1 ends majority rule in Ohio by requiring ballot measures pass by a super majority or 60 percent. That means 41 percent of voters, a small amount, can block initiatives that a majority want. That shreds our constitution and takes away the people’s right to decide what happens.
Stay tuned for more information here and on our social media pages about that hearing.
Senate Bill 83
Besides trying to roll back our rights to the ballot box, a new bill aimed at Ohio’s institutions of higher education takes aim at public employee collective bargaining rights. Senate Bill 83 would prohibit any state university employees represented by a collective bargaining agreement to go on strike. That bill is expected to have a hearing today as well and is yet another example of Ohio’s State Legislature putting public employee union members in their crosshairs.
Public university employees have been organizing for decades in this state and are represented by unions as diverse as the FOP, Ohio Education Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers, American Association of University Professors, SEIU 1199, Teamsters, UAW, OAPSE, AFSCME Ohio Council 8, CWA, Operating Engineers and many more. Union members in Ohio’s colleges and universities are not just professors and instructors, but secretaries, maintenance workers, security personnel and many others. The right to strike is a fundamental right of union members, and even though it is rarely used, this is clearly another attack on public employee union members in Ohio.
Another bill, introduced earlier this year, Senate Bill 47, takes up the issue of union leaves and would prohibit anyone from lobbying (or presumably even talking to) the State Legislature about issues regarding their work or their collective bargaining rights while on union leave. This is a clear violation of our activists’ first amendment rights. No hearing on that bill has been scheduled.
Geologists Rock: Celebrating public union rock and mineral experts
In honor of Women's History Month, we're spotlighting union activist and Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources Geologist Brittany Parrick. In the recent edition of the OCSEA Public Employee Quarterly, Brittany talked about the love she has for her public work and her dedication to her union.
"Geology is the foundation upon which we build EVERYTHING,” Brittany jokes. She says she only teases about the importance of her profession, but this union Geologist isn’t far off the mark. Geology encompasses entire civilizations in its scope, including urban development, local economic growth, energy policy and even public health.
Brittany is a proud public union member and secretary of her OCSEA Chapter 2515. Read ODNR Geologist Brittany Parrick's story and more in the latest edition of your union magazine at ocsea.org/peq.
Members celebrate solidarity at annual minority conference
About 150 OCSEA activists and family members attended the Community and Minority Affairs Committee (CMCA) Conference this past weekend at The Summit A Dolce Hotel in Cincinnati.
Chair of the CMCA Committee, Sherry Little, who works at the Cleveland BWC office, welcomed attendees to the first major OCSEA conference since the pandemic. OCSEA President Chris Mabe gave an update on bills aimed at attacking public sector unions and one, HJR 1, which would make it next to impossible to get a citizen’s initiative on the ballot. He also answered members’ questions about a range of topics in an informative Q and A.
The afternoon speakers focused on the Power of Protest as well as the conference theme, Inclusivity to Build a Better Community. Cincinnati Pastor Kazava (KZ) Smith gave an impassioned speech about the Power of Protest and how protest has its roots in biblical traditions. Cleveland Heights Councilwoman Davida Russell, who is also a school bus driver and member-leader of OAPSE Local 4, talked about the many hats she and other union activists wear. She said despite her many roles, the one that is most important to her is her role as a union activist and leader.
See more photos from the event on Facebook.
Women's History Month
How has being union impacted your life as a woman? Tell your story so we can inspire others this Women's History Month and beyond! EMAIL US
See more Women's History stories: Instagram | Facebook
**Register to OCSEA's Women's Conference**
Sign up for the April 21-22 OCSEA Women's Action Committee (WAC) Conference at Salt Fork Park Lodge. The deadline is April 10. REGISTER: ocsea.org/wac