OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / OCTOBER 25, 2024
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OCSEA will appeal Magistrate’s decision on Emergency Pay
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There’s an update to the battle over emergency pay for OCSEA members who worked during the pandemic. Unfortunately, a Magistrate for Franklin County Common Pleas Court has upheld an Arbitrator’s ruling that rejected OCSEA’s request for emergency pay under Article 13.15 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Magistrate’s decision says, “The Arbitrator did not exceed his powers as defined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the parties and applicable law. Nor did the Arbitrator’s award depart from the essence of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
“We strongly disagree with both the Magistrate’s and the Arbitrator’s interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement,” said OCSEA President Chris Mabe. “Our members went above and beyond the call of duty to put their health and lives at risk during the pandemic, and they deserve to be compensated. We will not stop fighting for emergency pay through all the legal avenues available to us,” declared Pres. Mabe.
OCSEA filed a grievance and proceeded to arbitration in 2022 after management refused to grant emergency pay. The Arbitrator ultimately agreed with the State’s technical argument that there was never a declaration of a public safety emergency under Article 13.15 (B) and that some or many employees were not furloughed for the duration of the pandemic, therefore he believed the stipend was not applicable.
Attorneys for OCSEA are appealing the Magistrate’s decision to a Franklin County judge. If the judge denies the appeal, OCSEA will proceed with another appeal to the 10th District Court of Appeals.
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Sign up for an upcoming OCSEA Zoom Training Session
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VIRTUAL Basic Steward Training (2 sessions)
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VIRTUAL Evidence, Investigatory, and Pre-Discipline Training (2 sessions)
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Fall union magazine is arriving now!
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The fall edition of your union magazine, the Public Employee Quarterly, is arriving in members' home mailboxes as we speak. The election season edition dives into election issues that are important to union members, including an economy for working people, having a union voice on the job, protecting public service and ending the staffing crisis, once and for all.
“It’s important to remember who’s for us and who’s against us—because the future of organized labor is always on the ballot,” said OCSEA res. Chris Mabe in the edition.
The periodical also highlights the history of the Highway Technician Series, looks at recent local government contract wins, remembers an OCSEA hero, and congratulates winners of the 2024 Les Best Scholarship. Read the virtual PEQ at OCSEA.org/peq
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How a union-backed plan could finally stop gerrymandering in Ohio
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What is Issue 1? How would voting "Yes" end gerrymandering in Ohio? Maureen O'Connor, the former Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, knows why! In the most recent edition of the OCSEA magazine, the Public Employee Quarterly, the union discusses the bipartisan issue and why it's important to union members who have made public service their careers.
You might be asking yourself, didn’t we already vote to end gerrymandering through amendments to Ohio’s Constitution? The answer is YES! In 2015 and 2018, Ohioans voted overwhelmingly to change the redistricting process for Congress and the state legislature. It was hoped the changes would lead to fair maps that didn’t skew election results to benefit a particular political party. But both redistricting amendments had a fatal flaw—they kept politicians in charge of drawing maps.
“Politicians can’t help themselves when they draw maps they gerrymander,” said O’Connor, the former Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. “Why do they gerrymander? To keep their party and themselves in power.” Justice O’Connor, a lifelong registered Republican, was part of a bipartisan majority on the Supreme Court that ruled seven times that maps drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission were unconstitutional.
Watch a Q&A with Justice O'Connor HERE. You can also visit OCSEAVotes.org to watch the Justice O'Connor video and read the full story. The Fall edition of the union magazine is arriving in members' mailboxes now.
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Last chance. Today is the deadline to register for annual OCSEA Veterans Conference
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OCSEA Veterans Committee Conference
November 1-2, 2024
Mohican State Park Lodge, 4700 Goon Rd.,
Perrysville, Ohio 44864
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Weekend early voting in Ohio starts tomorrow!
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Weekend early voting for the November 5 election kicks off this Saturday and Sunday at your county's early voting location. Find your early vote location HERE. Early voting in Ohio continues EVERY SINGLE DAY through November 3. See the schedule below or visit VoteOhio.gov. NOTE: There is NO early voting on Monday November 4.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5 at YOUR designated polling location, which is different than your early vote location. Find your polling place HERE.
Absentee voting by mail is also an option. Completed absentee ballots must be post-marked by November 4 or hand-delivered to your county board of elections.
Get all your union resources at OCSEAVotes.org.
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