Bargaining is coming. Make sure contact info is up to date.
State bargaining for the 2024-2027 contract is just around the corner and YOUR involvement
is key to a strong contract! Contract negotiations between OCSEA and the State of Ohio are slated to begin at the end of this year. The State contract expires on February 28, 2024. Your member bargaining team, to be elected by chapter delegates this October, will be calling on you to support them as much as possible.
Don't miss a thing! As we head into bargaining, one of the most important things you can do as a union member is to make sure your contact information is up to date. This includes making sure you have an up-to-date PERSONAL email on file with the union. Personal emails, as opposed to state emails, are important because the union bargaining team will NOT be sending any bargaining news updates to state email addresses. If you have a state email on file with the union, please add a personal email TOO, as you will only receive bargaining emails at your personal email address. A personal email is important for a couple of reasons:
- Per bargaining agreements, the union team can't share bargaining strategy and updates with members over state emails. Only notifications that are mutually agreed upon by both parties will be sent over state email address.
- Union bargaining news is for members' eyes ONLY and should never be opened or shared on state-provided computers or email browsers.
Go to your MyOCSEA account HERE and make sure your contact information is updated. Please review your personal email and make sure you have a good cell phone on file for texting. Don’t have a MyOCSEA account? Visit OCSEA.org and click “Create Account.”
Prefer to update your information over the phone? You can also call the OCSEA Member
Resource Center (MRC) at 888-OCSEA11 Monday through Friday to update your information. Let the MRC Rep know if you would like to sign up for text alerts!
Not a state member? That's ok. It's important that you also make sure your contact information is up to date for when your union bargaining team heads to the table.
Basic Union Steward Training to be offered October 2
Looking to become or get re-certified as a steward? Or just want to learn more about your rights under the contract? OCSEA will offer a Zoom Basic Union Stewards training on Monday, October 2, 2023 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The course will be led by OCSEA staff representative Ryan Ochmanek and will cover the fundamentals of basic stewardship. Participants will learn procedures regarding the grievance system, discipline and other issues under OCSEA contracts. The class is by Zoom only and has limited seats. All dues-paying members are eligible to attend as space permits.
Please note: There will be no release time provided for this training. Leave will need to be used to attend. Consult your chapter about leave reimbursement.
A State employee ID is required to register. If you are a local government member and
do not have an OAKS ID, please contact jayers@ocsea.org to register.
Take a stand against collective bargaining attacks in Ohio
Senate Bill 83 is back and being considered by the Ohio State Legislature once again. As a reminder, this harmful bill would prohibit university employees from exercising their collective bargaining rights and striking. In an effort to try to divide the labor community in Ohio, the new version of the bill bans university faculty members only from striking, But we're not having it! SB 83 is still one of the worst attack on workers since Senate Bill 5.
You stood with We Are Ohio and fought back against Senate Bill 5. Now your help is needed to stop SB 83 in its tracks! Call your state legislators today at 1-800-282-0253 and tell them that you and your union OPPOSE any and all attacks to collective bargaining in Ohio.
We Are Ohio and 73 unions representing hundreds of thousands of public and private sector workers, including OCSEA, sent a letter to the Ohio House Speaker and members of the Ohio House this week urging lawmakers to protect collective bargaining rights and reject Senate Bill 83. Read the letter HERE.
In the letter, We Are Ohio, OCSEA and other unions remind lawmakers that Ohio workers and voters will not stand idly by when their rights and freedoms are threatened. A threat to one union is a threat to all unions.
- Take action today. Call your legislator at 1-800-282-0253. Go HERE to look up your legislator.
Join luncheon looking back on 40 years of collective bargaining
Want to know what 40 years of collective bargaining means to you today? Join the Central Ohio Labor and Employment Relations Association (COLERA) for a celebration of collective bargaining in Ohio and the effect the law has on public union members. The event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Presenters will discuss the evolution of collective bargaining since it was signed in to law in 1983.
Panelists include former Ohio Governor Richard "Dick" Celeste, who signed the right to bargain into law 40 years ago as well as guest speakers from OCSEA and other Ohio AFSCME affiliates, the Office of Collective Bargaining, and more. Arbitrator Tom Nowell will talk about the law's impact on union members. The panel will be moderated by Carolyn Borden.
The Effect of Bargaining in the Public Sector
Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Columbus Metropolitan Library | 96 S. Grant Ave., Columbus OH 43215
AFSCME launches member platform about the benefits of being union
AFSCME, our national union, has launched the You Can Be U campaign highlighting member videos about the unique lives of public employee union members outside of work as well as the power of the union difference. Being UNION means you have time to be YOU too, whether it's volunteering in your community or pursuing your passions.
View AFSCME member spotlights at you.afscme.org
OCSEA Nights with the Blue Jackets
Watch the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets hit it hard on the ice! OCSEA and the Columbus Blue Jackets are excited to partner yet again for this exclusive offer for the '23-'24 hockey season for OCSEA members ONLY!
OCSEA Nights for fall are Saturday October 14 against the New York Rangers and Friday, October 20 against the Calgary Flames. Pick one game or both!