OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / April 16, 2025

The OCSEA Steward Conference will be held Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Westerville. Register today and join OCSEA contract enforcers from all over the state for this important annual event. Every OCSEA steward and leader should plan to attend. The in-person event will take place at the Renaissance Columbus Westerville-Polaris Hotel located at 409 Altair Pkwy, Westerville, OH 43082.

 

Learn more about the event and register at OCSEA.org/StewardConference or click the blue button below for the direct registration link.

 

Additionally, there will be two union trainings taking place Friday evening at the hotel before the main event. This will include a Basic Steward Training and a New Contract Training. The trainings are limited to 70 participants per training, so register soon before spots fill up. On the registration form, please include whether you will be attending one of the trainings. 

 

Overnight accommodations for the conference will be held at the Renaissance Hotel at 490 Altair Parkway, Westerville, OH 43082. Hotel reservations must be made directly with the hotel. The deadline to book a hotel room at the conference rate is May 16.BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM USING THIS SPECIAL CONFERENCE LINK.

REGISTER FOR
STEWARD CONFERENCE

Are you going back to school to further your education? Do you have a spouse or dependent child who will be enrolled in college this fall? Apply for the Les Best Scholarship program by the end of the month, April 30!

 

OCSEA's Les Best Scholarships provide a total of $12,000 each year to union families to ease the burden of higher education costs. Plus, Members will also be automatically considered for a $250 book scholarship!

 

Alicia Perkins, a Montgomery Chapter 5700 member and one of last year’s scholarship winners, says, “One of the most important benefits that I have received from the union is the opportunity to attend college to achieve my dream of becoming a Registered Nurse. If it wasn’t for the union, I wouldn’t be able to afford college. I am a mother of four and I am doing it on my own. I’ve had a lot of support from my fellow union members in my chapter, and that has given me the drive to keep going and attain my first-ever degree.”

 

To apply, visit OCSEA.org/LesBest. All application materials must be sent to OCSEA and postmarked no later than April 30, 2025.

"One of the most important benefits that I have received from the union is the opportunity to attend college to achieve my dream of becoming a Registered Nurse."

Alicia Perkins, ODOT - Chapter 5700
Les Best winner 2024

Download Les Best Application

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This week, AFSCME members and concerned working Ohioans joined Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo and State Representative Christine Cockley for a press conference detailing how working families will suffer if Congress cuts public services to pay for billionaire tax cuts.

 

Speakers sounded the alarm on how these reckless cuts will hurt our communities and urged Congressman Mike Carey to stop the cuts. This included Margaret Smith, OCSEA retiree, activist and member of AFSCME Retiree Chapter 1184. “As someone who dedicated my life to public service, I know firsthand how essential programs like Medicaid are to the health and dignity of our neighbors. In Ohio, Medicaid helps pay for the care that seniors and people with disabilities count on—from prescriptions to nursing home support to doctor visits,” said Margaret, who called on the Congressman Mike Carey to do the right thing, stand with Ohioans, not the billionaires.  

 

One-third (33%) of Ohio’s total revenue comes from federal funding––with a significant portion of that funding supporting Medicaid for children, people with disabilities, veterans, and senior citizens. "If that funding is cut, essential public services from education to health care to infrastructure will be on the chopping block, impacting all Ohioans. Meanwhile, Congress is also pushing massive tax breaks for billionaires who already have more power and wealth than ever," AFSCME wrote in a press statement about the event. Research has proven that the 2017 tax law overwhelmingly benefitted the rich and did almost nothing to help working families.

Please join OCSEA President Chris Mabe for a very important virtual member-only townhall meeting TOMORROW, Thursday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m., to learn how we can fight back against federal cuts that will impact state agencies. Pres. Mabe will be joined by special guests AFSCME President Lee Saunders, Joe Rugola, Executive Director of OAPSE (Local 4),  Sean Grayson, President of AFSCME Council 8 and Lou Maholic, President of AFSCME Retiree Chapter 1184.

 

There are two ways to join this very important call – via Zoom or via phone. Use the registration link below to get the Zoom link, or fill out the form to join by phone and you will be called at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 17 to join the conversation.

RSVP for Virtual Townhall

Last week, OCSEA President Chris Mabe denounced a heartless attack on a Dept of Youth Services teacher and Ohio Education Association (OEA) member. He demanded that DYS immediately provide all incident reports, video surveillance, audio recordings and communication logs connected to the incident and called the assault a "direct result of persistent, systemic failures in [DYS] leadership and a blatant disregard for staff safety that has plagued this facility for far too long.”

 

News reports this week highlighted the nearly 20 youth on staff assaults at the Indian River DYS facility this year.

Violent assaults are nothing new for Indian River, which has a long and troubled history of violence, putting OCSEA members who work there in harm's way daily. The union continues to advocate for changes in the agency. Read last week's union update on the assault.

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