OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / JANUARY 14, 2026

Registration is now open for OCSEA's annualCommittee on Minority and Community Affairs (CMCA) Conference, which will take place Friday, March 6-Saturday March 7. The main conference will take place throughout the day on that Saturday. Pre-conference events including contract trainings, a reception and early conference check-in will take place on that Friday evening. The conference will be held at The Embassy Suites, 5800 Rockside Woods Rd., Independence, Ohio 44131.

VisitOCSEA.org/CMCAto download the conference registration form, to get instructions on registration, to view the Conference Call and to get the link to make hotel reservations.More information on sign ups forBasic Steward and Advanced Steward Trainings will be coming soon. The trainings will be held Friday, March 6 from 6-9 pm.

 

The conference theme is "From Grassroots to Greatness,” focusing on labor and political action from the ground up.

REGISTER NOW!

The New Year brings fresh opportunities for you to begin or to expand your professional development. Your Union Education Trust (UET) is here to help you succeed, but you may have questions about how we can help. No fear, the UET Open Forum Online is the place to get those questions answered!

 

As an OCSEA member, you are cordially invited to join the nextUET Open Forum Onlinevia Zoom® onThursday, January 22, 2026, from4:30 pm-5:30 pm. Please plan on attending this FREE online event toget your UET questions answeredand to gain new knowledge regarding utilization of your union education benefits.

Date: Thursday, January 22

Time: 4:30 pm-5:30 pm

Location: Zoom®

 

The webinar schedule is as follows:

4:30 pm - Introduction and Announcements

4:40 pm - Presentation: Applying for your benefits through the MyUET Portal

5:00pm - Open Forum Q&A

 

Click below to register. Space is limited, so don't delay! See you there!

RSVP

The union's Les Best Scholarship Program helps OCSEA members and their families pay for a college education. A total of $12,000 is awarded annually for each academic year, divided among winners in three categories: dependents, members and spouses. The scholarship is open only to dues-paying members and their families.

 

The application process for the OCSEA Les Best Scholarship is officially open! Applications are being accepted now through April 30. Get more information and download applications at OCSEA.org/LesBest.

In April of 2025, AFSCME, our national union voice, joined with the AFL-CIO and allied unions in filing a lawsuit to prevent the dismantling of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). This is a small but critical independent federal agency that helps resolve contract negotiations between unions and employers to protect both the economy and workers’ rights.

 

Following an earlier preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the agency’s dismantling that was issued in a case brought by Democratic State Attorneys General, the judge in AFSCME’s case has issued a final ruling in our favor to reinvigorate FMCS by striking down the layoffs of most of its mediation staff and cancelling its DOGE-inspired policy of drastically limiting which disputes it would mediate.

FMCS has a $55 million budget – which accounts for less than 0.0014% of the overall federal budget – but generates more than $500 million in annual savings for our economy in preventing drawn out labor disputes.