OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / JANUARY 29, 2026

OCSEA Hamilton-Clermont Chapter 3100 member Joe Estes has been the talk of Ohio this week, and we couldn't be more proud! The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) driver was profiled by local news and all across social media when he heroically helped clear snow-covered roads Sunday to ensure a sick baby could safely reach Cincinnati Children’s Hospital during the weekend’s winter storm.

 

Brother Estes received a call 20 minutes into his Sunday shift requesting help for an ambulance transport. A baby boy named Bryson needed immediate transport to Cincinnati Children’s for a higher level of care, but the storm had made roads nearly impassable. The Cincinnati Children’s transport team knew roads would be impassable for an ambulance alone, so they called ODOT for help clearing the way. Estes cleared miles of roadway with the transport team carrying baby Bryson following behind.

 

“It’s probably the most important trek of my ODOT career. It wasn’t just pushing snow; it was getting this ambulance to this hospital safely and back,” Estes said.

 

As one poster on social media wrote: "Not all heroes wear capes, some drive snow plows!" We couldn't agree more! Thanks to Joe for this heroic act and  thanks to all of Ohio's Winter Weather Warriors in public service. You make Ohio happen! Watch Joe's story here.

While the future of property taxes in Ohio is being debated, there’s a new report that shows exactly how important property taxes are to the public services we all depend on. Policy Matters Ohio has taken a closer look at the consequences of eliminating property taxes, as some have suggested. One of those consequences could be the loss of many public sector jobs.

 

The report says an elimination of property taxes could harm public services for developmental disabilities, behavioral health services, senior and children services, public health, emergency medical services and community hospitals, parks, libraries, public safety and police and 911 services, to name a few.

 

"In short, eliminating the real personal property tax would force devastating cuts to schools, libraries, and other critical public services, or extraordinary increases in other taxes and utility costs," reports Policy Matters Ohio. "Legislators have good options to provide property-tax relief to Ohioans who need it—while preserving local revenues," wrote researcher Zach Schiller of Policy Matters. Read the full Policy Matters report.

Unions and union veterans groups spoke out this week as they mourn the loss of one of their own, Veterans Affairs RN and AFGE Local 3669 union member Alex Pretti.

 

Pretti's AFGE union spoke out just after the shooting event in Minneapolis. “Our union is heartbroken. An AFGE member is dead. And a family’s life has been forever changed,” American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said in a statement issued hours after the incident. “While details of the incident are still emerging, one fact is already clear: this tragedy did not happen in a vacuum. It is the direct result of an administration that has chosen reckless policy, inflammatory rhetoric, and manufactured crisis over responsible leadership and de-escalation. Federal workers have been placed at the center of this political theater, turned into symbols instead of being treated as the public servants they are. That kind of leadership failure has consequences, making everything more dangerous for the public and law enforcement alike."

 

The AFGE National VA Council wrote: “Alex was an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Hospital and answered the call faithfully every day to care for our veterans. This tragedy has shaken us all because what happens to one of us impacts all of us. We send our deepest condolences to the Pretti family during this difficult time."

 

AFSCME President Lee Saunders released a press statement about the loss of the public union member: “AFSCME members are heartbroken and outraged by the senseless killing of our fellow union member Alex Jeffrey Pretti. Alex was a true public servant who took care of our nation’s veterans in the VA intensive care unit. The thoughts and prayers of AFSCME members nationwide are with Alex’s family during this time." Saunders said this act does not represent our American values and urged us not to be silent to intimidation and fear that destroy the bonds that hold communities together. "We will fight to make sure these fundamental values don't die on our watch," Saunders said.