OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / June 25, 2026

Just announced! U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland will join attendees at this summer's OCSEA Presidents Conference on July 18 to help kick off the Get Out the Vote season. They will talk to OCSEA activists about the importance of GOTV and voting for candidates who support public employees and their unions. Both are true advocates of a union voice in public service and fan favorites at OCSEA events.

 

"We're elated to have such warriors of the labor movement headline our OCSEA Presidents Conference. Both have always been such good friends of labor, and we look forward to their remarks and inspiration as we head into election season," said OCSEA President Chris Mabe.

 

President Mabe wholeheartedly credits Sen. Brown for the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act which repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset in 2024. Sen. Brown's leadership gave OCSEA members and thousands of public employees across the nation their long overdue Social Security payments. “Sherrod has been a great friend of labor and should be credited for making sure our members receive the Social Security benefits they deserve,” Mabe said. “We can’t thank him enough!”

 

Register your chapter leaders for the OCSEA Presidents Conference! The event will take place Saturday, July 18, 2026, at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris located at 8700 Lyra Dr, Columbus, OH 43240. Pre-conference events will take place the evening of Friday, July 17, 2026. Get full conference details at OCSEA.org/PresidentsConference.

 

Chapter, District and Assembly Presidents are responsible for registering their delegates for the conference. The delegate registration deadline is quickly approaching next week on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Registration packets were mailed to all subordinate body Presidents in late May. The conference registration form, which is also on the website, may be copied as needed.

 

Send a registration form for each attending delegate no later than June 30, 2026 to:

OCSEA - ATTN Theresa Smith, OCSEA Presidents Conference

390 Worthington Rd., Suite A, Westerville, OH 43082

OR email to tsmith@ocsea.org

 

Hotel questions should be directed to Gina Ison at gison@ocsea.org or 614-865-4706.

LEARN MORE

Voting our jobs is how we make real progress in this nation for working people! This means prioritizing the issues that impact us as union members––in the workplace, at the bargaining table, at home, and in the communities that we serve as public employees. That means voting for freedom, dignity and opportunity, the very tenets of the labor movement!

 

OCSEAVotes.org is a one-stop shop for OCSEA activists to get information and material for the 2026 election season. The website––developed specifically for OCSEA members––gives OCSEA members access to news, resources and OCSEA endorsements, just to name a few. Please stay tuned to the site for upcoming volunteer opportunities for labor-to-labor election activities.

• Read: Voting our jobs and our union
• Commit to Vote

This month's Union Bulletin Board Network (UBBN) flyers are here and available for download at OCSEA.org/UBBN. Use these flyers for your worksite union bulletin boards for quick access to OCSEA news, events, discounts and more. Chapters should upload them monthly to keep the union news fresh!

Don't have an onsite bulletin board? The virtual bulletin board network at OCSEA.org/UBBN gives OCSEA members access to union flyers with a click of a button. Chapters that don't have boards are urged to email the flyers or UBBN link to their members monthly and distribute at chapter meetings. Any chapter that needs assistance with printing fliers should contact the OCSEA mailroom at 614-865-4733.

This month's virtual flyers include:

• Life is Better with Collective Bargaining: AFSCME Labor 411 web series
• Discount College: Earn a Degree, Diploma or Certificate Affordably with Edvance
• Union-Made Fourth of July
• Members Only! Columbus Zoo & Aquarium Admission Bundle
• Remembering Senate Bill 5, 15 years later
• Be an Ethical Consumer. Buy Union!
• Working Advantage: More Summer Fun, Less Spending!

OCSEA activist Larissa Lockwood recently spoke about her experience with the Employee Benefit Systems (EBS) Union College benefit. Larissa is a Correction Officer at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville and serves as the SOCF Chapter 7330 Secretary. The union discount college program, completely online through Franklin University, is available to all OCSEA dues-paying members and their family members.

 

As a full-time Corrections Officer, balancing work, family, and school can be challenging, but Franklin University’s flexible online format has allowed her to pursue a degree while maintaining professional responsibilities, she says. "The benefit has helped make higher education more accessible and affordable, allowing me to work toward my long-term career goals without the added financial stress," said Larissa, who will soon graduate from Franklin University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration.

 

"The process of taking advantage of the benefit was simple and straightforward, making it easy to get started on my educational journey," she said. Larissa says she would absolutely recommend the OCSEA College Benefit to coworkers and family members who are considering furthering their education. "My advice to anyone thinking about enrolling is to take the first step. The support available through both OCSEA and Franklin University makes the process much easier than you might expect, and investing in your education is an investment in your future," she said.

 

"I am grateful for the opportunity this benefit has provided and look forward to continuing my educational journey," said Larissa. Learn more about EBS Union College benefit and all of OCSEA's disocunt college options HERE.

Were you there during the fight against Senate Bill 5 in 2011? Tell your SB 5 story HERE.

 

This is the 15th anniversary of our historic SB 5 fight, when people across Ohio came together to protect collective bargaining rights for 350,000 frontline essential workers like teachers, firefighters, police officers, nurses, snow plow drivers, bridge and water inspectors, corrections officers and so many others who make our communities safe and great places to live and raise families.

 

Next week marks the 15th anniversary of the famous Million Signature People's Parade in which thousands of public union members and their supporters delivered 1 million signatures to place No on Issue 2 to Repeal SB 5 on the ballot. The law was soundly defeated at the polls in November 2011.

Tell Your Story

This year marks the 90th anniversary of our AFSCME International––nine decades of working people coming together to build their collective power, to gain a voice on the job and to strengthen their communities. In celebration, AFSCME is proud to announce the launch of AFSCME’s 90th Anniversary website. 

 

Please visit afscme90th.org to explore archival photos and video celebrating AFSCME’s 90 years of history and share your favorite AFSCME memories to be part of the story. This includes a commemoration of the 2011 Ohio public union fight to defeat Senate Bill 5.

AFSCME International President Lee Saunders electrified and inspired OCSEA leaders at the recent OCSEA Steward Conference. His powerhouse speech was a "thank you" to Ohio's public union members and a solemn goodbye as he prepares to retire from his union presidency later this year.

 

"This is home. This is family," said Saunders. "The first thing that I did when I became a state employee, working for OBES [Ohio Bureau of Employment Services], I joined a union. And guess what union I joined? It was OCSEA!" he exclaimed proudly. Originally, an OCSEA AFSCME Local 11 member and activist, Saunders went on to serve AFSCME International for nearly 50 years, as a staffer as well as its Secretary-Treasurer and then President for 14 years.

 

Over 300 activists participated in the annual OCSEA Steward Conference in Columbus in early June. New and experienced union leaders gathered from across Ohio to not only fine tune their contract enforcement skills but to learn more about Get Out the Vote efforts over the next months that are essential to maintaining and protecting collective bargaining rights. Read more.

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