OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / March 18, 2025
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Join AFSCME's Protect Medicaid Day of Action, TOMORROW, Wed. March 19
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Medicaid funding is on the chopping block. Cutting Medicaid would force states, cities, towns and schools to slash critical public services and jobs. Did you know? Medicaid dollars are the largest source of federal funding for state budgets, accounting for 56% of total federal funding allocated to states in 2024. If federal Medicaid dollars dry up, states will have no choice but to slash budgets and jobs for a broad range of state and local public services.
And that's exactly why OCSEA, and all AFSCME members can’t sit on the sidelines as Congress crafts a tax and budget package that cuts federal funding for Medicaid. We can’t be silent as anti-worker lawmakers target Medicaid, which supports jobs, especially in rural areas. Hardworking nurses, caregivers, and public service workers depend on Medicaid funding to take care of our communities. If Medicaid is cut, those jobs and the services they provide may disappear. Working families, disabled citizens, children and the elderly will pay the price while billionaires get another tax cut. That’s just wrong!
Join AFSCME members across the country for the PROTECT MEDICAID DAY OF ACTION tomorrow, Wednesday, March 19. Call your member of Congress and tell them exactly how cuts to Medicaid will affect all of us and damage our communities.
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Take Action to Protect Medicaid: TOMORROW, Wednesday, March 19
1. MAKE CALLS
Call your member of Congress at 1-202-684-2466 or CLICK HERE!
Tell them: No cuts to Medicaid to pay for billionaire tax breaks.
2. JOIN TELE-TOWN HALL MEETING
Join AFSCME President Lee Saunders and a special guest for a tele-town hall tomorrow, Wednesday, March 19, at 4 p.m. to learn how AFSCME is fighting back against reckless cuts to Medicaid. Click HERE to RSVP.
3. GET RESOURCES
Get this two-pager resource flyer for talking points. Want to know how much your community relies on Medicaid? Click here.
4. SHARE ON SOCIALS
Visit OCSEA's social media pages to spread the word about AFSCME's Medicaid Day of Action. Facebook | Instagram
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Fight Collective Bargaining Attacks, Join Rally Against SB 1 TOMORROW!
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We Are Ohio and all of its coalition partners, including OCSEA, oppose any and all attacks on the rights of working people.If this bill passes, this is just the beginning, argues We Are Ohio. Every public sector union member in Ohio should be prepared for similar attacks on their union rights to come down the pike!
Can't attend? Please #WearRedForEd and Call your State Rep and Gov DeWine:
Find Your Rep: https://ohiohouse.gov/members/district-map
Call Gov. DeWine: (614) 466-3555 > Urge him to VETO SB 1
Ohio's Senate Bill 1 is bad for public union members because:
- SB 1 is a harmful attack on working people, labor and unions.
- SB 1 handcuffs collective bargaining by limiting negotiations over the terms and conditions of employment.
- SB 1 attempts to silence the voices of more than 10,000 union workers who educate the next generation of Ohio leaders and drive Ohio’s research economy.
- SB 1 creates an unacceptable foot-in-the-door effort to limit collective bargaining rights for public safety and public health jobs and workers.
- SB 1 begins the dismantling of collective bargaining rights for all workers and that is unacceptable.
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STATEHOUSE RALLY AGAINST SB 1
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TOMORROW, Wednesday, March 19
Ohio Statehouse, McKinley statue | 1:30 PM
Sponsored by the Ohio Conference AAUP
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Union Activist Focuses on Mental Health Support in ODOT
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In the most recent edition of the OCSEA magazine, the Public Employee Quarterly, OCSEA activist and Ohio Dept. of Transportation Surveyor Lucas Preston-Colvin talks about how mental health awareness has become a personal commitment to help reduce the stigma that comes with asking for help and taking care of yourself.
Lucas, an activist in Wood Chap. 8700, says growing awareness and promoting resources that can help other co-workers in need is especially dire in an agency like ODOT where he’s found that talking about mental health is not always the norm. “A lot of people suffer in silence, but they don’t have to,” he said.
Go HERE to read Lucas' story and see how his involvement in an ODOT District 2 Well-At-Work pilot program is putting mental health care at the forefront in ODOT. "If we can save one person’s life with resources, then we’ve completed our goal," said Lucas.
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Your Union Membership Card is in the Mail
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Your annual union membership card is in the mail and heading your way! The new plastic card includes your name, chapter, OCSEA ID and local president, as usual, but will also include resources about your union benefits and important contact information.
Please note, the plastic card is being sent in a mailer separate from the OCSEA union magazine. It has been our tradition to send your annual union card with the OCSEA Public Employee Quarterly; however, that changed this year. Look for the special mailer with your plastic card and important union information in the mail starting this week.
NOTICE! OCSEA union membership cards are only issued once annually. For those who misplace their card or do not receive a card for whatever reason (e.g., bad address, new hire), you can request that a copy of your card be mailed to your home. This will be a copy only. Union cards will be issued only once per year
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Get Agenda for this Weekend's CMCA Conference
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OCSEA's annual Committee on Minority and Community Affairs (CMCA) Conference will take place this weekend, March 21-22, at The Renaissance Columbus Westerville-Polaris Hotel. Attendees will be joined by special guests Javan Reed and Derek Grosso.
Visit OCSEA.org/cmca for the full schedule of events and speaker information.
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Register For Upcoming Women's Conference
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Make It A Union-Made Celebration! Click ⬇️
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