Union president thanks members for legislative action on stimulus bill; Ohio budget to get some relief, but not out of red

Feb. 13, 2008 - OCSEA President Eddie Parks shared with union members in a letter today (see below) that Ohio's fight for fiscal relief has been difficult and somewhat disappointing, but not futile.

In fact, Parks is thanking union members who made the difference in getting some state aid restored in the final version.

In recent weeks, thousands of OCSEA activists signed petitions, made countless phone calls, and sent hundreds of letters and emails to members of Congress.

See below for Parks' letter to OCSEA members

Dear OCSEA Member,

OCSEA, in partnership with AFSCME International, marshaled all of our available resources to help move forward an economic stimulus package to keep states and local governments from bleeding jobs and losing vital services. With your help, this week, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate came to an agreement on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will provide critical services to the State of Ohio. A final vote on the compromise is due today in the House and Saturday in the Senate.

First, the good news.

While the increase for state budgets was not as much as we hoped for, the increase in F-Map, or the share of Medicaid paid by the federal government, will get a major boost for states like Ohio and help states offset other budgetary items. All states are getting a 6.2 % increase, with Ohio receiving about $3 billion in Medicaid.  F-MAP was one of the major items of contention between the House and the Senate, and was one of AFSCME’s main targets. Senate Republicans were strongly opposed to it, but thanks to the calls and letters from OCSEA members and AFSCME affiliates around the country, $87 billion was retained.

$400 million in Wagner Peyser funding was added for job training, which was a major win. That’s an increase of over 50 percent. As our members in JFS know, Bush systematically underfunded employment services. This increase will help reverse that trend.

One tax provision we were able to get--the Make Work Pay tax credit—originally denied a similar credit for retirees. But AFSCME was able to get that provision changed so that public retirees will now get a $250 tax credit. The program will give workers a $400 tax credit and families a $800 tax credit. Individuals making $75,000 or more and families making $150,000 or more will get a reduced amount.

Now, the not so good news:

While on balance, the funding will give states and local governments a critical funding boost, we realize the amount of money may not be enough to get Ohio out of the red. Without the stimulus, however, Ohio would have seen catastrophic cuts in government services, much worse than we can anticipate now.

This was an incredible response from OCSEA activists and I want to thank you. You should be proud.

The House vote on the bill is tomorrow and the Senate on Saturdays, so keep your calls coming to ask for support of the bill. Call 1-888-460-0813.

In Solidarity,

 

Eddie L. Parks

Parks also noted that OCSEA members' PEOPLE dollars were hard a work and made a positive impact on the final outcome of the economic stimulus bill.

OCSEA members make their voices heard in the Statehouse and on Capitol Hill on issues like state budget cuts and employment services funding by joining PEOPLE, Public Employees Organized for Political and Legislative Equality. PEOPLE is AFSCME's political action committee and uses voluntary contributions (no union dues) to promote issues and candidates that benefit public employee union members and their families.

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