Public Safety steward, Pastor says being “union” means taking care of one another
As a pastor and OCSEA
activist from Dayton,
Bryan Weaver believes
in practicing what you preach.
Bryan is an Infrastructure
Specialist 2 with the Ohio
Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol (ODPS). He is
also a steward for Montgomery
Chapter 5700, a job he takes very
seriously. He’s passionate about
being union and advocating for
worker fairness, not just on the
job but in every aspect of his
life. He is all about spreading the
“union gospel,” he says.
“When America was its
greatest, it was about WE
not ME and when unions
were powerful. Advocacy
is where we can make the
most difference,” said Bryan
He says being union is what
helped get him where he is today,
and he can’t stress it enough. “A public union job gives
people who may not have gone
to college or learned a trade
the chance to be treated fairly
and with respect. There are still
spaces in society that will give
people pride and respectability,
and I truly believe that union
jobs are the last space for this,”
said Bryan. “I don’t know if I had
gone anywhere else, if I would
have been as successful in life. It
opened so many doors,” he said.
Read Bryan's story at OCSEA.org/PEQ.
Open Houses draw Columbus downtown members
Open Houses at OCSEA’s temporary location in downtown Columbus drew teams of activists and members during the month of July. New members and seasoned activists alike visited the offices during lunch time to learn about union benefits and to get the latest union news. Many activists won union merchandise like t-shirts, and others spun a wheel for door prizes. Shout out to the chapters from Commerce, Development, Job and Family Services, Public Utilities Commission, Medicaid, Mental Health and Addiction Services and others who showed up.
This included OCSEA member Joseph Bell (pictured right), a Software Development Specialist 2 with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services' Central Office. He works downtown and is a member of State Office Tower Chapter 2545, a conglomerate chapter made up of members from many state agencies. He was excited to come down and show his support as a union member and to learn more about union benefits and activism that he could take back to his union co-workers. He was also excited to take a spin on the Union Education Trust (UET) wheel of prizes.
Joseph's chapter president Cheryl Bass (pictured left with Union Benefits Trust Director Angela Harrington) was integral in getting members to the Open Houses. She spread the word throughout her membership about the Open Houses and the importance of learning about union benefits and involvement. Booths included the OCSEA-negotiated education benefits (UET), UBT premium-free dental, vision and life insurance, the OCSEA Member Resource Center, union trainings, discounts and more. Union leaders and staff answered contract questions and told members how to get more involved in their local chapters.
Learn more about your union benefits and more online:
Union Education Trust
Union Benefits Trust
Member Resource Center (MRC)
Union Contracts
New Member Orientations | New Member packet
Discounts and perks
OCSEA Department of Health members spotlighted at national AFSCME Convention
OCSEA members who work for the Ohio Department of Health were on full display at this year's AFSCME International Convention held in Philadelphia. Two Chapter 2560 OCSEA members, Jared Ford (ODH Laboratory Scientist 3) and Kirtana Ramadugu (ODH Epidemiology Investigator 3) were featured on displays in the conference hall. The displays were part of a campaign to honor and celebrate AFSCME members nationwide who work as essential frontline public employees. Numerous ODH members, including union leader and chapter steward Fred Jones, took part in a photoshoot with the International union that will be used on further campaigns promoting public work and essential frontline employees.
Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Day event moving to Great American Ball Park; event tickets available for $12
The Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council and the Cincinnati Reds are excited to announce that the Historic Labor Day Celebration is moving to Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds. A celebration of all things workers and their unions will take place on Sunday, September 4 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. as the Reds take on the Colorado Rockies! Discount tickets are available to union members for $12 using the special code LABOR. Members can purchase tickets directly at the Cincinnati Reds ticket sales website at this LINK. Code: LABOR
There will be informational booths set up at the event to learn more about Cincinnati-area labor groups. One-hundred-plus locals make up the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council, including OCSEA chapters. OCSEA members are invited to come out and bring members, family, and friends to celebrate and show appreciation for the hard-working women and men of labor across the Greater Cincinnati area, Ohio and nationwide.Chapters are urged to share this with their local members and make an event of the Labor Day celebration. The AFL-CIO represents 12.5 million sisters and brothers across the United States.
If you have any questions about tickets, please contact Nick Geraci with the Reds at ngeraci@reds.com or 513-765-7975. Get tickets HERE. Code: LABOR
Standing in #Solidarity with Columbus Education Association teachers
OCSEA stands with Columbus Education Association (CEA) union members who voted overwhelmingly this month to issue a 10-day strike notice. This came about as bargaining talks broke down and the labor bargaining team was, literally, left by management sitting alone at the bargaining table. CEA members make up one of the largest school districts in Ohio, Columbus City Schools (CCS). Just this week, a federal mediator has asked both parties to return to the bargaining table. That first sit-down is expected to happen today, Wednesday, August 10.
OCSEA members can follow the bargaining news on Facebook @ColumbusEA, on Instagram @ColumbusEA or at their website: ceaohio.org. Follow the hashtag: #ColumbusStudentsDeserve
There are many OCSEA members whose children attend Columbus City Schools. As a union, we urge all OCSEA members to stand in solidarity with the teachers who educate and care for our children. Stay tuned in the event that your efforts are needed to show our support for CEA through pickets or other collective actions. In the event of a strike, we ask that families stand in solidarity with these efforts and do not cross any picket lines.
“The vote...is a vote of confidence in our bargaining team and our fight for the safe, properly maintained, fully resourced schools Columbus students deserve,” said Regina Fuentes, the CEA spokesperson. CEA supports smaller class sizes, full-time Art, Music, and P.E. teachers at the elementary level, functional heating and air-conditioning in classrooms, necessary planning time at the elementary level, a cap on the number of class periods during the school day, and other working conditions that recruit and retain the best educators for our students.
Fuentes continued, “CEA has consistently maintained that we are fighting not just for CEA members, but for our students and community. That is why CEA will continue that fight until a fair agreement is reached for the schools Columbus students deserve.”