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Your union newsletter - February 22, 2023

Posted Feb. 22, 2023 by

IMPORTANT CONFERENCE UPDATE

The cut-off date for hotel room reservations for the Community and Minority Affairs Committee (CMCA) Conference is THIS Friday, February 24. Hotel room reservations are to be made directly through the The Summit A Dolce Hotel. The annual CMCA Conference is March 18 in Cincinnati and is open to all OCSEA members. Learn about registration and get hotel information at OCSEA.org/CMCA.


Franklin County JFS bargaining team elected, begins meeting on new contract

A big shout out to Franklin County Job and Family Services union members as they get ready to kick off contract bargaining. The members of FCJFS Chapter 2508 recently elected the members of their bargaining team. Team members include Jerome Tolliver, Martha Brown-Quarles, Cynthia Watiker (President), Carol Boyes, Stephanie Hill, and Eudora Bryant. FCJFS activists William White chaired the bargaining team election on behalf of the Chapter 2508 membership.

The Team recently held an informational chapter meeting to introduce the team to other members and to talk about issues impacting members as they head into negotiations. The Team will be surveying about contract priorities soon.

FCJFS is one of OCSEA's more than a dozen local union contracts, with county union members bargaining their union contract directly with Franklin County Commissioners. We will be following the FCJFS union team through the bargaining process. See more coming soon.


Attention IT State Employees! Learn about the new Learning on Demand program

NOTE: This training has passed. Please see DAS Learning on Demand for additional trainings (see link below).

DAS, State Human Resources Division (SHRD), Office of Talent Management (OTM), is sponsoring an informational overview session of the Learning on Demand Percipio system on February 23, 2023 (tomorrow) from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. for State of Ohio employees.

The Learning on Demand Percipio system is a supplemental training program that is offered free of charge to any state employee—but especially IT state employees—for certifications and skill-building.

Users can register for tomorrow’s event in Ohio Learn by searching on keyword(s) “Learning on Demand” in the Statewide Training Catalog HERE.

Tomorrow’s session will be presented by Skillsoft and will include:

  • A general overview of Learning on Demand Percipio.
  • Trainings available in the system.
  • How to customize Learning on Demand Percipio to your learning needs.

There are over 20 certification prep courses available in Learning on Demand. Many of these certification prep courses have multiple levels.

In addition to certification prep courses, Learning On Demand also offers “mentor” services that allows employees to reach out to industry professionals for answers to questions they may have. These mentors are available through both chat and email.

For questions related to this event please email LearningonDemand@das.ohio.gov.


AFSCME launches Staff the Frontlines recruitment and retention initiative

AFSCME is launching Staff the Front Lines, an initiative to improve retention, recruitment and outreach for public service workers. The public sector is short over 500,000 jobs, said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “We’ve got to be creative,” he said. “States and cities across the country are working on this issue, and we’re hopeful that we can work together.”

Our states, counties and cities are facing massive shortages of public service workers. State and local governments have not been able to rebuild their workforces to pre-pandemic levels, let alone recover from the Great Recession of more than a decade ago. As a result, our communities are struggling. This includes right here in Ohio, says OCSEA President Chris Mabe, where are 24-7 facilities are facing constant, debilitating understaffing. "To address this crisis, AFSCME is stepping up, and OCSEA continues to shine the light on the burdens of Ohio's public workers in institutional and office settings," says Mabe.

Among the tools the initiative will use are outreach to high school and community colleges, job fairs, streamlined hiring practices, and apprenticeships. More information on AFSCME's Staff the Front Lines initiative was published in an article by Governing last week. Read it HERE.


SPECIAL UNION NIGHTS!

OCSEA Union Night at Blue Jackets is March 11

Calling all OCSEA Chapters! Looking for a fun event for your chapter members? Spread the word about OCSEA's Union Night with the Columbus Blue Jackets and make a chapter union night out of it. The game is Saturday, March 11, 2023 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus! The game starts at 7 p.m.

The Union Night is open to all OCSEA members and families. Members receive exclusive rates and a CBJ giveaway item as the Blue Jackets take on the St. Louis Blues.

Click the Get TICKETS link for the member-only deal. Once tickets are purchased, you will receive instructions on how to pick up your free CBJ giveaway item.

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Ohio AFL-CIO Union Night with the Dropkick Murphys is March 13

The Ohio AFL-CIO will host a Union Night with the Dropkick Murphys on March 13. Join union members across Ohio at Kemba Live in Columbus for an evening of union solidarity and celebration and great music by a band that has made fighting for union rights a part of its brand.

The cost of tickets to this special event is $41 and includes admission to the concert as well as a pre-show union party. Contact the Ohio AFL-CIO to purchase tickets and ask any questions at info@ohioaflcio.org. Hurry, though, as this St. Patrick's Day week event is sure to sell out fast.

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