OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / JuLY 2, 2025

Just before midnight on June 30, Gov. Mike DeWine signed Ohio's two-year budget. The budget includes an income tax cut for high earners and $600 million for the Cleveland Browns' new domed stadium.

 

In a victory for OCSEA members, the final state budget DOES include an additional $16 million over the next biennium for the Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections. OCSEA activists recently urged legislators to maintain DRC-requested funding, particularly to pay for the statewide deployment of tasers to all state corrections facilities. The union is working closely with DRC to push the deployment of tasers, among other initiatives to protect officers and address the problem of understaffing. Stay tuned for updates in these emails.

 

The state budget signing also included 67 veto items by DeWine. In another victory for OCSEA members, one of those vetoes was to remove legislative restrictions regarding remote and hybrid work. Nearly 1,000 OCSEA members wrote the governor over the weekend urging a veto on the restrictions, and it paid off! Some legislators are calling for an override session, but it is uncertain whether the General Assembly will have the numbers to call a session or to override any of the 67 vetoes.

 

Through the union activist email campaign, and in a letter directly to the Governor from President Mabe, the union argued that the legislative remote work mandate would negatively impact the entire state workforce. The legislative overstep could have eliminated effective telework options as well as erode collective bargaining and any future union negotiations over flexible work arrangements. Broadly, this legislation would have undermined the Governor's executive authority to manage the state workforce and remove managerial discretion to make operational decisions based on agency needs, staffing realities and evolving technologies.

 

In a related note, the next step in the union's statewide grievance regarding Return to Office mandates is arbitration. A mediation hearing was held on June 23. It’s OCSEA’s contention that management does not have the authority to eliminate or modify telework without negotiating with the union based on section 13.17 of the state contract. 

This month's Union Bulletin Board Network (UBBN) flyers are available for download at OCSEA.org/UBBN. The flyers include how to throw a union-made BBQ, deals to the Newport Aquarium and the Columbus Clippers, discount college updates and more. Check back each month for new flyers to share. 

 

This month's virtual fliers include:

• New UET Fiscal Year kicked off July 1
• Discount College - Fall sessions now open
• Union-Made BBQs
• Newport Aquarium Shark Summer
• Columbus Clippers Union Family Day
• Beat the Heat
• Working Advantage Summer Deals

Have an AMAZING union bulletin board you want to share? Email your bulletin board photos to communications@ocsea.org so we can share on social media and more.

 

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. This includes quick access to OCSEA bargaining news, events, discounts and more. Chapters who don't have boards are urged to email the flyers or UBBN link to their members and distribute at meetings. Any chapter that needs assistance with printing fliers should contact the OCSEA mailroom at 614-865-4733.

The U.S. Senate voted yesterday to make even deeper cuts to Medicaid and public services, says AFSCME. The bill now heads back to the U.S. House for reconciliation. This harmful budget tears health care away from over 20 million people, leaves millions without food assistance, and saddles working families and retirees with higher costs, said our national union.

"From the caregivers who rely on Medicaid to keep their loved ones at home, to the hardworking parents struggling to afford groceries, to the nurses worried about their patients losing care, everyday people will foot the bill for a budget that hands more tax cuts to billionaires at the expense of our communities," said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. Read his statement here.

 

Let your voice be heard! As this budget heads back to the U.S. House, your action is dire. Call your representative at 202-559-1165 and tell them: No cuts to public services to pay for billionaire tax breaks! 

CLICK TO CALL

Chair of the national AFSCME Retiree Council, Jeff Birttnen, says the "so-called big, beautiful budget bill" worries senior citizens. He relayed those concerns to members of Congress when he made a trip to Capitol Hill last week urging lawmakers to protect Medicaid, Medicare and other lifesaving programs.  

 

"What if Medicare is cut?" he asks. "Then what? That’s a question that keeps many seniors up at night." Senior citizens worry the federal budget, as is, would wreck Medicare. In fact, the House-passed bill will cut $500 billion out of the government’s health care program for retirees.  

 

Cuts to Medicaid also worry seniors. Medicaid covers more than half of all nursing home residents.   

 

Birttnen pointed out the human cost of weakening safety net programs like Medicaid and Medicare. He warned that Congress is playing a dangerous game of life or death with millions of Americans. Read more.

This Fourth of July, we celebrate the strength of labor and the democracy of unions! Unions are about as patriotic as you can get, with union members throughout the country leading the way to promote economic fairness, workers' rights, and social progress. All of these ultimately strengthen our nation.

 

As we've witnessed this year the gutting and decimation of the federal workforce and public service funding, it's been unions who have spoken out for vital public employees and services and stood up for them in court (and won) all across this country.

 

What makes America great? The true beauty of our nation from sea to shining sea, the giving hearts of our people, and principles, like freedom and opportunity for all, that have shaped our nearly 250 year history. "Its unions and its activists that have helped shape this nation and will continue to fight so that those who are disenfranchised or seek justice always have a voice," said OCSEA President Chris Mabe.

Union-Made Shopping List

Jean Fightmaster Leadership Award nomination page: ocsea.org/leadership

Looking for the perfect chapter event to celebrate your members and families?

 

Don’t miss the Organized Labor of Central Ohio Family Day at Huntington Park with the Columbus Clippers. Get discount tickets for the July 27 Columbus Clippers versus Buffalo Bisons game. Plus, enjoy discounted food and beverages at the Sandwiches on Deck concession stand for union members only! No discount code is needed. Just click the "Get Tickets" button for deals.

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