OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / FEBRUARY 11, 2026

REGISTER NOW!

Planning to attend OCSEA's annualCommittee on Minority and Community Affairs (CMCA) Conference during the weekend of Friday, March 6-Saturday, March 7?The hotel registration deadline is THIS FRIDAY, February 13, 2026. The conference's special hotel reservation group code and discounted rate WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AFTER FRIDAY, so make sure you, and anyone attending from your chapter, book hotel rooms by the Friday deadline.

 

All CMCA Conference events will take place at The Embassy Suites Hotel-Independence, 5800 Rockside Woods Rd., Independence, Ohio 44131. The discounted rate is $124 per night through Friday only.

 

Room reservations must be made directly through the hotel:

Website: CLICK HERE

Central Reservations Phone Number: 800-315-1185

Group Name: OCSEA 2026

Group Code: 90Y

 

Get all conference deadlines, hotel and registration information at OCSEA.org/CMCA. The deadline to register for the conference is March 1.

Evening-before conference Steward Trainings will take place on Friday evening, March 6 from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at the hotel. This includes two training options: Basic Steward Training OR Advanced Steward Training. Registration for the trainings is now open but has limited spots, so register immediately. Register below:

 

REGISTER: Basic Steward Training - Friday, March 6 – 6-9 p.m. – Embassy Suites- Independence

 

REGISTER: Advanced Steward Training - Friday, March 6 – 6-9p.m. – Embassy Suites - Independence

Now is the time for you to begin or expand your professional development. Your Union Education Trust (UET) is here to help you succeed, but you may have questions about how we can help. No worries, the UET Open Forum Online is the place to get those questions answered!

 

As an OCSEA member, you are cordially invited to join the next quarterly UET Open Forum Online via Zoom on Thursday, February 26, 2026, from 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.. Please plan on attending this FREE online event to get your UET questions answered and gain new knowledge regarding utilization of your benefits.

Date: Thursday, February 26

Time: 4:30 pm-5:30 pm

Location: Zoom®

 

Webinar schedule:

4:30 p.m. - Introduction and Announcements

4:40 p.m. - Presentation: A Deep Dive into the Vocational Education (VE) Program

5:00 p.m. - Open Forum Q&A

 

Space is limited, so don't delay! Register now! See you there!

REGISTER

Professional union workers are fighting back against a new Dept. of Education rule that would exclude nurses, social workers and public health workers from being considered "professionals." This new rule would restrict access to federal student loans for these and other dedicated professionals who want to pursue a graduate degree. This would even further impact OCSEA/AFSCME jobs and make current understaffing issues even more dire.

 

We are calling on the administration to rescind the proposed rule and treat our nation’s critical health care workforce with the respect they earn every single day, saving lives and keeping our communities strong. Read more about the rule change and how to make public comment to the DOE. Tell them that nurses, social workers, and public health workers are professionals.

The union difference isn’t just about the lives impacted by the essential workers who are protecting their communities; it’s also about making sure those workers who do that job get home safe and healthy at the end of the day, too. From record-breaking heat to flash floods to increasingly volatile winter storms, extreme weather is no longer an occasional disruption. For AFSCME members, including OCSEA members, it’s part of the job.

 

Sanitation workers collapse from heat exhaustion during summer routes that now regularly exceed 100 degrees. Road crews face floodwaters that can sweep away equipment in minutes. Parks and recreation employees work through heat advisories and deep freezes to keep public spaces open and safe. And as extreme weather hits, one thing is clear: workers shouldn’t be left to absorb that risk alone.

 

Read more, including an OCSEA member winter weather hero story.

OCSEA members brave all kinds of weather to keep Ohio safe and healthy. Check out our amazing OCSEA members below who work in all types of weather conditions and are proud to show their union pride with their new OCSEA hats. Want a hat too? If able, email us a picture on-the-job to communications@ocsea.org and we'll send you a hat.

One hundred years ago this month, a Black scholar and the son of former slaves set out to change the way we celebrate our shared history. Carter Woodson was tired of seeing the role of African Americans overlooked and underappreciated, and in 1926 he declared the very first “Negro History Week” — a predecessor to today’s Black History Month.

 

For Woodson, this designation wasn’t just about recognizing the past. It was meant to “inspire us to greater achievements” in the future, as he once put it. A century later, during Black History Month, we celebrate the civil rights and labor rights leaders who came before us.

 

Today, we remember their sacrifices. But we also recognize that Black History Month has never been simply a time capsule of the past. It’s a celebration of our struggle — past, present, and future — and a reminder that one voice can lead to a chorus of collective action that refuses to be silenced. Read more.

Union-made sweets include Annabelle Candy Company, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Hershey’s Kisses, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds Candy Bars, Jelly Belly Candy Company, Sconza Candy Company, See’s Candies (BCTGM), Tootsie Roll and Tootsie Pops.