OHIO CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
UNION NEWS / June 5, 2025
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Steward Conference is this Weekend: What You Need to Know
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The annual OCSEA Steward Conference will be held this Saturday, June 7, 2025 at the Renaissance Columbus Westerville-Polaris Hotel. The hotel is located at 409 Altair Pkwy, Westerville, Ohio 43082. This conference is an IN-PERSON event ONLY and requires a pre-registration that ended on May 30.
Check in and breakfast on Saturday begins at 8:30 a.m. General session starts at 10 a.m. The conference concludes at 3 p.m.
With 365 people registered for the conference, parking at the hotel will fill up quickly. Guests can park along Merdian Way, Kepler Xing and the parking lot across from the hotel (medical office closed on weekends, Agape and Hot Chicken Takeover). GET PARKING MAP.
If you signed up for Friday evening's pre-conference union trainings, please note that those trainings will be held at the hotel. The trainings begin at 6 p.m. and required a pre-registration as well. No drop-ins will be permitted as there are only enough materials available for those participants who pre-registered.
Friday evening trainings
Basic Steward Training (training is full) - 6-9 p.m. - Admiral Conference Room - A & B
New Contract Training (training is full) - 6-9 p.m. - Admiral Conference Room - C & D
Get the full agenda HERE or at OCSEA.org/stewardconference.
The event will include guest speakers Arbitrator Jack Buettner and Attorney Mike Hunter to talk about the union arbitration process as well as Dr. Amy Acton, former Director of the Ohio Dept. of Health. Visit OCSEA.org/stewardconference to read more about the event's special guest speakers.
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Statewide Grievance Over Return to Office is Heading to Mediation
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OCSEA continues to push back on Governor DeWine’s Return to Office executive order and stand up for its members who’ve been impacted by the change. The statewide grievance the union filed against the Governor’s RTO order is now scheduled for mediation on June 23, 2025. OCSEA contends that management does not have the unilateral authority to eliminate or modify telework, and RTO represents a significant change to the terms and condition of employment that should have been negotiated with the union.
Both sides agreed to have Arbitrator Thomas Nowel serve as the mediator for the next step in the grievance process. Nowel, who served as the Fact Finder during the most recent contract negotiations, is familiar with the telework issue. It was Nowel who recommended a new section in the contract (13.17) regarding Telework/Remote Work/Hybrid Schedule that requires management to put in writing the reason for the denial of a request for telework, remote work or hybrid schedule. The new contract section also requires management to give advance notice and provide a detailed reason for the termination of approved telework and hybrid schedules.
Mediators attempt to work out a settlement that’s acceptable to both sides through an informal process that does not include witnesses. If the two parties are unable to reach a settlement, the mediator will make a non-binding advisory opinion, and the grievance may proceed to arbitration.
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This Month's Union Bulletin Board Flyers Available for Download
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This month's Union Bulletin Board Network (UBBN) flyers are here and available for download at OCSEA.org/UBBN. The flyers include lots of BIG NEWS about the OCSEA Jean Fightmaster Leadership Award, a new discount college program through Franklin University, and summer deals. Check back each month for new flyers to share.
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 flyers should contact the OCSEA mailroom at 614-865-4733.
This month's virtual fliers include:
- Nominate an Activist for the Jean Fightmaster Leadership Award
- Discount College: Franklin University Pathway Programs
- Baseball Deals: Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians & Columbus Clippers
- Member-only Deal: Newport Aquarium presents "Mermaids"
- Working Advantage Hot Summer Deals for June
Have an AMAZING union bulletin board you want to share? Email photos of your chapter's union board to communications@ocsea.org.
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Now Accepting Nominations for the Jean Fightmaster Leadership Award
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Magazine Spotlight: DCI Steward Gives Members a Voice
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In the most recent edition of the union magazine, we spotlight a Dayton Correctional Institution Chapter 5725 activist Ausha Davis, who was driven to become a steward by her desire to help others. You can find Ausha's spotlight on page 9 of the Spring edition of the OCSEA Public Employee Quarterly.
“I enjoy being a steward a lot. It just keeps me going knowing that I can help people and I can say, ‘hey, if you need anything, I will assist you,” Ausha said. She highlights that being a steward isn’t all about helping members with an issue or discipline. “It’s not always a struggle,” she said. “I also have people ask me about union education benefits and things like that. I have helped people with the process of applying for their Union Education Trust benefits like I did.” Ausha is in her first semester pursuing an associate degree in accounting thanks to her annual union-negotiated UET education benefit.
Read Ausha's story and more member spotlights in the spring edition of the union magazine at OCSEA.org/PEQ.
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Pride At Work: The Fight for All Working People
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The labor movement is intersectional. This means we fight for all working people—no matter their gender, race, ethnicity or any other identity. And that should mean being able to work and be a union member without fear of discrimination, violence or retribution.
LGBTQ+ people still lack basic federal legal protections in the workplace, which make them vulnerable to attacks on-the-job and through legislation. Organizing in the spirit of “An Injury to One is An Injury to All,” AFL-CIO's Pride At Work is a space for LGBTQ+ union members and their allies to have a voice and fight all forms of bias and discrimination on the job, in our unions, and in the public square.
Pride At Work recognizes that true justice and equality, for ALL workers, can only be achieved through an organized and empowered working class. With Pride At Work Chapters in nearly every state, it seeks to promote the ability of all working people to self organize and act collectively to advance the power, needs, and interests of the working class in addition to the principles of justice, true democracy, and equality.
Interested in joining Ohio's Pride At Work Chapter? Visit prideatwork.org/ to learn more about their union mission and to reach out to the Ohio Pride At Work contact.
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AFSCME: The Federal Budget Bill Will Blow a Big Hole in Medicare
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If the federal budget bill that is being debated in Washington becomes law, it could lead to huge cuts to Medicare.About $500 billion in cuts.
But what does it mean?
It means nearly 70 million older Americans, low-income adults and people with disabilities would find it harder to access health care. Medicare recipients may find it harder to locate doctors and hospitals or keep their current physicians, especially in smaller towns and communities.
We know the U.S. House-passed bill takes a sledgehammer to Medicaid, the food assistance program known as SNAP, and other crucial programs. The cuts to Medicare benefits are hidden. Though they are not specified in the bill, the Medicare cuts would be triggered by the $2.3 trillion in deficits that the legislation would create.
Why? Because of a law that requires automatic cuts to programs like Medicare if Congress passes legislation that blows such a giant hole in the federal deficit.
The cuts to Medicare and Medicaid would reduce access to medical care for millions of Americans. For instance, these cuts would make it harder for struggling community hospitals, especially in rural America, to survive.
These cuts will hurt more than just the people who are on Medicare. Their families will struggle to care for them. Working people who receive health insurance from their employers may face higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs. That’s because doctors and hospitals may try to charge them more to make up the difference if Medicare pays them less.
We must stop this cruel bill from passing the Senate. Text GO to 237263 to get alerts and learn how you can join the fight and Get Organized.
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