State of Ohio Member Benefits

The following union benefits are available to all State of Ohio bargaining unit members (including Attorney General, Treasurer and State Auditor offices), unless otherwise indicated.

Discounts | Education Benefits Health Care | Retirement

Discounts and Perks

OCSEA Extras Sign in required
OCSEA Extras are exclusive consumer discounts for members and their families. Sign in with your member-only MyOCSEA account to see what's new. This includes Family Fun discounts, summer member-only discounts to Ohio theme parks, water parks, zoos and more.

AFSCME Advantage afscme.org/advantage
Being an AFSCME member doesn’t only get you an advantage at the bargaining table – it also gets you access to discounts and benefits that can help make life a little easier.

Union Plus unionplus.org
Union Plus is a non-profit consumer benefits organization created and endorsed by the AFL-CIO. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for union members and their families by providing valuable benefits and services.

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Education Benefits

Union Education Trust uedtrust.org
The UET provides State of Ohio bargaining unit employees with money for college, vocational school, computer training and short-term courses. UET education assistance is also available to ALL alternative contract members at the State Auditors, Ohio Attorney General and Treasurer of State offices.

Les Best Scholarship Program 
OCSEA members and their families are eligible for several college scholarships, including the annual OCSEA Les Best Scholarship with a total of $12,000 awarded each academic year. Member families are also eligible for the AFSCME and AFL-CIO Union Plus scholarships.

Tuition Discounts Sign in required
OCSEA members and their immediate family are eligible for tuition discounts at select online universities through the OCSEA Extras member-only discount program. This includes the EBS Network of Colleges and Universities as well as additional online universities including Columbia Southern University, Drexel University Online and University of Arizona Global Campus.

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Health Care and Wellness

State of Ohio employees' health care benefits are negotiated in Article 20 of the OCSEA Contract by members and monitored by the member-driven Joint Health Care Committee. The JHCC is a labor-management committee that meets quarterly and presents recommendations on health care. Learn about the union-negotiated health care, vision, dental, life and supplemental insurance plans offered to State of Ohio employees.

Union Benefits Trust benefitstrust.org
Explore the Union Benefits Trust, which offers dental, vision, life insurance benefits and the legal service plan to approximately 35,000 union-represented State of Ohio employees.

Take Charge! LiveWell! das.ohio.gov
Take Charge! Live Well! is a wellness program for State of Ohio employees and their families who are enrolled in the state's medical plan. The program encourages and supports healthy choices by providing biometric screenings, health and well-being surveys, health coaching, chronic condition management programs, rewards, and more.

Ohio Employee Assistance Program (EAP) ( das.ohio.gov
State of Ohio employees also have access to the Ohio Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a screening, information, referral and support service for state employees and their family members.

Salary Continuation and OIL
Learn more about Salary Continuation and Occupational Injury Leave (OIL) programs for State of Ohio employees who are injured on the job.

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Retirement

Retiree Union Membership
OCSEA retirees can become an active OCSEA Retiree Member and get many of the OCSEA benefits of being union.

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) opers.org
Public employees work hard and depend on their pensions when they reach retirement. OPERS provides for retirement, disability retirement and survivor benefits programs for more than 1 million members, including 49,300 state employees. While OCSEA IS NOT involved in the administration of state pension plans, OCSEA's President is an elected representative on the OPERS Board of Trustees working on behalf of state employee union members to ensure those pension dollars are being properly managed. 

The Ohio Deferred Compensation Program ohio457.org
The Ohio Deferred Compensation Program is a supplemental retirement plan for public employees. Participants can invest tax-deferred money to help meet their long-term financial goals.

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