Download - OCSEA
Download - OCSEA
Download - OCSEA
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
AFSCME LOCAL 11/AFL-CIO<br />
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE QUARTERLY Volume 68, No. 1 • WINTER 2012<br />
War on<br />
workers:<br />
What will the<br />
next fight be?<br />
Battles rage in<br />
Wisconsin and<br />
Indiana<br />
pgs. 8-9
Election Night Nov. 8,<br />
2011 was a culmination<br />
of months of hard<br />
work by <strong>OCSEA</strong> activists and<br />
other public employee union<br />
members with the defeat of one<br />
of the nation’s hardest hitting<br />
anti-collective bargaining laws.<br />
Unless you were under a<br />
rock, Senate Bill 5 and Issue 2<br />
were household names leading<br />
up to Election Day. But the<br />
ballot box victory was particularly<br />
sweet for Ohio’s unionized<br />
public servants, who fought to<br />
maintain their right to bargain<br />
over workplace issues—something<br />
they had had for more<br />
than 28 years.<br />
“Your blood, sweat and tears<br />
helped to mobilize a sleeping<br />
giant. You not only made history,<br />
you changed the course of<br />
history,” said <strong>OCSEA</strong> President<br />
Chris Mabe.<br />
But the fight isn’t over—<br />
nowhere near over.<br />
2012 is looking to be another<br />
eventful year. Already, local<br />
governments and state<br />
agencies are suffering from<br />
harmful cuts passed by Gov.<br />
John Kasich and the state<br />
legislature. Consolidations<br />
are becoming the norm and<br />
“It's critical that we don't forget about<br />
the attacks on working people this<br />
past year. Those fights must be a<br />
springboard for what we do in 2012.”<br />
~ <strong>OCSEA</strong> Pres.<br />
Christopher Mabe<br />
privatization<br />
is bleeding<br />
into every<br />
agency within<br />
state government.<br />
In spite<br />
of the trouncing over SB 5, politicians<br />
are not backing down<br />
from their anti-worker agenda.<br />
Already, a study is in the<br />
works to look at privatizing the<br />
Ohio Lottery again, and a newlyformed<br />
panel has reconvened<br />
to figure out how to cut public<br />
worker pensions.<br />
But will the wins of 2011 resonate<br />
enough to keep activists<br />
fighting back anti-worker legislation<br />
and policy? What impact<br />
will the SB5 defeat have in state<br />
races this fall, particularly in the<br />
Ohio House of Representatives<br />
and in the Presidential election?<br />
“It’s critical that we don’t<br />
forget about the attacks on<br />
working people this past year.<br />
Those fights must be a springboard<br />
for what we do in 2012.<br />
If nothing else, SB 5 taught us<br />
that electing lawmakers who<br />
will look out for the interests of<br />
middle class workers has to be<br />
our number one priority,” said<br />
Mabe.<br />
“Just like the defeat of SB 5/<br />
Issue 2, it will take boots on<br />
the ground and<br />
conversations on<br />
the front porch to<br />
make a difference<br />
in the fights of<br />
2012,” said Mabe.<br />
Nearly 17,000<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> activists hit<br />
the street to defeat<br />
SB 5 and Mabe<br />
says an equivalent<br />
commitment is<br />
Ohio public employees celebrate the<br />
defeat of Issue 2/SB 5 on Election Night.<br />
needed to fight back attacks on<br />
workers this year.<br />
“We need to hit them with<br />
all the might we had during the<br />
toughest part of last year's fight.<br />
We need to rattle them to their<br />
core,” said Mabe.<br />
For more on working class<br />
battles happening across the<br />
country, see pages 8-9.<br />
SB 5 by Numbers<br />
• 2.1 million – Voters who opposed Issue 2<br />
(more votes than Gov. Kasich received when elected)<br />
• 61-39 – Percentage spread that defeated Issue 2<br />
• 17,000 – <strong>OCSEA</strong> activists who helped bring<br />
down Issue 2<br />
Social media played an important part in the fight to defeat<br />
Issue 2/SB 5. We Are Ohio’s presence on the Internet far outweighed<br />
those of SB5 supporters. Check out the social media dominance below.<br />
We are Ohio<br />
Better Ohio<br />
• Facebook Followers 97,717 4,569<br />
• Twitter Followers 1,722 1,332<br />
• Youtube Views 2,472,242 84,087<br />
2 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
One big battle, or death by 1,000 cuts?<br />
CHRISTOPHER MABE<br />
President<br />
It’s a new year and I’ve<br />
made a resolution. We<br />
need to hit the ground<br />
running whenever and wherever<br />
the next battle begins.<br />
We don’t know exactly<br />
where the next battle lines<br />
will be drawn, but we need<br />
to be prepared.<br />
In Indiana, a Right to Work<br />
bill that is striking a major<br />
blow to unions was rammed<br />
through by their General<br />
Assembly. In Wisconsin, our<br />
AFSCME brothers and sisters<br />
are engaged in a recall battle<br />
to oust their governor, Scott<br />
Walker. In Florida, a proposal<br />
has been introduced to privatize<br />
more prisons than any state<br />
in history.<br />
But what will be Ohio’s next<br />
big fight? Will it be a big battle,<br />
like SB 5, or will it be a death by<br />
a thousand cuts?<br />
Given our massive win on<br />
SB 5 and the political trouncing<br />
anti-union politicians took<br />
last year, our enemies might<br />
be content with a “death by<br />
a thousand cuts” approach.<br />
That’s not to say we don’t<br />
believe a Right to Work proposal<br />
or another massive<br />
privatization proposal won’t<br />
be introduced some time in the<br />
next couple years—because we<br />
do. But during a presidential<br />
election year, our opponents<br />
might think it best to stay under<br />
the radar and not cause the<br />
workers to rise up like last year.<br />
That’s my guess.<br />
So how do we prepare and<br />
lay the groundwork for the<br />
sort of enemy that slithers and<br />
crawls, rather than one that<br />
stands up and waves a banner?<br />
For one, we need to fight smart.<br />
But that doesn’t mean we don’t<br />
fight hard. When I was in the<br />
military, we had to change the<br />
game, depending on the enemy.<br />
If we learned anything from<br />
last year’s epic battle it is this:<br />
we do not have enough laborfriendly<br />
lawmakers in the state<br />
legislature. That’s how SB 5 got<br />
passed to begin with. Electing<br />
“But what will be Ohio’s<br />
next big fight? Will it be<br />
a big battle, like SB 5, or<br />
will it be a death by a<br />
thousand cuts?”<br />
~ <strong>OCSEA</strong> Pres.<br />
Christopher Mabe<br />
labor-friendly and public sectorfriendly<br />
legislators in 2012<br />
could prevent another disaster<br />
like SB 5. We will have more<br />
information about targeted state<br />
legislative races in the coming<br />
months. Suffice it to say, many<br />
of these fights will be at the<br />
ballot box.<br />
We need to fight proposals<br />
that privatize and eliminate<br />
middle class jobs and that<br />
replace them with low wage<br />
work with poor benefits.<br />
In 2012, ODOT has already<br />
declared a fiscal emergency<br />
and claims it might address a<br />
decrease in gas tax revenue<br />
by privatizing Ohio’s rest<br />
areas and the Turnpike. How<br />
do we combat that? Building<br />
community support when<br />
it comes to privatizing Ohio<br />
assets like the Turnpike is<br />
vital. Let your friends,<br />
neighbors and community<br />
groups know what<br />
is going on and what will<br />
happen if area roadways<br />
or rest areas are privatized.<br />
Most important of all<br />
this year is to vote your<br />
job. Don’t forget what we<br />
went through last year. We<br />
need to hold lawmakers<br />
accountable for the past and<br />
ensure that they have a clear<br />
vision for the future. When<br />
you step into the voting<br />
booth, whether it’s for your<br />
local school board, for a<br />
primary or for the General<br />
Election, make sure you are<br />
voting for people that support<br />
YOU!<br />
Did they stand with you or<br />
against you?<br />
Not sure how your state representative or senator<br />
voted on Senate Bill 5? Visit We Are Ohio’s Speak Out<br />
Tool at ocsea.org/speakout to see where your legislators<br />
stood on SB 5! And then thank them — or give<br />
them a piece of your mind and tell them it will impact<br />
your vote at the ballot box.<br />
Rep. Al Landis (R-Dist. 96) voted Yes on SB 5 but over<br />
65 percent of his voting constituency opposed Issue 2<br />
in November. What will this mean for the re-election<br />
of anti-collective bargaining legislators like Landis and<br />
others like him?<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 3
Negotiating Team reaches<br />
historic contract agreement<br />
sions but eliminates furlough<br />
days, a freeze on personal leave<br />
and a freeze on step increases<br />
that were part of the last threeyear<br />
agreement.<br />
“This vote sends a clear message<br />
that state employees are<br />
ready to move on and get down<br />
to the business of providing<br />
quality public services to the<br />
citizens of Ohio,” said <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
President Christopher Mabe, in<br />
a press statement.<br />
“Building on our win on<br />
SB 5 and Issue 2, state workers<br />
will now have a chance<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> members<br />
voted overwhelmingly<br />
to ratify a<br />
three-year extension of their<br />
current contract with the State<br />
of Ohio with approximately 84<br />
percent voting in favor and 16<br />
percent opposed.<br />
The agreement is effective<br />
from March 1, 2012 through<br />
February 2015 and is the first<br />
contract extension the state has<br />
agreed to in the union’s history.<br />
The agreement, negotiated by<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>’s bargaining team, will<br />
retain all current contract provito<br />
have some stability,” said<br />
AFSCME International staff<br />
Steven Kreisberg, who helped<br />
the bargaining team reach an<br />
agreement with State of Ohio<br />
negotiators.<br />
“Clearly, our members recognize<br />
that Ohio’s economy<br />
remains sluggish and were<br />
willing to accept an agreement<br />
that provides no general wage<br />
increase,” said Mabe. “This<br />
shows how committed this<br />
workforce truly is.”<br />
In surveys and meetings conducted<br />
by the union over the<br />
past year, the <strong>OCSEA</strong> membership<br />
expressed the need for the<br />
union to retain the current level<br />
of benefits. “This agreement<br />
does that,” said Mabe.<br />
The new contract makes no<br />
changes to the current health<br />
care benefit, which was members’<br />
number one priority,<br />
according to a survey<br />
conducted by <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
“<strong>OCSEA</strong> members voted<br />
overwhelmingly to ratify<br />
this extension. This vote<br />
sends a clear message<br />
that state employees are<br />
ready to move on and get<br />
down to the business of<br />
providing quality public<br />
services to the citizens of<br />
Ohio,”<br />
~ <strong>OCSEA</strong> Pres.<br />
Christopher Mabe<br />
"The state was coming<br />
after longevity, steps,<br />
health insurance and<br />
pick-a-post. But due<br />
to the efforts of your<br />
bargaining team, we've<br />
secured a contract with<br />
not one concession.<br />
It's more than we could<br />
have hoped for in this<br />
economic climate. "<br />
Christopher Mabe<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> President<br />
"We did what’s never<br />
been done before, we<br />
extended our contract for<br />
three years. People are<br />
tired of fighting. We need<br />
jobs in this state. Now you<br />
can plan your life for the<br />
next three years."<br />
Ramona Collins<br />
Customer Service<br />
Representative<br />
Lucas County One-Stop<br />
4 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
WILLIAMS<br />
LOCAL<br />
AFL-CIO<br />
Ohio Civil Service<br />
Employees Association<br />
President<br />
Vice President<br />
Secretary-Treasurer<br />
Christopher Mabe<br />
Kelvin Jones<br />
Kathleen M. Stewart<br />
Board of Directors:<br />
last year. The agreement also retains<br />
employees’ current leave accruals and<br />
leave payouts, step increases and longevity<br />
payments. It also keeps intact<br />
employees’ current dental and vision<br />
care plans with no cost to employees.<br />
“Our members recognize that there<br />
are other issues on the horizon for<br />
public workers, such as the fight over<br />
our pensions (see page 14) and Right<br />
to Work legislation (see page 8).<br />
Coming to this agreement allows<br />
us to move forward and be better<br />
prepared for those challenges that lie<br />
ahead,” said Mabe.<br />
District 1: Kate Callahan (ODOT),<br />
Shawn Gruber (DR&C), Jerry Lugo (ODJFS)<br />
District 2: Carrie Johnson (MH),<br />
Michelle Hunter (MR)<br />
District 3: Doug Mosier (DR&C), Bob Valentine (ODOT)<br />
District 4: Bruce Thompson (DYS),<br />
Doug Sollitto (DR&C)<br />
District 5: Cindy Bobbitt (ODJFS),<br />
Tracy Cutright (DR&C)<br />
District 6: Laura Morris (Health),<br />
Debra Honore (RSC), Shirley Hubbert (BWC),<br />
Louella Jeter (ODPS), Debra King-Hutchinson (ODJFS),<br />
Annie Person (DYS), Tim Roberts (DR&C),<br />
Amy Turner (ODOT), John Anthony (Taxation)<br />
Gerard "Rocky" Jolly (School for Blind)<br />
District 7: James LaRocca (Lottery),<br />
Lawrence McKissic (BWC)<br />
District 8: A.J. Frame (DR&C), Beth Sheets (ODMR/DD)<br />
District 9: Mal Corey (DR&C),<br />
Jeremy Grooms (ODOT)<br />
Retiree Representative: Ron Alexander<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Headquarters:<br />
390 Worthington Road, Ste. A, Westerville, Oh 43082<br />
Live Operator: 614-865-4700 or 800-969-4702<br />
Automated Dial: 614-865-2678 or 800-266-5615<br />
Fax: 614-865-4777<br />
Web site: www.ocsea.org<br />
Customer Service: 888-<strong>OCSEA</strong>-11 (888-627-3211)<br />
"It’s a great contract because<br />
we took no concessions.<br />
The agency-specific language<br />
could have changed pick-apost<br />
and roll call and line up.<br />
We won on our work rules,<br />
and new employees get<br />
their step increase."<br />
Bob White<br />
Sergeant<br />
Richland Correctional<br />
Institution<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Public Employee Quarterly (USPS 010-112)<br />
is published quarterly for $6 by the Ohio Civil Service<br />
Employees Association, 390 Worthington Road,<br />
Suite A, Westerville, OH 43082. Periodicals postage<br />
paid at Westerville, OH and additional mailing offices.<br />
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Ohio Civil<br />
Service Employees Association, 390 Worthington Road,<br />
Suite A, Westerville, OH 43082.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Public Employee Quarterly is produced by the<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Communications Department: Sally Meckling,<br />
Director; Deirdre O’Neill-Wedig, Pattie Boy, Associates.<br />
To update email and other contact information go to:<br />
www.ocsea.org/update or call 800-969-4702.<br />
DEFIANCE<br />
PAULDING<br />
VAN WERT<br />
MERCER<br />
DARKE<br />
PREBLE<br />
BUTLER<br />
HAMILTON<br />
FULTON<br />
HENRY<br />
PUTNAM<br />
AUGLAIZE<br />
SHELBY<br />
MIAMI<br />
ALLEN<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 2<br />
WARREN<br />
CLERMONT<br />
LOGAN<br />
CHAMPAIGN<br />
GREENE<br />
CLARK<br />
CLINTON<br />
BROWN<br />
LUCAS<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 1<br />
WOOD<br />
HANCOCK<br />
HARDIN<br />
HIGHLAND<br />
MADISON<br />
FAYETTE<br />
ADAMS<br />
WYANDOT<br />
UNION<br />
OTTAWA<br />
SANDUSKY<br />
SENECA<br />
MARION<br />
DELAWARE<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 6<br />
FRANKLIN<br />
ROSS<br />
PIKE<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 9<br />
CRAWFORD<br />
SCIOTO<br />
ERIE<br />
MORROW<br />
HURON<br />
RICHLAND<br />
FAIRFIELD<br />
HOCKING<br />
VINTON<br />
JACKSON<br />
KNOX<br />
LICKING<br />
JEFFER-<br />
SON<br />
ASH-<br />
LAND<br />
PERRY<br />
GALLIA<br />
LORAIN<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 3<br />
COSHOCTON<br />
MUSKINGUM<br />
ATHENS<br />
MEIGS<br />
MEDINA<br />
WAYNE<br />
HOLMES<br />
CUYAHOGA<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 5<br />
MORGAN<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 8<br />
SUMMIT<br />
TUSCARAWAS<br />
GUERNSEY<br />
NOBLE<br />
LAKE<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 7<br />
PORTAGE<br />
STARK<br />
GEAUGA<br />
WASHINGTON<br />
CARROLL<br />
HARRISON<br />
BELMONT<br />
MONROE<br />
ASHTABULA<br />
TRUMBULL<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
DISTRICT 4<br />
MAHONING<br />
COLUMBIANA<br />
MONT-<br />
GOMERY<br />
Winter 2012<br />
LAWRENCE<br />
Public Employee Quarterly 5
LOCAL<br />
AFL-CIO<br />
and Victories<br />
Contract: The State of Ohio<br />
and <strong>OCSEA</strong> 2012-2015<br />
Senate Bill 5 Defeated<br />
2011 was a rocky road to victory, indeed, that began with<br />
rallies at the Statehouse, the collection of 1.3 million signatures<br />
and a triumphant march through Columbus to deliver<br />
them – and ended with the overwhelming defeat of Issue 2/<br />
Senate Bill 5 at the polls on Nov. 8, 2011. As the world was<br />
watching, together we showed them what solidarity means!<br />
BUG<br />
Contract<br />
BETWEEN<br />
THE<br />
STATE OF OHIO<br />
AND<br />
THE<br />
OHIO<br />
CIVIL SERVICE<br />
EMPLOYEES<br />
ASSOCIATION<br />
Ohio Civil Service<br />
Employees Association<br />
Historic Contract Ratified<br />
Thanks to the efforts of the <strong>OCSEA</strong> Bargaining Team,<br />
and the defeat of SB 5, <strong>OCSEA</strong> members ratified an historic<br />
three-year extension of the current <strong>OCSEA</strong> Contract<br />
with the State of Ohio. The agreement retains all current<br />
contract provisions, excluding cost-savings days, freezes<br />
on personal leave and freezes on step increases that were<br />
part of the previous three-year agreement.<br />
2012-2015<br />
Hard-fought Budget Wins<br />
This year’s budget battle was one of the toughest fought<br />
yet. But despite some major cuts, <strong>OCSEA</strong> activists fought back<br />
a plan to privatize the Ohio Lottery and a proposal to increase<br />
employee pension contributions by 2 percent. <strong>OCSEA</strong> also<br />
ensured that private prison companies pay their fair share of<br />
taxes. Portions of SB 5 that appeared in early versions of the<br />
budget also were nixed thanks to <strong>OCSEA</strong> activists.<br />
6 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
Prison Privatization Plan Curtailed<br />
Thanks to pressure by <strong>OCSEA</strong> activists and other supporters<br />
against private prisons, the Dept. of Rehabilitation and Correction<br />
reversed a plan to sell five state prisons. While the privatization of<br />
North Central Correctional Institution in Marion was tough to bear,<br />
the agency ultimately only increased the number of privatized<br />
prisons by one (instead of five) and brought one privately-run<br />
facility back under state management with the merger of the<br />
North Coast Correctional Facility and Grafton Correctional<br />
Institution. Grafton was one of the prisons originally on the<br />
state’s privatization chopping block.<br />
Lottery Privatization Plan Nixed<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> activists at the Ohio Lottery claimed a major<br />
victory this budget cycle when they fought off eleventh<br />
hour attempts to privatize their agency. Press conferences<br />
and a major media blitz featuring <strong>OCSEA</strong> union employees,<br />
previous administrators, policy makers and others<br />
were ultimately responsible for the plan being removed<br />
from the final budget. However, more attacks on the<br />
Lottery are anticipated even this year. A study to look into<br />
the idea has already been commissioned.<br />
Development Jobs Saved<br />
In 2011, the General Assembly’s passage to give over<br />
control of the economic development side of the Ohio<br />
Dept. of Development to a private, corporate board called<br />
JobsOhio turned the agency on its head. However, <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
fought hard to make sure Development employees were<br />
impacted as little as possible.<br />
In the end, impacted bargaining unit employees were<br />
placed in other departments within the agency, resulting<br />
in zero layoffs. And, while the recently released legislative<br />
agenda advocates changes to Development in 2012, <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
will continue to advocate on the behalf of the public work<br />
currently done by employees in this area. <strong>OCSEA</strong> is also monitoring<br />
the privatization of liquor profits that could impact<br />
this and other state agencies.<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 7
Wisconsin<br />
Indiana Right to Work<br />
bill on the move<br />
Ayear ago, Ohio union<br />
members were shut<br />
out of conversations<br />
regarding changes to public<br />
employee collective bargaining.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> members were banned<br />
from offering testimony and<br />
locked out of the Statehouse.<br />
Now Indiana politicians are<br />
using similar strong-arm tactics<br />
to bring down private sector<br />
unions and the working class<br />
members that belong to them.<br />
Anti-worker politicians in<br />
the Indiana Legislature recently<br />
rammed through the most<br />
controversial anti-worker bill<br />
in Indiana history. Republican<br />
leaders denied public testimony<br />
and legislator amendments to<br />
the state’s highly contentious<br />
Right to Work bill, which limits<br />
collective bargaining rights<br />
for members of private sector<br />
unions.<br />
What is Right to Work?<br />
Don’t let the name Right to<br />
Work (RTW) confuse you. It<br />
has nothing to do with giving<br />
workers more rights. Rather,<br />
RTW serves to bring down the<br />
entire middle class by diluting<br />
the ability for labor organizations<br />
to effectively represent its<br />
members.<br />
Workers in states with RTW<br />
laws, where there are harsh limitations<br />
on joining a union, have<br />
a consistently lower quality of<br />
life than those in other states.<br />
RTW means lower wages,<br />
fewer people with health care,<br />
higher poverty and infant mortality<br />
rates, lower Workers’<br />
Compensation benefits for<br />
injured workers and more workplace<br />
deaths and injuries.<br />
• The average RTW<br />
worker makes $5,333<br />
a year less.*<br />
• RTW states have a poverty<br />
rate of 12.5 percent,<br />
compared with 10.2 percent<br />
in other states.*<br />
• The rate of workplace<br />
deaths is 51 percent<br />
higher in RTW states,<br />
where unions can’t<br />
speak up on behalf of<br />
workers.*<br />
Oklahoma<br />
indiana<br />
RTW fails in Oklahoma<br />
A booming economy. More<br />
businesses. Job creation. This<br />
is exactly what the state of<br />
Oklahoma touted RTW legislation<br />
would offer its state in<br />
2001. And now, over a decade<br />
later, none of that has materialized.<br />
According to the AFL-CIO,**<br />
citing the U.S. Bureau of<br />
Statistics and Oklahoma Dept.<br />
of Commerce, the number of<br />
new companies coming into<br />
Oklahoma since the law passed<br />
in 2001 has “decreased by onethird<br />
and the number of manufacturing<br />
jobs in the state has<br />
fallen by one-third.” And now<br />
Indiana legislators want to go<br />
forward despite what has happened<br />
in Oklahoma.<br />
Recently, an Oklahoma private<br />
sector employee, who lost<br />
her job with General Motors in<br />
the years after the bill passed,<br />
made a plea to Indiana: “I have<br />
to warn the people of Indiana<br />
of the slow, vicious cycle that<br />
RTW has on families," said Kitty<br />
Asberry.<br />
Could Ohio be next? “Yes,<br />
especially if we continue to<br />
elect anti-worker politicians<br />
who believe we should invest<br />
in corporations and not the<br />
average, everyday American,”<br />
said <strong>OCSEA</strong> Vice President<br />
Kelvin Jones.<br />
* The Truth about Right to Work – AFL-CIO<br />
** Oklahoma Workers Expose RTW lies,<br />
AFL-CIO, Jan. 11, 2012.<br />
Activists in Indiana take to the streets<br />
to protest anti-worker legislation.<br />
8 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
<strong>OCSEA</strong> activists assist with<br />
the Wisconsin effort in late<br />
2011.<br />
OHIO<br />
Life after<br />
collective bargaining<br />
The case of<br />
Wisconsin<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> activists<br />
recently joined the<br />
fight in Wisconsin,<br />
urging employees to recommit<br />
to their union by signing union<br />
cards and by signing petitions<br />
to recall Governor Scott Walker.<br />
“We won in Ohio at the ballot<br />
box. And you can too!” <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
activist James Beverly, Jr., told<br />
AFSCME members in Wisconsin.<br />
Beverly and other <strong>OCSEA</strong> activists<br />
traveled to Wisconsin at the<br />
end of 2011.<br />
Wisconsin activists are using<br />
the recent attack against collective<br />
bargaining in their state<br />
as an opportunity to mount a<br />
major counterattack against<br />
anti-worker politicians in 2012.<br />
Attacks on collective bargaining<br />
rights sparked massive protests<br />
and set off unprecedented recall<br />
campaigns against Wisconsin<br />
state senators last year. And,<br />
just last month, “Recall Walker”<br />
organizers turned in over 1 million<br />
signatures to put a recall of<br />
the anti-labor governor on the<br />
ballot in November.<br />
Life for public employee<br />
union members in Wisconsin<br />
has been turned on its head<br />
since the law passed that obliterated<br />
collective bargaining<br />
rights for state workers.<br />
Imagine the worse case scenario,<br />
and that’s exactly what<br />
these workers and their families<br />
are facing right now. Bargaining<br />
for Wisconsin state employee<br />
union members has been limited<br />
to wages, and even those<br />
wages are given a non-negotiable<br />
cap. Contracts are limited to<br />
one year and wages are frozen<br />
Did you know?<br />
Wisconsin is the home<br />
of the public employee labor movement. That’s<br />
right. Wisconsin led the nation in giving public<br />
employees the right to bargain in 1952 — nearly<br />
30 years before Ohio. And Madison, WI was the<br />
birthplace of AFSCME, founded in 1936.<br />
until those contracts are settled.<br />
Workers can no longer bargain<br />
over health care and other<br />
benefits, work place safety,<br />
seniority, work assignments,<br />
overtime and much more.<br />
And the grievance process has<br />
been thrown out the window,<br />
with only employers choosing<br />
(and paying) mediators to<br />
solve workplace disputes…that<br />
is, in the event they are even<br />
addressed.<br />
Health care for family coverage<br />
doubled almost overnight<br />
with the passage of the bill, and<br />
a free-rider clause means unions<br />
must still represent those who<br />
do not pay union dues.<br />
But, while public workers’<br />
voice in the workplace has been<br />
virtually silenced,<br />
they aren’t taking it<br />
lying down.<br />
Wisconsin<br />
AFSCME reps say<br />
that despite massive<br />
restrictions on joining<br />
unions and even<br />
greater restrictions<br />
on dues collection<br />
after signing a union<br />
card, members continue<br />
to remain loyal<br />
to their union and<br />
are “recommitting” in record<br />
numbers.<br />
AFSCME, which originated in<br />
Wisconsin 76 years ago, vows<br />
to bring back collective bargaining<br />
to the state once again<br />
and build the union movement<br />
stronger than ever. “We’ve been<br />
able to gain back our rights in<br />
other states where they’ve been<br />
taken away. But the only way<br />
we do it is by sticking together<br />
and continuing to fight,”<br />
said Debbie Garcia, AFSCME<br />
International’s area field services<br />
director for Wisconsin.<br />
Photos courtesy of Conor Fox, AFSCME.<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 9
How one influential group is driving Ohio’s political agenda<br />
At least four major<br />
studies released over<br />
the last year have<br />
come to the same conclusion<br />
about private prisons: they<br />
don’t save a dime. One study<br />
after another has offered the<br />
identical bottom line: the selling<br />
or leasing of Ohio prisons<br />
has nothing to do with trying to<br />
fill a budget hole. Rather, such<br />
moves are ideological at best,<br />
and downright politically<br />
motivated at worst.<br />
Policy Matters Ohio authored<br />
two such studies, which found<br />
that no savings would materialize<br />
by their sale and that, in fact,<br />
it is likely taxpayers will pay<br />
more. The Ohio ACLU followed<br />
with a similar study and conclusion,<br />
as did the Sentencing<br />
Project.<br />
More and more, researchers<br />
are pointing to the political<br />
influence that private prison<br />
companies wield involving<br />
Limited Government · Free Markets · Federalism<br />
seedy back door deals, campaign<br />
contributions and a whole<br />
lot of cash--all of which ensures<br />
that private prisons stay full and<br />
private prison companies have<br />
record profits.<br />
The most recent private<br />
prison study by The Sentencing<br />
Project concludes that legislation<br />
authored by The American<br />
Legislative Exchange Council<br />
(ALEC) is largely driving the<br />
pro-prison privatization agenda<br />
by developing model legislation<br />
that serves corporate interests.<br />
For instance, the group, along<br />
with cohorts from Corrections<br />
Corporation of America and the<br />
GEO Group, has spent the last<br />
several years developing a series<br />
of tough-on-crime proposals<br />
meant to increase incarceration<br />
rates and keep private prison<br />
doors open and swinging wide.<br />
Dozens of large corporations<br />
donate millions to ALEC, and, in<br />
turn, ALEC does its job advocating<br />
to cut government services<br />
– and contract with them.<br />
Just as disturbing as the<br />
ALEC-inspired lobbying, is the<br />
huge amount of campaign cash<br />
private prison companies have<br />
been spending on federal and<br />
state political races. According<br />
to the Sentencing Project, from<br />
2004 to 2010, the amount of<br />
state and federal contributions<br />
made by CCA to political campaigns<br />
more than doubled from<br />
less than $600,000 in 2004 to<br />
nearly $1,200,000 in 2010.<br />
It’s no coincidence that as<br />
politicians’ campaign coffers<br />
grew, so did the number of<br />
private prisons across the U.S.<br />
From 1999 to 2010, the number<br />
of inmates incarcerated in private<br />
prisons grew by a whopping<br />
80 percent, while overall<br />
the prison population grew by<br />
only 17 percent.*<br />
In Ohio, several bills, including<br />
the one that privatized a<br />
Conneaut prison and leased<br />
North Central Correctional<br />
Institution came straight from<br />
the ALEC playbook. In fact,<br />
according to research by<br />
Progress Ohio and others, Ohio<br />
anti-worker legislators have let<br />
ALEC write nearly 33 bills just<br />
last year that have found their<br />
way to the Statehouse.<br />
Which begs the question: If<br />
in fact lawmakers aren’t passing<br />
laws based on what their<br />
constituents need, but rather<br />
what right-wing think tanks and<br />
corporate CEOS want, who are<br />
they ultimately representing?<br />
* The Sentencing Project, Jan. 2012<br />
10 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
Despite<br />
privatization,<br />
Adam Ruth, chapter<br />
vice president and<br />
Mike Tenney, chapter<br />
president of North Central<br />
Correctional Institution, had<br />
their work cut out for them last<br />
year. Not only did they spend<br />
the summer collecting signatures<br />
and fighting off Senate Bill<br />
5, but, come the fall, they were<br />
also forced to defend against<br />
the privatization of the Marion<br />
prison they both worked in.<br />
While the good news in<br />
September was that the Dept.<br />
of Rehabilitation and Correction<br />
decided NOT to sell five prisons<br />
outright to private prison<br />
companies; the bad news was<br />
they would be leasing NCCI<br />
and the moth-balled Marion<br />
Juvenile Correctional Facility<br />
to Management Training<br />
Corporation.<br />
But Chap. 5188 didn’t miss<br />
a beat. Numerous rallies and<br />
press events held outside the<br />
prison made the important connection<br />
between Senate Bill 5<br />
and privatization, with picketers<br />
holding signs against both.<br />
Chapter members even gathered<br />
signatures on the picket<br />
line to put Senate Bill 5 on the<br />
ballot. “Privatization and attacks<br />
on our collective bargaining<br />
rights go hand in hand. It’s all<br />
about taking away our rights,<br />
destroying our way of life,<br />
and ultimately, eliminating the<br />
middle class,” said Tenney.<br />
Once it was clear the administration<br />
was moving forward<br />
with its privatization scheme,<br />
Ruth and Tenney joined <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
leaders and staff throughout<br />
northern Ohio to work to<br />
ensure employees had jobs<br />
if they wanted them. A “war<br />
room” was set up at <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
Headquarters that was decorated<br />
with posters detailing<br />
who was being displaced and<br />
which prisons had positions<br />
for them.<br />
“The chapter leaders at<br />
NCCI are some of the hardest<br />
working men and women I<br />
know,” said <strong>OCSEA</strong> President<br />
Chris Mabe. “This was not an<br />
easy process. They were not<br />
only dealing with this huge<br />
loss in their community with<br />
the privatization of a facility<br />
and loss of jobs, they were also<br />
fighting to keep their rights so<br />
that the process would be a<br />
fair one.”<br />
Thanks to <strong>OCSEA</strong>negotiated<br />
contract language,<br />
employees affected by a<br />
layoff have the opportunity to<br />
“bump” less senior employees<br />
as well as to fill vacancies under<br />
contract Article 18.14. Under<br />
SB 5, layoffs would have also<br />
been based on merit.<br />
And thanks to the dedication<br />
of chapter leaders, nearly every<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> member who wanted<br />
one was offered a job through<br />
the process. That didn’t mean<br />
the change didn’t come with a<br />
cost, however. Many employees<br />
are now commuting a much<br />
greater distance to keep their<br />
NCCI Chapter President Michael Tenney<br />
spent most of last year fighting SB 5 but also<br />
protesting the privatization of his Marion<br />
prison.<br />
jobs. Others simply couldn’t<br />
afford to take a job with a long<br />
commute.<br />
“Finding positions for the<br />
majority of NCCI employees<br />
simply would not have happened<br />
under Senate Bill 5,” said<br />
Ruth. “In fact, that whole process<br />
of filling positions based on<br />
seniority in the result of a layoff,<br />
would not have existed.”<br />
NCCI Chap. Vice Pres. Adam Ruth and Chap. Pres. Mike Tenney work<br />
in the 'war room' at <strong>OCSEA</strong> Headquarters to help find work for<br />
displaced Corrections employees.<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 11
UNION MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS BENEFITS<br />
UNION MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS BENEFITS<br />
Membership has its benefits<br />
Did you know that your union membership entitles<br />
you to much more than representation during<br />
contract negotiations and a voice on issues that<br />
impact your job? In fact, being a member of <strong>OCSEA</strong> entitles<br />
you to a wide range of benefits and<br />
discounts!<br />
Scholarships<br />
Each year a total of $12,000 in<br />
scholarships is awarded to <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
members, their spouses and<br />
dependents from the <strong>OCSEA</strong> Les<br />
Best Scholarship Fund. Recently,<br />
the Dependents Vocational and<br />
Dependents College categories have<br />
been combined into one. There are<br />
now three categories: Members'<br />
College, Spouses' College and<br />
Dependent's College/Vocational.<br />
Each year two Pat Callanan-<br />
Memorial Book<br />
Scholarship<br />
NOW $250<br />
Castro Memorial Book Scholarships are awarded<br />
to applicants chosen from the Members' College<br />
category. This year the book scholarship award has<br />
been raised from $150 to $250.<br />
Members, their spouses and dependents may<br />
apply directly online at ocsea.org/lesbest. The<br />
deadline is April 30, 2012.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Extras Benefits<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> offers exclusive member benefits and<br />
discounts through partnerships with colleges, banks, retail<br />
and entertainment venues. Each year these discounts are published<br />
in our Extras benefits guide (see Extras insert). More on<br />
the Extras benefits can be found at ocsea.org/extras.<br />
Education<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> members can save 10-25 percent off tuition at<br />
Ashford, Columbia Southern and Drexel Universities.<br />
Choose from online associate, bachelor, master or certificate<br />
programs in a variety of fields.<br />
Retail<br />
Membership in <strong>OCSEA</strong> can also save you money on everything<br />
from banking services, brakes and tires, computers,<br />
electronics and gourmet gift baskets. For more information on<br />
additional discounts, check our your Extras benefits booklet<br />
or visit ocsea.org/extras.<br />
Family Fun<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> members have a variety of family fun discounts<br />
available, from weekend getaways at state parks to exciting<br />
indoor water parks, exhibits, shows and theme parks.<br />
save<br />
rates as low as<br />
$59 per night at<br />
Ohio State Park<br />
Lodges<br />
save<br />
on tickets<br />
for events at<br />
Quicken Loans<br />
Arena<br />
save<br />
up to $2 per ticket<br />
at the Newport<br />
Aquarium<br />
save<br />
15% off<br />
room rates at<br />
Great Wolf<br />
Lodges<br />
12 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
We rallied. We signed. We marched. We voted.<br />
We made<br />
HISTORY<br />
11.08.11<br />
What will our future look like on<br />
11.06.12?<br />
“Spring into action for another victory!”<br />
2012 CMCA Conference<br />
April 14, 2012<br />
Quest Conference Center, Columbus, OH<br />
CMCA Conference Registration Deadline: March 31, 2012<br />
Hotel information<br />
Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites<br />
9000 Worthington Rd.<br />
Columbus, OH 43082<br />
Hotel rate $103.36, includes tax.<br />
Reservations must be made<br />
by March 13, 2012 directly<br />
with the hotel. Register under the<br />
“CMCA Conference block”<br />
at 614-568-0770 or online at<br />
cwp.marriott.com/cmhcp/cmca<br />
Registration information<br />
To register, contact:<br />
Sharon Reese 614-865-4700<br />
or 800-969-4702<br />
or email sreese@ocsea.org<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 13
Holding on to your retirement<br />
It’s been almost three<br />
years since the Ohio<br />
Public Employee<br />
Retirement System Board of<br />
Trustees made recommendations<br />
to make some incremental<br />
changes to the pension system<br />
to ensure it remains solvent<br />
while maintaining retiree health<br />
care. So why has nothing happened?<br />
In 2009, OPERS and the other<br />
public employee retirement<br />
systems sent their recommendations<br />
to the legislative body<br />
charged with coming up with a<br />
plan to bring the public pension<br />
systems into solvency within<br />
the 30-year legal requirement.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> even invited OPERS<br />
staff on the road to explain the<br />
changes to the membership so<br />
they would be fully understood.<br />
Some of the changes include<br />
an increase of two years in eligibility,<br />
a change in Purchase<br />
of Service Credit as well as an<br />
increase of the minimum earnable<br />
salary to $1,000 per month.<br />
These are changes that no<br />
one necessarily wants, but are<br />
necessary to keep the fund<br />
solvent and to maintain retiree<br />
health care.<br />
But then the 2010 election<br />
happened and any proposal or<br />
will to make a change evaporated<br />
along with it. But without<br />
small changes now, as OPERS<br />
Trustees had recommended,<br />
things are only getting worse<br />
for the fund that 1.7 million participants<br />
depend on. Last year,<br />
instead of fixing the problem<br />
and looking seriously at the<br />
OPERS recommendations, the<br />
General Assembly delayed them<br />
and, instead, contracted to do<br />
an actuarial study. The results<br />
of that study are not expected<br />
until July.<br />
Meanwhile, the pension<br />
system’s problems did not go<br />
away and the fund continues<br />
to struggle, in part due to the<br />
market downturn in 2008, but<br />
mostly because people are<br />
simply living longer.<br />
The longer the lifespan, the<br />
more money is drawn from the<br />
retirement. In fact, the basic<br />
structure of OPERS has not<br />
changed since the fund began in<br />
1935. But since then, the length<br />
of time the average retiree<br />
draws a pension has tripled.<br />
Now, public sector unions<br />
are worried that anti-worker legislators<br />
will do nothing until it’s<br />
too late. “The question is, are<br />
legislators dragging their feet so<br />
they can create a crisis that can<br />
justify making rash and extreme<br />
changes?” said Carol Bowshier,<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>’s Director of Health<br />
Care Policy.<br />
Some of the severe recommendations<br />
being discussed<br />
by lawmakers are a move to a<br />
defined contribution plan and<br />
an increased employee share<br />
“They need to keep health care.<br />
My parents are 81 and 77 and are<br />
both public workers. The older<br />
they get the more they need health<br />
care. Without retiree health care,<br />
one major illness and you'll be<br />
paying off the bill the rest of your<br />
life.”<br />
~ <strong>OCSEA</strong> State Board<br />
of Directors<br />
Bob Valentine<br />
“The question is, are legislators dragging<br />
their feet so they can create a<br />
crisis that can justify making rash<br />
and extreme changes?”<br />
~ <strong>OCSEA</strong> Director of<br />
Health Care Policy<br />
Carol Bowshier<br />
(up from the current 10 percent).<br />
Because health care is not<br />
required by law, these and other<br />
rash changes could reduce or<br />
completely eliminate health<br />
care for retirees. None of these<br />
changes were part of the OPERS<br />
recommendations in 2009, but<br />
anti-worker politicians in the<br />
General Assembly are making<br />
no indication that they’ll play<br />
nice on the subject.<br />
14 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
AFSCME honors Ohio,<br />
Wisconsin activists<br />
If anybody knows James<br />
Adkins, a plumber at the<br />
Ohio Reformatory for<br />
Women and Vice President of<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>’s Corrections Assembly,<br />
they know he’s not one to wear<br />
a suit if he doesn’t have to. They<br />
also know that he’s not one to<br />
back down from a fight, especially<br />
when it has to do with<br />
standing up for what’s right.<br />
But recently Adkins donned<br />
a suit and tie when honored<br />
by AFSCME International in<br />
Washington D.C. for his efforts<br />
in the fight to repeal Senate Bill<br />
5. Adkins represented the nearly<br />
17,000 <strong>OCSEA</strong> members who<br />
hit the streets to gather signatures<br />
and get Ohioans to the<br />
polls to repeal the worst anticollective<br />
bargaining legislation<br />
in the state’s history. Adkins,<br />
who alone gathered over a thousand<br />
signatures during the petition<br />
drive, joined activists<br />
from Ohio and Wisconsin<br />
who spoke out for workers'<br />
rights in 2011.<br />
At a banquet honoring<br />
the activists, U.S. Secretary<br />
of Labor Hilda Solis spoke<br />
about the fights in Ohio<br />
and Wisconsin and the<br />
impact they had on the<br />
nation that watched them<br />
unfold. She spoke of<br />
the need for unions and<br />
commended the activists<br />
on their determination<br />
to “raise every boat” for<br />
every worker. But she<br />
warned that the battle is<br />
far from over as the antiworker<br />
theme becomes<br />
amplified in states across<br />
the nation.<br />
Corrections Assembly Vice President James Adkins, with Sec. of<br />
Labor Hilda Solis, is honored in Washington D.C. for his efforts to<br />
take down SB 5.<br />
Social media, such as YouTube, Twitter<br />
and Facebook played an integral role in<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>’s fight against SB 5. Through social<br />
media networking, <strong>OCSEA</strong> and We Are Ohio<br />
were successful in spreading the word about<br />
SB 5/Issue 2 and the harm it would bring to<br />
Ohio’s working class.<br />
As attacks against working people continue,<br />
social media will play a major role in<br />
updating <strong>OCSEA</strong> members about breaking<br />
news and actions. Sign up to be a fan on<br />
our Facebook page, facebook.com/ocsea,<br />
follow our Tweets, twitter.com/ocsea,<br />
watch us fight at YouTube.com/ocsea and<br />
sign up for E-News at ocsea.org/email.<br />
facebook.com/ocsea youtube.com/ocsea twitter.com/ocsea<br />
LOCAL<br />
AFL-CIO<br />
Ohio Civil Service<br />
ocsea.com/email<br />
Employees Association<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 15<br />
version 1a
Honoring those<br />
who give ....<br />
The past year was definitely a tough one<br />
for many Ohioans. <strong>OCSEA</strong> is proud of<br />
the activists who, despite the economic<br />
setbacks and dedication to repealing SB 5, gave<br />
generously to charities. They reached out to those<br />
in need and gave their time, money and hearts.<br />
Each year <strong>OCSEA</strong> recognizes members and<br />
subordinate bodies who go above and beyond<br />
with acts of service, volunteerism, contributions<br />
and heroism. The <strong>OCSEA</strong> Horizon Award is presented<br />
to nominees that have positively impacted<br />
Guidelines:<br />
The <strong>OCSEA</strong> Board of Directors’ Membership and Public<br />
Relations Committee serves as the panel of judges and<br />
focuses on the following criteria when reviewing nominations:<br />
• Is the nominee a current <strong>OCSEA</strong> member or subordinate<br />
body (chapter, district or assembly)?<br />
• Does the nominator demonstrate how the service or act<br />
positively affected individuals or the community as<br />
a whole?<br />
• Are there letters of support and personal testimony that<br />
describe the nominee’s community service or acts of<br />
heroism?<br />
• Does personal testimony describe how the act affected<br />
the nominator or the community?<br />
• Was the service work or act of heroism performed<br />
within one year of the application deadline?<br />
individuals or their community as a whole. This<br />
includes service conducted on a local, state or<br />
national level.<br />
The winner of the 2012 Horizon Award will be<br />
honored at an <strong>OCSEA</strong> Board of Directors’ meeting<br />
and will also receive a contribution to the charity<br />
of their choice in the amount of $500.<br />
Know of a chapter or member deserving of<br />
this award? Complete the nomination form below<br />
or download the form at ocsea.org/horizon.<br />
Submission deadline is April 1, 2012.<br />
for outstanding<br />
community service<br />
char·i·ty [char-i-tee]<br />
noun, plural -ties.<br />
1. generous actions or donations to aid the poor, ill,<br />
or helpless: to devote one's life to charity.<br />
2. something given to a person or persons in need;<br />
alms: She asked for work, not charity.<br />
3. a charitable act or work.<br />
4. a charitable fund, foundation, or institution: He left his<br />
estate to a charity.<br />
5. benevolent feeling, especially toward those in need<br />
or in disfavor: She looked so poor that we fed her out of<br />
charity.<br />
Horizon Nomination Form<br />
Nominee _______________________________________<br />
Describe the nominee’s community<br />
service work or act of heroism.<br />
Use additional sheets if necessary.<br />
Address________________________________________<br />
(city/state/zip) _____________________________<br />
Telephone (home) _______________(work) ___________<br />
Nominator ______________________________________<br />
Telephone (home) ______________(work)_____________<br />
Email (home) ____________________________________<br />
Nominations must include letters of support.<br />
Are letters included? m Yes m No<br />
Send to:<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Public Affairs Dept.<br />
390 Worthington Rd. – Ste. A,<br />
Westerville, OH 43082-8331<br />
Nominations must be<br />
mailed or postmarked<br />
no later than<br />
April 1, 2012.<br />
ocsea.org/horizon<br />
16 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
Brandi POtts<br />
Pott's seven-year-old daughter<br />
(right) enjoyed shouting "Kill<br />
the Bill" at an SB 5 rally.<br />
Brandi Potts<br />
Account Examiner<br />
ODJFS Chap. 2599<br />
When Brandi Potts officially became a<br />
steward in early 2011, she had no idea what<br />
the year ahead would bring and<br />
how the fight to repeal Senate Bill<br />
5 would so profoundly impact her<br />
new passion to be a steward.<br />
Potts, now an Account<br />
Examiner 2 for the Ohio Dept. of<br />
Job and Family Services, became<br />
a steward because the area she<br />
worked in at the time was in major<br />
need of steward representation.<br />
Having worked in the private<br />
sector for a decade, Potts<br />
said she stepped up to do the<br />
job because the idea of her<br />
union really “intrigued” her.<br />
“I just wanted to learn<br />
more,” said Potts, who called<br />
unionism a foreign concept<br />
in her previous job in the<br />
financial sector.<br />
Spring 2012 Education Calendar<br />
To register for any of the following classes, call the education registration<br />
hotline at 800-266-5615, ext. 4772 and follow the recorded<br />
instructions.<br />
If you’d like a class for your area and don’t see one currently scheduled<br />
on the calendar, contact Pat Hammel at 800-266-5615, ext. 2654<br />
Potts said that the activities surrounding the<br />
repeal of SB 5 were incredibly rewarding and<br />
reminded her daily of its connection to her<br />
job as a steward and the importance of union<br />
representation in all workplaces, public and<br />
private.<br />
During the SB 5 fight, Potts attended rallies,<br />
circulated petitions, assisted with data entry<br />
and canvassed. She particularly enjoyed participating<br />
in the Million Signature March. “It was<br />
an exciting, overwhelming and eye-opening<br />
experience,” said Potts of the July parade to<br />
the Secretary of State’s office to submit over a<br />
million signatures to put the repeal of SB 5 on<br />
the ballot.<br />
“It was all a very rewarding experience,”<br />
said Potts. She even recruited her children to<br />
attend rallies with her after work. “They loved<br />
it. My seven-year-old really got into it all and<br />
loved to shout ‘Kill the Bill.’”<br />
“I take great pride in my union work,” said<br />
the Next Waver who encourages others to step<br />
up and be a voice for their ODJFS union brothers<br />
and sisters. “My co-workers know they can<br />
depend on me and I like that,” said Potts.<br />
Designed for<br />
Stewards<br />
Designed for<br />
all Members<br />
or phammel@ocsea.org to find out what types of classes are<br />
available or to schedule one for your area on a just-in-time basis.<br />
Once you’ve recruited 10 people to attend a class, the class will<br />
be scheduled.<br />
TUES 6<br />
MARCH<br />
Occupy Everywhere, 6-8 p.m.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>, 390 Worthington Rd.,<br />
Westerville – Rm. 195<br />
MON 9<br />
APRIL<br />
Basic Steward Pt. 1, 6-9 p.m.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>, 390 Worthington Rd.,<br />
Westerville – Room 195<br />
TUES 1<br />
MAY<br />
Advanced Steward, 6-9 p.m., Hampton<br />
Inn – Toledo South, 1409 Reynolds<br />
Rd., Maumee<br />
WED 14<br />
History of <strong>OCSEA</strong> and the Labor<br />
Movement, 6-8 p.m., Wyndham Gardens,<br />
31 Prestige Place, Miamisburg<br />
WED 11<br />
Basic Steward Pt.2, 6-9 p.m., <strong>OCSEA</strong>,<br />
390 Worthington Rd., Westerville –<br />
Room 195<br />
SAT 5<br />
Basic Steward Pt. 1&2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.,<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>, 390 Worthington Rd.,<br />
Westerville – Room 195<br />
SAT 17<br />
Basic Steward Pt. 1&2, 9a.m.-4 p.m.,<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>, 390 Worthington Rd.,<br />
Westerville – Rm. 195<br />
TUES 17<br />
Basic Steward Pt.1, 6-9 p.m., Hampton<br />
Inn – Toledo South, 1409 Reynolds<br />
Rd., Maumee<br />
THUR 31 Advanced Steward, 6-9 p.m., <strong>OCSEA</strong>,<br />
390 Worthington Rd., Westerville –<br />
Room 195<br />
WED 28<br />
MON 2<br />
Advanced Steward, 6-9 p.m., <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
Hdqtrs, 390 Worthington Rd.,<br />
Westerville, Ohio, Rm. 195<br />
APRIL<br />
Occupy Everywhere, 6-8 p.m., Holiday<br />
Inn, I-77 & I-480, 6001 Rockside<br />
Rd., Independence<br />
THUR 19<br />
WED 25<br />
SAT 28<br />
Basic Steward Pt.2, 6-9 p.m., Hampton<br />
Inn – Toledo South, 1409 Reynolds<br />
Rd., Maumee<br />
History of <strong>OCSEA</strong> and the Labor Movement,<br />
6-8 p.m., Holiday Inn, S.R. 23,<br />
Portsmouth<br />
Advanced Steward, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.,<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong>, 390 Worthington Rd.,<br />
Westerville – Room 195<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 17
SUBORDINATE BODY MEETINGS & ELECTION NOTICES<br />
Chapters<br />
2320<br />
April 9<br />
2525<br />
March 6<br />
April 10<br />
April 11<br />
3700<br />
May 9<br />
5700<br />
7010<br />
March 22<br />
Meeting: 6:30p.m.-8:30p.m.<br />
Top Hat Restaurant, 202 West Main Street<br />
Junction City OH 43748<br />
Meeting: 8p.m.-10:15p.m.<br />
169 th Steelworker's Union Hall<br />
Longview Ave. Mansfield OH<br />
March 27<br />
April 24<br />
Nominations: 12:15p.m.-12:30p.m.<br />
March 7<br />
Elections: 12p.m.-1p.m.<br />
Run Off: 12:15p.m.-12:45p.m.<br />
April 4<br />
Industrial Commission- Level 3<br />
Training Room B, 30 West Spring Street<br />
Columbus OH 43215<br />
President, Vice President,<br />
Secretary/Treasurer,<br />
3 Executive Board<br />
Meeting: 5p.m.- 6:30p.m.<br />
Ohio EPA-SEDO Bld. Rooms 104A&B<br />
2195 Front St Logan OH 43138<br />
March 28 Meeting: 5:30p.m.-7p.m.<br />
April 25 Meeting: 5:30p.m.-7p.m.<br />
The Cultural Center<br />
40 S Edwin C. Moses Blvd.<br />
Dayton OH 45402<br />
7500<br />
7700<br />
May 2<br />
March 14<br />
April 11<br />
May 9<br />
8320<br />
March 13<br />
April 10<br />
May 8<br />
Meeting: 5:30p.m.-6p.m..<br />
Meeting: 5:30p.m.-6p.m.<br />
Quality Inn, 400 Folkerth Ave<br />
Sidney OH 45365<br />
Executive Board: 5:30p.m.-8p.m.<br />
Pufferbelly Restaurant, 152 Franklin Ave. #A<br />
Kent OH 44240<br />
Executive Board: 5:30p.m.-8p.m.<br />
Cafe in Stow 4591, Darrow Rd Stow OH<br />
Executive Board: 5:30p.m.-8p.m.<br />
Larry's Main Entrance, 1964 W. Market Street<br />
Akron OH 44313<br />
Regular Meeting: 5:30p.m.-8p.m.<br />
VFW Firestone Post 3383, 690 West Waterloo Rd<br />
Akron OH 44314<br />
Regular Meeting: 5:30p.m.-8p.m.<br />
VFW Firestone Post 3383, 690 West Waterloo Rd<br />
Akron OH 44314<br />
Regular Meeting: 5:30p.m.-8p.m.<br />
VFW Firestone Post 3383, 690 West Waterloo Rd<br />
Akron OH 44314<br />
Meeting: 6p.m.-6:30p.m.<br />
Meeting: 6p.m.-6:30p.m.<br />
Meeting: 6p.m.-6:30p.m.<br />
The Family Village Inn, 144 South Main Street<br />
Waynesville OH 45068<br />
Submitting A Meeting Notice<br />
Issue: Spring 2012<br />
Last Day to Submit Notice: April 2, 2012<br />
Earliest 15-day Meeting Date: May 21, 2012<br />
Issue: Summer 2012<br />
Last Day to Submit Notice: July 9, 2012<br />
Earliest 15-day Meeting Date: Sept. 27, 2012<br />
Issue: Fall 2012<br />
Last Day to Submit Notice: Sept. 24, 2012<br />
Earliest 15-day Meeting Date: Nov. 12, 2012<br />
Meeting and election notices should be mailed to IT Secretary Sha Cone<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> 390 Worthington Rd., Suite A, Westerville, OH 43082,<br />
faxed to 614-865-4032. To schedule online, go<br />
to www.ocsea.org/meetingnotices<br />
CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY: Per the subordinate body Constitution Article VI,<br />
Section 8: “Circumstances such as receipt of workers’ compensation<br />
benefits, disability benefits, assignment to project staff, etc. may affect<br />
your eligibility to run for office in this election. If you are considering<br />
running for any office, executive board, or a delegate position, please<br />
contact <strong>OCSEA</strong> central office prior to the nomination date.”<br />
Just-In Time courses<br />
available near you<br />
To help meet the needs of our very geographically diverse<br />
membership and those who keep work schedules around<br />
the clock, the <strong>OCSEA</strong> Education Department has developed<br />
the Just-In-Time course option.<br />
If you and the members you work with — or live near — want<br />
to take a class but can't attend one already scheduled (see page<br />
17), you may request to schedule one in your area at a time that<br />
works best for you and your membership. Contact Judi Ayers at<br />
614-865-2656 or 800-266-5615, ext. 2656.<br />
Some Just-In-Time courses include Basic and Advanced<br />
Steward Training, Chapter Leadership, Financial Management<br />
Training, Communication Skills, Contracting In, Layoffs, Fired<br />
for Facebook, History of <strong>OCSEA</strong> and the Labor Movement and<br />
much more. Find these and more at ocsea.org/education.<br />
Version 1<br />
18 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
It's time<br />
to apply!<br />
2012 Les Best Scholarship Fund<br />
The <strong>OCSEA</strong> Les Best Scholarship Fund continues to grant<br />
educational financial-assistance awards to active dues-paying<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> members, their dependent children and spouses.<br />
Yearly, eight to ten scholarships are awarded totalling $12,000.<br />
Members who apply can also be considered for one of two<br />
$250 Pat Callanan-Castro Memorial Book Scholarships.<br />
Deadline to apply is April 30, 2012.<br />
Dependents’ College/Vocational<br />
Scholarship<br />
For students entering or already enrolled in a college,<br />
university technical, trade or vocational school full time<br />
– four $2,000 scholarship.<br />
Members’<br />
College<br />
Scholarship<br />
For members who are<br />
full-time or part-time<br />
undergraduate students<br />
or who will begin studies<br />
in the fall – either two<br />
$1,000 awards or four<br />
$500 awards.<br />
Members who apply<br />
for this category will also<br />
be considered for the Pat<br />
Callanan-Castro Memorial<br />
Book Scholarship – two<br />
$250 awards.<br />
Memorial Book<br />
Scholarship<br />
NOW $250<br />
Spouses’<br />
College<br />
Scholarship<br />
For undergraduate<br />
students who are<br />
entering or already<br />
enrolled full time or<br />
part time in a college/<br />
university or technical<br />
school, and are<br />
beginning studies in<br />
the fall – either two<br />
$1,000 awards or<br />
four $500 awards.<br />
2012<br />
Les Best Scholarship Fund<br />
Apply online or download<br />
applications at<br />
ocsea.org/lesbest<br />
or call<br />
800-266-5615, ext. 4777<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 19
Giving Thanks,<br />
Giving Back<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> activists had a lot to be grateful for this holiday<br />
season. And to say thank you for the support<br />
Ohio voters gave them around Issue 2/SB 5, they<br />
gave back to the people of Ohio in a big way!<br />
In December, We Are Ohio, the umbrella group that<br />
includes <strong>OCSEA</strong>, gave generous donations of $10,000 each<br />
to Toys for Tots and the Second Harvest Food Bank. <strong>OCSEA</strong>'s<br />
Chap. 2597 President Leonard Moore presented the check to<br />
the food bank, and teacher of<br />
the year Maureen Reedy gave a<br />
check to Toys for Tots.<br />
Many <strong>OCSEA</strong> subordinate<br />
bodies also stepped up to help<br />
their communities. Richland Correctional,<br />
Chap. 7021 collected 40 cases of turkeys<br />
and donated them to the Salvation<br />
Army and worthy organizations in the<br />
Mansfield area. Medina Chap. 5200<br />
donated money to Toys for Tots and<br />
to their county home for seniors. Dixie<br />
Chap. 4220 in Mount Vernon collected<br />
gifts for a teen program called “Turn the Tide”<br />
and manned a local food drive. And, District 6 continued<br />
their history of giving by making sure the kids at St. Stephens<br />
Community Center in Columbus had a brighter holiday with<br />
gifts and donations.<br />
Members of Dixie Chap. 4220 hold a holiday food drive in<br />
their Mount Vernon community.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> activist Leonard Moore (far right) presents<br />
a check for $10,000 to the Second Harvest Food<br />
Bank on behalf of We Are Ohio and the workers<br />
it represented.<br />
Serving<br />
those<br />
who<br />
serve<br />
us<br />
Members<br />
of District 4 in<br />
Northeast Ohio<br />
recently helped<br />
make some veterans<br />
days a little brighter by<br />
donating to the Friends<br />
in Stitches project. Friends in<br />
Stitches in Malvern, Ohio made<br />
over 500 red, white and bluethemed<br />
lap quilts for veterans at<br />
the Cleveland VA Medical Center.<br />
Each label says “Thank you for<br />
serving our country.”<br />
To donate, contact<br />
Kathie Eckels at 330-863-0002.<br />
20 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
ut not giving up<br />
On Nov. 28, 2011,<br />
Cooper Tire &<br />
Rubber Co. locked<br />
out 1,050 members of USW<br />
Local 207L in Findlay, Ohio.<br />
These men and women offered<br />
to stay on the job as contract<br />
negotiations moved forward,<br />
just as they had in the past,<br />
but the company refused and<br />
kicked its longtime workers to<br />
the curb.<br />
In prior negotiations, members<br />
of USW Local 207L gave<br />
up $30 million in pay and other<br />
benefits to help Cooper Tire.<br />
The sacrifice ultimately paid<br />
off and returned the company<br />
to profitability. But instead of<br />
rewarding its employees when<br />
times were good, Cooper used<br />
its $300 million in profits last<br />
year to pay its executives millions<br />
of dollars in bonuses and<br />
to buy a new corporate jet.<br />
Meanwhile, Cooper workers<br />
got locked out and replacement<br />
workers got their jobs.<br />
Dave Nye, a 25-year<br />
employee with Cooper Tire<br />
said the mood is still good on<br />
the picket line, despite starting<br />
the third month of the lock out.<br />
“Having unemployment helps<br />
but, right now, employees need<br />
everything. We feed picketers<br />
and we burn a lot of wood,”<br />
said Nye.<br />
This holiday season, <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
members helped support<br />
Cooper union workers,<br />
just as those workers showed<br />
their solidarity with public<br />
sector unions during the SB 5<br />
fight. <strong>OCSEA</strong> members and staff<br />
collected wood, coats, food,<br />
toys and checks to help locked<br />
out workers and their families<br />
have a better holiday.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> continues to collect<br />
food and other items. Checks<br />
made out to Local 207L can<br />
be sent to:<br />
Local 207L, 1130 Summit St.,<br />
Findlay, OH 45840.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Pres. Christopher Mabe presents donations to the locked<br />
out workers of Cooper Tire in December.<br />
The extra mile...<br />
“I buy extra gifts throughout the year for friends<br />
and family, and this year I gave money to my<br />
family, instead of gifts. I thought, ‘What am I going<br />
to do with these gifts?’ These people at Cooper Tire<br />
can use it instead of sitting in my basement. <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
had already sent the items up that they had collected.<br />
I thought, I’m not doing anything on Christmas<br />
Eve. So, I called the board members of our chapter.<br />
We only had $500 in our account, because we had<br />
wiped out our account on SB 5. But we gave $200.”<br />
Saturday morning I got up at 7 a.m., got in<br />
my car, got some coffee. It was dark when I left. I<br />
stopped by one of the picket areas and asked where<br />
their union hall was. I drove in and the guys seemed<br />
to be in high spirits. For being off work, they looked<br />
in good spirits, but it was bittersweet. I gave them<br />
some Christmas gifts<br />
and some money<br />
and I left. It felt good.”<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> activists<br />
support<br />
Cooper Tire<br />
workers on<br />
the picket line<br />
in Findlay.<br />
Tim Hunstman<br />
IC Chapter 2525<br />
District 6 delegate<br />
chapter steward<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly 21
Contract road shows offer glimpse into historic contract<br />
To help <strong>OCSEA</strong> chapters prepare for the ratification process<br />
in early December, <strong>OCSEA</strong> officers, bargaining team<br />
members and staff traveled to every <strong>OCSEA</strong> district to<br />
discuss the first-ever, agreed-upon contract extension.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Pres. Christopher Mabe and the team talked about what<br />
exactly this contract is worth to <strong>OCSEA</strong> members and their families<br />
and thanked activists for their efforts to repeal SB 5 – which gave<br />
the union the strength to bargain such an historic contract.<br />
See pages 4-5 for more on the historic contract extension.<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> officers Pres.<br />
Christopher Mabe (left),<br />
Vice Pres. Kelvin Jones<br />
(below right) and Sec’y-<br />
Treas. Kathy Stewart (below<br />
left) traveled the state over<br />
a two-week period to lay<br />
out the details of an historic<br />
contract extension.<br />
At nine road<br />
shows around<br />
the state, including<br />
in Athens (left)<br />
and Youngstown<br />
(above), leaders go<br />
over the extended<br />
contract to take<br />
information back to<br />
their membership.<br />
Members in Mansfield take part in a<br />
Q&A session on the contract.<br />
Activists from the Northwest Developmental Center give a<br />
thumbs up to ratifying the contract.<br />
Learning about <strong>OCSEA</strong>’s contract with the state is a family<br />
affair in Cleveland.<br />
22 Public Employee Quarterly Winter 2012
Going above the<br />
call of duty<br />
Kudos goes out to<br />
two Ohio Dept.<br />
of Transportation<br />
employees who helped save<br />
a Carroll County family in<br />
late January. While the two<br />
Highway Technicians were<br />
on their late night shift, they<br />
detected a barn engulfed in<br />
flames. The blaze was so hot,<br />
it was threatening nearby<br />
homes. The heroes went to<br />
the scene and immediately<br />
woke the family and notified<br />
the fire department before<br />
the fire could spread to the<br />
family’s home and neighboring<br />
properties. Bob Griffith<br />
and John Beckley were commended<br />
by fire officials,<br />
ODOT and the local newspaper<br />
in New Philadelphia,<br />
the Times Reporter, for their<br />
heroics and quick, life-saving<br />
actions.<br />
“We’re so proud of these<br />
guys. We do a lot of good<br />
in ODOT and this is just<br />
another example of that,”<br />
said Carroll County Assistant<br />
Transportation Manager Ken<br />
Manfull.<br />
“We’re definitely going<br />
to nominate these men for<br />
a Total ODOT Performance<br />
(TOPs) Award for their heroism.<br />
They saved lives and we<br />
couldn’t be prouder,” said<br />
Chap. 1000 President Sabrina<br />
Bell.<br />
Know of other acts of<br />
heroism, charitable giving or<br />
just plain kindness by <strong>OCSEA</strong><br />
members? Tell us about it at<br />
doneill@ocsea.org.<br />
John Beckley (left) and Bob Griffith (right), ODOT Highway<br />
Technicians, have a lot to be happy about. They recently saved a<br />
family from a fire that could have claimed their home and lives.<br />
You made<br />
history.<br />
Now you can<br />
Preserve it.<br />
Were you involved in the fight<br />
to keep public employee<br />
collective bargaining rights<br />
alive in Ohio? Now you can remember the<br />
historic movement forever with a commemorative<br />
poster. Through photos, the large We<br />
Made History poster details the fight against<br />
Senate Bill 5 and Issue 2 – from the State House<br />
to the voting booth.<br />
Get your very own today at<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> headquarters at<br />
390 Worthington Rd. Ste. A,<br />
Westerville OH 43082 or contact your<br />
<strong>OCSEA</strong> Staff Representative.<br />
Winter 2012 Public Employee Quarterly rly 23
LOCAL<br />
AFL-CIO<br />
Ohio Civil Service<br />
Employees Association<br />
390 Worthington Road, Ste. A<br />
Westerville, OH 43082-8331<br />
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE QUARTERLY<br />
COVER STORY<br />
War on<br />
workers:<br />
What will the<br />
next fight be?<br />
W i n t E R 2 0 1 2<br />
feature stories<br />
2<br />
Keeping SB5 momentum<br />
going —in 2012<br />
4-5<br />
departments<br />
3<br />
17<br />
18<br />
FROM THE PRESIDENT<br />
STEWARD SPOTLIGHT<br />
MEETING NOTICES<br />
6-7<br />
ROCKY ROADS<br />
and Victories<br />
8-9<br />
War on workers<br />
continues...<br />
10<br />
20-21<br />
Giving Thanks,<br />
Giving Back