OCSEA Convention kicks off Aug. 22-24

VOL. 23 • ISSUE 4 May 31, 2013
OCSEA Convention kicks off Aug. 22-24
Delegate/alternate registration deadline is Aug. 2!
OCSEA’s 30 th Biennial Convention will be held August
22-24 at the Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland.
The convention theme is “Union Strong and Moving
Forward.” In addition to celebrating 30 OCSEA conventions, the
event will also commemorate OCSEA’s 75 th Anniversary.
For more on the convention, visit ocsea.org/convention.
REGISTRATION
The Convention Call has been mailed to all delegates
and alternates. Included with that Call was a white delegate
registration form and yellow alternate registration form. All
registration forms must be returned to OCSEA central office no
later than 5 p.m. on Aug. 2, 2013 and must be accompanied
by a check for the appropriate amount. The convention
registration fee is $70 per delegate/alternate.
Delegates and alternates are encouraged to send in their
forms sooner than Aug. 2, if possible, in order for central office
to facilitate the processing of registration forms and to finalize
the appointment of convention committees.
Registrations received after Aug. 2 will be considered late.
Late delegates, with the exception of automatic delegates,
will not be seated until after the Credentials Committee has
made its report and the convention delegates have voted to
approve late delegates for seating. To resolve a late status and
to be issued a delegate badge to gain access to the convention
floor, delegates must check in with the Credentials Committee
immediately upon arriving at the convention beginning Wed.
Aug. 21.
OCSEA celebrates 75 years
at Working Family Festival
Mark your
calendars! On July 20,
OCSEA will once
again honor its
activists with a
day dedicated
to them and
their families at the OCSEA
Working Families Festival.
OCSEA will also be celebrating 75 years of fighting hard for
the middle class. The event will begin at noon at OCSEA
Headquarters.
In addition to music, food and tons of fun activities, the
Union Benefits Trust will hold an Open House and health
fair to celebrate 20 years of quality services to unionrepresented
State of Ohio employees.
Stay tuned to ocsea.org/workingfamfest for information
on registration, speakers and the annual Children’s Recognition
Program, which honors the children and grandchildren of
OCSEA activists.
Activists interested in volunteering should contact the
OCSEA Education Dept. at 800-266-5615, ext. 2656.
LODGING
Lodging will be at the
Renaissance Cleveland
Hotel, 24 Public Square,
Cleveland, Ohio 44113.
For reservations, contact
the hotel directly at 216-
696-5600. Room rates are
$139 for single, double
and triple occupancy.
To receive the OCSEA
rate, the hotel reservation
deadline is July 30.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Included with each paid registration is an event ticket to one
of two events on Friday evening, Aug. 23:
GOODTIME III Party Cruise – Choose this event and receive
one ticket for an adult only, two-hour cruise on the GOODTIME
III, Cleveland’s largest sight-seeing vessel. Boarding begins at
5:30 p.m. with food buffet and drinks available.
Cleveland Indians Baseball Game – Choose this event and
receive one ticket to watch the Cleveland Indians play the
Minnesota Twins. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. Make a stop at
the concessions for a Dollar Dog and stay after for fireworks.
Additional tickets can be purchased for $25. Limit requests
to three additional tickets per family for the baseball game and
one additional ticket for the cruise. With the exception of sold
out events, all ticket purchases are non-refundable. No changes
or refunds will be made after Aug. 9.
Family Fun Coupons are
online at ocsea.org/extras
Summer is here, and so are the OCSEA/AFSCME Family
Fun discounts for 2013!
Grab the family, load up the car and have a great summer
with some super members-only rates to summer fun
destinations. Enjoy discounted rates for King’s Island, Cedar
Point, Geauga Lake’s Wildwater Kingdom, The Columbus Zoo
and Aquarium and the Cincinnati and Toledo zoos.
The discounts are available at ocsea.org/extras and are
for OCSEA members only (Other AFSCME Ohio Affiliates are
also eligible for the discounts and should contact their unions
directly).
To access the discounts and to get instructions for
downloading or purchasing tickets online for a discounted
price, members must log in to or create a new MyOCSEA user
account. Members can create a new account by clicking the
“Need to create an account?” link (right top) at ocsea.org.
Members must provide their first and last name, home zip code
and state agency as well as a personal email address and a
password of their choosing.
After creating an account, members can log on using their
email address and password to access these discounts along
with other members-only benefits on the OCSEA website.

May 31, 2013
VOL. 23 • ISSUE 4
Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
AFSCME • Local 11 • AFL-CIO
390 Worthington Road, Ste. A
Westerville, OH 43082-8331
OCSEA Convention kicks off Aug. 22-24
OCSEA celebrates 75 years at Working Family Festival
Family Fun Coupons are online
Tell communities: SCRTW is misleading
Medicaid expansion would help all agencies
AFSCME Next Wave Conference is July 12-14
AFSCME Women’s Conference is Sept. 20-22
AFL-CIO/United Way campaign kicks off June 18
Tell communities: SCRTW is misleading
Take action! If OCSEA activists learned anything from the fight against
Senate Bill 5 and other attacks on workers, it’s that public employees all have a
story to tell –– including how collective bargaining helps members do their jobs
even better and gives them a right to speak up about issues, like safety on the
job, that ultimately benefit communities.
OCSEA members are urged to take part in OCSEA’s letter-to-the-editor
campaign against So-called “Right to Work” and tell their stories to their
communities about the important work they do. Taking away the freedom to
collectively bargain will make it so much harder to serve communities.
So-called “Right to Work” isn’t what it seems – it’s wrong for workers and bad
for the middle class. The name is totally misleading. Current law already protects
freedoms to find a job and choose for yourself whether to join a union. SCRTW
will reduce individual freedoms and take away rights at work, not the other way
around.
Visit ocsea.org/
speakup to write
your local paper.
Actvisists attending a
POWR meeting near
Sandusky join OCSEA
Pres. Chris Mabe to
speak out against
So-called “Right
to Work.”
Medicaid expansion would help all agencies
In a recent blog, OCSEA President Christopher Mabe encouraged OCSEA
activists to reach out to targeted legislators asking them to support Medicaid
expansion. The budget proposal to expand Medicaid under the federal
Affordable Care Act would extend health care coverage to 275,000 Ohioans.
Despite the clear benefits, the expansion provision continues to be used as a
political football. More conservative members of the Republican Party reject it,
while others like Kasich and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce support it. OCSEA
supports it because it supports OCSEA members and the jobs they do!
“Over a seven-year period, Medicaid expansion would infuse more than
$13 billion into the State of Ohio budget for funding mental health and
developmental disability services, DR&C medical costs and many other statefunded
programs,” wrote Mabe. “Without it, state budgets could be forced to
take more drastic cuts than already proposed under Gov. Kasich’s budget.”
Mabe continues: “Without the federal money, state departments will be
forced to come up with $404 million more dollars to fund their agencies.”
To read the Medicaid expansion post in its entirety, visit President Mabe’s
blog at ocsea.blogspot.com. Take action at ocsea.org.
Save the Dates!
AFSCME Next Wave Conference – July 12-14
Have a chapter or subordinate body member who is a new or young OCSEA
activist and wants to get more involved in growing the labor movement for
years to come? OCSEA encourages subordinate bodies to send their Next Wave
leaders and other up-and-coming activists to AFSCME International’s Next
Wave Conference in July.
The special event will take place July 12 through July 14 at the Marriott
Detroit Renaissance Center in Detroit, MI. Pre-registration begins Thursday
evening, July 11. The conference opens Friday morning with registration and a
labor history tour of Detroit. General session will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
Transportation – One way cab fare: Approx. $40. AFSCME is in the process of
arranging discounted shuttle service.
Lodging – Guest Rate: Single/Double Occupancy: $171.35 inclusive of taxes.
Child Care – The event will be providing child care during General Session
and Workshop hours (must register for child care as part of the conference
registration).
Visit afscme.org/nextwave for registration information, a draft agenda
and updates.
AFSCME Women’s Conference – Sept. 20-22
The annual AFSCME Women’s Conference will be take place Sept. 20
through Sept. 22 in Denver, CO. The event will he held at the Hyatt Regency
Denver Convention Center.
Lodging – Room Rates (includes 14.75% taxes) are single/double: $170.98,
triple: $199.67, quad: $228.35.
Transportation – One-way “flat rate” taxi to hotel is typically $54.50; Oneway
Super Shuttle is $22 (this does not include AFSCME’s 10% discount).
Child Care – The event will be providing child care during General Session
and Workshop hours (must register for child care as part of the conference
registration).
Visit afscme.org/members/events-calendar for information on
registration and other updates.
AFL-CIO/United Way campaign kicks off June 18
Plan to join the Central Ohio AFL-CIO Labor Council for the AFL-CIO/United
Way campaign kick-off luncheon. The event will spotlight the AFL-CIO’s
continued commitment to the United Way of Central Ohio’s programs. Learn of
the long-standing AFL-CIO/UWCO partnership from labor leadership and how to
support the services available through UWCO programs.
What: AFL-CIO/United Way campaign kick-off luncheon
When: Tues. June 18
Time: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (lunch provided)
Location: Central Ohio AFL-CIO,1545 Alum Creek Dr., Columbus
RSVP: By June 7 to Tina Ferner, 614-227-2724,
or email tina.ferner@uwcentralohio.org