OAPSE

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A Holiday Season Message from Your Union Leaders

To: OAPSE Members

From: Your State Leadership Team

Re: A Safe and Healthy Holiday Season

Now that we are near the end of the calendar year and the close of our first semester of school, we want to share our thoughts with you on what happened in 2020, what’s ahead in 2021, and just how thankful we are for the opportunity to help lead OAPSE and for the trust you have placed in us.

Our elected team members – Lois, Mike, and Sandy — along with Executive Director Joe Rugola, have been around the union awhile and thought we had seen pretty much everything. But 2020 presented new challenges and obstacles we could never have predicted. The COVID-19 health emergency disrupted every jurisdiction represented by OAPSE – our schools, libraries, community colleges, head start agencies, boards of developmental disabilities and residential services sites. We went from operating as normal and serving the public as usual one day to literally having our jobs – and our lives – completely upended the next.

We heard from members who were scared for their futures and unsure of what effects the COVID-19 health emergency would have on their employment and their families. They wanted reassurance from their union that we would stand with them and fight for them. And we did.

We have experienced a long eight months of uncertainty and challenges. But the one thing that has never been uncertain is that OAPSE is on the job for you. That our union is fighting for your job, your pay, your benefits and your retirement. And we will keep fighting for you during the pandemic and well after. No matter what 2021 brings, you can count on OAPSE.

We will continue to work with state officials and with the school boards, administrators, county commissioners and others who impact your work. We will make sure your voice is heard, your job is secure, and you are safe at work. The OAPSE Executive Board and our staff have always been committed to that end, and they are working harder than ever during this time on your behalf.

That is the pledge we make to you as we near the holiday season and a new year. And it’s the best gift we can give to you as the leaders of your union.

We are thankful for your support of OAPSE leaders and staff. We appreciate you sticking with our union. And we look forward to a brighter tomorrow with an even stronger union in the years to come.

Take a look at the attached video for a message of gratitude and solidarity!

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Improved Free College: Get the Details on Nov. 10 Zoom Call

FREE COLLEGE PROGRAM FOR OAPSE MEMBERS
 
 
Join a Zoom Webinar at 6 p.m. 
Tuesday, November 10th
 
Below is a link to an informational zoom meeting regarding the OAPSE Higher Education Program that will be held Nov 10th at 6pm. This meeting will be hosted by the group that oversees the whole program between unions, Eastern Gateway Community College and Central State University, and will be for any OAPSE members who would like a little more detail than our oapseeducation.org website provides.
Depending on time and how many members take part, there will be a Q & A portion. Feel free to share the link with any members who may have interest. Thanks!

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OAPSE Goes to Court for Local 320 Members

UNION FOR OREGON CITY SCHOOLS CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES FILES IN LUCAS COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS; OAPSE AND LOCAL 320 WANT LAYOFFS TERMINATED AND ALL EMPLOYEES REINSTATED TO FULL EMPLOYMENT

In response to illegal actions taken by Oregon City Schools Superintendent Hal Gregory, Treasurer Jane Fruth, Board President Carol Molnar and the board of education, OAPSE has filed a lawsuit against the Oregon City School District in Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. The Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4) called the actions of the board illegal, immoral, and shameful.

The lawsuit addresses the fact that the school district held secret meetings to lay off 122 bus drivers, librarians, paraprofessionals, monitors and food service workers, who are members of OAPSE Local 320. The board also stripped these employees of their health insurance, even though the employees had paid premiums through September. The board has since reinstated insurance coverage, but costs for employees remain at issue.

The lawsuit seeks an order that the board terminate the layoffs (reductions in force — RIFs), reinstate all affected employees, and ensure that the board honors its commitment to maintain employee health insurance contribution at the pre-RiF levels.

The lawsuit details the illegal actions of the board of education, superintendent and treasurer; chiefly that they violated Ohio’s public meetings law by taking actions at meetings that were not properly noticed to the public and did not give the public an opportunity to participate.

OAPSE also makes the case that Ohio law specifically states that school employees must be paid during a health calamity; that no financial reasons exist for the RIFs; that the union and employees offered to participate in the Shared Works program, which was created by the state of Ohio to share costs; and that the cancellation/changes to health insurance during a global health epidemic were cruel and caused undue hardship to employees.

OAPSE Director of Legal Services Tom Drabick said the board of education and administration took actions they did not have to, and that those actions dramatically affected the lives of 122 employees.

“OAPSE tried to avoid filing this lawsuit. However, the board of education has acted illegally and without justification. The RIFs should have been avoided, and the union intends to protect the interests of the affected employees,” Drabick said.

The union has asked the court for a temporary restraining order to invalidate the RIFs and return all the affected workers to full employment in accordance with Ohio law.

A hearing has been set for Thursday, September 24, at 9 a.m. with Judge Linda Jennings.

 

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OAPSE Backs Members Heading Back to School

To: OAPSE Members

From: Executive Director Joe Rugola

Re: September 15 Update

Summer is over, and schools all over Ohio are reopening – in one form or another. Some school districts have opted to do online-only learning. Some are using a hybrid system of virtual and in-person instruction. And still others decided to bring everyone back into school buildings for the start of this academic year.

No matter how you are going back to school, your union has been fighting to keep you safe on the job and to continue your pay and benefits through the COVID-19 health emergency.

In most cases, OAPSE members are working or are being paid. Our regional directors and field representatives have been meeting with union leaders and management all across Ohio to figure out the best result for the districts and for the employees who provide critical services to students and families. The bottom line is that all of our members want to be working. But if they cannot work because of a calamity such as COVID-19, their pay and benefits should be continued.

Most employers have agreed with us about that and most are working with us to safely transition our members back to work – whenever that happens in their districts.

Unfortunately, we have some notable exceptions – mean-spirited superintendents and school board members who have laid off or furloughed employees instead of finding creative solutions to keep them on the payroll.

Superintendent Hal Gregory and School Board President Carol Molnar at Oregon City Schools near Toledo have been particularly hostile in their actions toward members of OAPSE Local 320. They laid off 122 bus drivers, librarians, paraprofessionals, monitors and food service workers. Initially, they stripped these employees of their insurance, even though premiums had been paid. When the union launched a public awareness campaign and unleashed radio ads, social media posts and robocalls to tell the real story of their heartless and cruel actions, the district backtracked. Their revised plan paid workers for one day per week but increased their insurance premiums to almost $1,500.

OAPSE applied more public pressure, and the district reinstated insurance at the old rates – a big victory for the 122 laid off employees.

But OAPSE is not stopping there. The union’s legal team is ready to file a lawsuit if the employees are not recalled from the layoff. Several grievances and unfair labor practice (ULP) charges are ready to be filed as well. And we will do whatever it takes to get justice for these members of Local 320 – and for any OAPSE member who is treated unjustly.

Perhaps the worst part of this situation is that it didn’t have to be this way. The superintendent and board president wanted it this way.

The district is financially sound, so these layoffs are not for lack of funds. The union tried to negotiate several other scenarios, including the state’s Shared Work program, which would have kept Local 320 members on the job and tied to their insurance benefits. The employer’s answer was that it was too much trouble to figure out the program and implement it.

To make matters worse, the district isn’t really even going to save money through the layoffs because they must pay unemployment costs. Superintendent Gregory and Board President Molnar are just punishing workers because they want to.

This situation is happening in Oregon – but other employers can and have tried similar actions. Be on the lookout for these kinds of despicable acts, and alert your field representative immediately. And know that OAPSE will be there, ready to fight with and for you.