Jackie Leisure has worked in the child nutrition department at Canton City Schools for 32 years. She takes great pride in her job – providing healthy breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks to the hundreds of students at Canton McKinley High School. Jackie knows that some students rely on her and her coworkers for the only meals they get during the day. “Hungry students can’t learn or be at their best. That’s why we are here: to give them good, nutritious food that tastes good and helps fuel them, so they can achieve at their highest levels. It’s important work, and I am proud to do it.”

Jackie is also proud of her union – Local 609. She’s been a member since 1987. “My union has always been there for me and fought for me. Because of our union contract, short-hour workers like me have good wages and benefits. I’m union strong all the way.”

Jackie is vice president of her local union; executive board alternate from East Central District; and district treasurer.

Jackie Leisure knows the value of being a union member. She is sticking with her union!

To see and hear more from Jackie, click on the video below. And check out our posts on Facebook and Twitter!

Lois Carson has been a secretary at Columbus City Schools for 32 years. Her union has been there for her every step of the way with negotiated pay raises, health insurance, strong contract language — and most importantly for her — sick leave that allowed her to care for her husband when he was gravely ill.

“Before my husband died, he was sick for two years, and I was his caregiver. Without the protection of my union contract at Columbus City Schools, I might have had to choose between quitting my job to care for him or choosing a nursing home. Because of my benefits, he was able to stay home until the end. Now that he is gone, my union wages mean I can support myself. I value my union, and I would never leave it. I’m sticking with my union!” Carson said.

She currently works at the Department of Higher Education, located at Columbus International High School and serves as OAPSE State Vice President and president of the Columbus School Employees Association (CSEA).

“We have over 3,200 Columbus City Schools employees in CSEA, and every one of them values our union contract for a different reason. For me, our contract meant I could care for my husband when he needed me most. That meant everything to me.”

Learn more about Lois by watching the video below. And remember to join her in Sticking With My Union Day on May 22. Wear your sticker and show your solidarity with your union sisters and brothers. Together, you are the union!

Over the last year, our union has faced many challenges in Ohio and across the country. In spite of the obstacles put before us by the courts, some employers, and the anti-union organizations which promote so-called right to work, OAPSE membership continues to grow stronger every day.

In fact, 3,055 new members have signed up since July 2018 because they know the many benefits of being a part of OAPSE. The Janus case at the U.S. Supreme Court was supposed to destroy our union and others like it. Instead, nearly a year later, more and more OAPSE members are committed to staying with and growing our union.

As a way to publicly display our union solidarity, we have set Wednesday, May 22, “Sticking With My Union Day.” Your local officers have been sent stickers we would like you to wear as you show that you are OAPSE Proud and Union Strong!

Please help us send this message to our members and to your non-union coworkers by distributing these stickers and bumper stickers on May 22 and asking members to wear them that day.

Also, our public affairs team is asking that you send pictures and short video clips of OAPSE members wearing the stickers and/or placing the stickers on each other so we can post to our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. You can do that by texting Kathy Malone at 614-499-6797 or Todd Rensi at 614-332-5850.

Thank you for your work over the last year building our union. And thank you for “Sticking with Our Union!”

When President Buck Cottrell and the new leadership team of OAPSE Local 391 at New Philadelphia City Schools were elected, they were looking for a fresh start for their local. After a period of membership decline, the local membership was at its lowest level in years. Few members came to meetings.

“Over time, people thought their voices weren’t always heard and they sometimes didn’t feel represented,” Cottrell said.

They aimed to turn things around. About a year ago, Local 391 members elected Cottrell; Vice President Jan Herron; Treasurer Tiffini Gaskill; and re-elected Secretary Barbara Sickinger.

“The first thing we asked ourselves is, ‘What can we do to make things better, to involve the members more, and to build trust,’” said Cottrell, a 37-year member of the Steelworkers until his plant closed in 2015 and left him and 175 other union members without their jobs.

He is now a bus driver for New Philly schools. Herron represents maintenance/custodians. Gaskill brings her expertise as a paraprofessional to the group. And Sickinger works in food service and gives a strong voice to her coworkers in the kitchen. Even though they come from different departments, they all work as a team to represent everyone in the local.

“Our goal is to do the best for everyone – for the whole,” said Herron. “So even though I may know the contract language for my department inside and out, that doesn’t mean they are the only people I look out for. We all bring to the table our skills and our knowledge and desire to do whatever we can for our members – wherever they work.”

The four started a one-on-one membership drive, and at their first general membership meeting, they signed up seven new people. And they have signed up a total of 16 new members, mostly through individual conversations about what the union is and the power that numbers bring.

Their secret? No secrets! The four communicate daily. They have set up a group text to stay in touch. And they rely on each other as a group to solve problems.

“Really, I think our actions speak louder than words,” Gaskill said. “We try to involve everyone and get their opinions and ideas. And that has paid off.”

Sickinger agreed.

“We have four true leaders, and I have learned so much from all of them. I know we have made a real difference, and I am very proud of that,” she said.

Cottrell said that with each new member comes a new sense of a tighter community and of strength.

“I’ve been a union member for 40 years, so I know what a union can do to make a difference and to give you power. We are building this local to represent our members and give them a real voice at work. We will always listen. And we will always do our best.”

 

 

 

 

 

Update April 16, 2019

Striking members of OAPSE Local 390 at Claymont City Schools are headed back to work after spring break. Union members voted 2-1 to approve a contract. The Claymont School Board also voted to approve the new agreement.

Local 390 extends its sincere appreciation to all the OAPSE members who joined them at the picket sites; at the march and rally; and in solidarity with the donations of wood, straw, food and money, all of which really helped during their month away from work and paychecks.  A BIG THANKS to all the members, locals and districts who stood with Local 390 and helped them win a new contract and return to work.

UPDATE APRIL 9, 2019

Hundreds of Local 390 members, teachers, and community supporters marched and rallied in the streets of Uhrichsville and Dennison to demand fairness, dignity and respect from the administration of Claymont City Schools. They urged the school board and administration to come back to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair contract. Local 390 members were joined on stage by elected officials, union leaders and clergy, all of whom called on management to start talking again with union leadership so an agreement can be reached. The members of Local 390 have gone two years without a contract, and they just want to get back to the kids they love.

See below for videos on the strike and of the rally and march.

 

Click here for coverage of the march and rally in the local newspaper.

 

UPDATE April 5, 2019!!

OAPSE filed a complaint in the Tuscarawas County Court of Common Pleas to halt the use of replacement workers by the school district.

A hearing is set for Friday, April 5 at 1:30 p.m.

The judge did not reach a decision on April 5 and has ordered briefs to be filed in the coming weeks. We will keep you posted on progress!

OAPSE members of Local 390 at Claymont City Schools are standing strong and united after being forced off the job at midnight on March  21. The 84 strikers have been working without a contract for almost two years. They have been in mediation, trying to get a new contract. But management delivered an unacceptable last/best offer last week, and they had no choice but to strike.

Local 390 members are on the picket line for fairness in wages and insurance, among other issues. President Jim Maxwell and the 84 local union members were on the seven picket lines starting at midnight on March 21 and are determined to win justice for their members.

“We are on strike after working almost two years without a contract. This is about basic fairness and about showing management that we are serious about standing up for ourselves. We provide critical services to the students at Claymont City Schools, and we should have the decent wages and benefits that reflect that hard work and dedication,” Maxwell said.

They are thankful for the community support and solidarity. If you are in the Uhrichsville and Dennison areas, you can show your support in person with a honk and a wave. Strikers are standing in solidarity at two sites at the high school; and one site each at the intermediate school, middle school, and Eastport, Part and Trenton elementary schools.

If you are not a neighbor but want to show you stand with Local 390, leave a comment at our social media sites so Local 390 members know you are with them! The members of Local 390 are “Sticking with their Union!”