It’s time to go back to school with the OAPSE Higher Education Program!

As an OAPSE member, you can attend Eastern Gateway Community College Online FOR FREE!

Don’t delay! Classes start October 15, so get started on your application by clicking here.

The OAPSE Higher Education program has provided nearly $2 million in scholarships to help nearly 800 members and their family members pursue their education—with no out-of-pocket cost!

Take one class or go full time. Your family can use this benefit, too—even if they don’t live with you– and there’s no limit on how many people can use it. The OAPSE Higher Education Program is designed to help working students like you.

NOW OFFERING classes in Information Technology, Labor Studies and more!

For all the information you need to research your next move or apply online, click here today or go to www.oapseeducation.org

National Voter Registration Day was a huge success with thousands of Ohioans adding themselves to the voter roles in Ohio and across the country.

But if you missed out on September 25, you can still register to vote — and it’s always a good time to make sure your voter information is current with the Ohio Secretary of State.

October 9 is the deadline to register and be eligible to vote in the November 6 general election, and early voting starts on October 10.

So, now is the time to take care of business and ensure your voter registration information is valid and that you can vote this year. After all, the future for workers and our families in on the ballot, and this election really matters.

To check your registration, click here.

Scroll to I am a resident of Ohio.

Then, you can register to vote; check your registration information; or get absentee ballot information so you can vote from home before Election Day.

If you are registered, you will be directed to a page that lists your polling location, and you can even get directions. And if you have to update your voting address, you can do that online. But remember, any changes and updates must be made by October 9!

The leadership of OAPSE has endorsed candidates who share the concerns of our members. To find out more about OAPSE-endorsed candidates, click here to login to the myOAPSE section of the website. Under Issues and Politics, you will find Endorsements. Click there to read about who we endorsed and why.

If you want more information about your vote, you can also visit www.vote.org.

As we mark Labor Day 2018, some good news for unions from Gallup: 62 percent of Americans view unions favorably. That’s the highest favorability rating for unions since 2003.

“This comes at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court is ruling against unions and when so-called right-to-work laws are being proposed in Ohio and passed in other states, so organized workers are appreciating the roles of unions and what we do to impact wages, benefits and working conditions,” said Joe Rugola, executive director of OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4.

To read in detail about the Gallup poll results, click here.

But these numbers also reflect what AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls “waves of collective action” such as the recent victory in Missouri, where voters stood with union members and overwhelmingly rejected a right-to-work ballot initiative.

See the new @AFLCIO tv ad on air now —> Brothers and sisters it’s time. We’re rising. We’re winning. Join a Union! #1u pic.twitter.com/xSvz6ZvtTU

— Richard L. Trumka (@RichardTrumka) August 20, 2018

In 2017, the right-to-work law passed Missouri’s Republican Legislature and was signed by then-Gov. Eric Greitens. In response, unions gathered enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot as a statewide referendum, effectively killing the law pending the outcome of the election. The rejection of Proposition A — by a margin of 67-33 — effectively kills the law.

“We had our own issue here with Senate Bill 5 just a few years ago, when the Ohio legislature tried to gut our collective bargaining rights and weaken our unions and our voices at work. Public- and private-sector union members from across Ohio joined together and spoke with one voice against the Republican-led legislature. We collected 1.3 million signatures, put Issue 2 on the ballot, and then won on election day by a margin of 62-38,” Rugola said.

Since that historic referendum in 2011, organized labor in Ohio has remained united, and unions are working hard to elect candidates who “support workers and our right to belong to our unions,” said Rugola, who is chairing the Ohio AFL-CIO Labor 2018 political program.

Thousands of union members are participating in rallies, knocking on doors, making phone calls and having one-on-one conversations with co-workers, family, neighbors and friends about the importance of voting this fall.

“Of course, it’s important that union members support the candidates who support labor unions, our members and our issues. Rich Cordray and Betty Sutton top the list of those candidates. They are proven champions of working families, and we are committed to electing them and the entire ticket of pro-union candidates,” he said.

For a complete list of OAPSE endorsements, click here.

To find out how you can help elect pro-union candidates, click here to visit the Ohio AFL-CIO Facebook page.

And be sure to take some time this weekend to celebrate Labor Day, the trade union movement and all of those who came before us and helped build the middle class.

In the latest update on the scandal involving the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a 4-2 decision that the Ohio Department of Education was legally allowed to require ECOT to produce student computer log-in records in order to verify enrollment.

The ruling affirms OAPSE’s position that ECOT shouldn’t be able to collect tax dollars for students who rarely — if ever — turn on their computers. ECOT should have had to show that students were engaged and learning in order to get school funding. And ECOT should have been held to the same standards all other Ohio schools are.

“This really is the biggest scandal to hit Ohio taxpayers in decades. Public schools all over the state were forced to send money to EOCT — robbing their treasuries of money that could have been used to better educate students and fund critical programs,” said OAPSE Executive Director Joe Rugola.

The lack of oversight of ECOT and the problems that resulted are starting to come to light after ECOT was forced to shut down and ordered to pay $80 million back to the state. According to the Dispatch:

Starting in 2016, the Department of Education has ordered ECOT to repay $80 million for unverified enrollment over two years, after finding that a number of students were logging in far less than the 920 hours of instruction required by the state. ECOT sued, arguing that the department improperly changed the rules, illegally basing state funding on student participation, which is not the standard for traditional schools.

“The Ohio Supreme Court decision is a first step in holding ECOT accountable. The next step is to hold accountable all the office holders who took campaign donations from ECOT and its founder, Bill Lager, and then turned a blind eye to all the shenanigans going on. Students were harmed. Families were harmed. Not just because money was diverted from public schools. But because ECOT took hundreds of millions of dollars and didn’t educate the students in their charge. It’s criminal,” Rugola said.

To read the entire Dispatch story on the Ohio Supreme Court decision, click here.

To find out all about the ECOT scandal, including how much your legislators took from ECOT over the years, click here.

We’ll give you a head start on the research and let you know that since 2010, the Mike DeWine/Jon Husted duo that is running for governor and lieutenant governor, received $52,517 in ECOT contributions. Rich Cordray and Betty Sutton received none.

 

This year’s elections are critical for OAPSE members and all Ohioans. So, it’s important to make sure you are registered to vote.

Many OAPSE members vote in every election, so those voters should be fine. Although, it’s always worth checking to make sure you are on the voter rolls and to confirm your voting location, as polling places have changed over the last few years.

But if you have moved or haven’t voted in a few elections, it is a good idea to make sure your voter information is current and that you have not been purged by the Ohio Secretary of State. He has wiped thousands of Ohioans off the voter rolls because they don’t vote in every election, and those voters don’t even know they are not eligible to cast ballots until they show up on Election Day and are turned away.

Don’t let that happen to you! Make sure you are registered to vote and that all your information is current. You can quickly check by clicking here and following the prompts.

The voter registration deadline for the November 6 general election is Tuesday, October 9. But don’t wait. Click on the link above today and check your registration.

If you are not listed, click here to be directed to the voter registration section of the secretary of state’s website.

Make sure your voice is heard this fall. Make sure you are registered to vote!