As some of you may have seen on the news, Ohio has been hit with some devastating flooding in recent days, with some of the worst damage centered in New Richmond and Moscow – which are both part of OAPSE Local District 267. As the river recedes, our union brothers and sisters, the many local residents and their children, are all going to need our help with the mass clean-up required to restore their community. Please check back at oapse.org and on social media to learn how you can help in the upcoming weeks.
Rally in Columbus February 24
Join your OAPSE sisters and brothers in Columbus on February 24 to stand for strong unions, fair pay and pensions we can live on.
We will march from the Sheraton Columbus Capitol Square to the Statehouse to send a strong message that all of us deserve the right to join a union and have a real voice at work. We will be marching against the corporate interests who are funding anti-union campaigns and court cases.
As you know, the union movement is under attack by corporations and the super-rich who hold so much power in America today. Part of the effort to weaken us is illustrated by Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, the U.S. Supreme Court case which aims to end agency shop and fair share fees in the public sector.
The Janus case is nothing more than a political ploy designed to undermine our strength at the negotiating table and cut wages, benefits and pensions. Privatization of our members’ jobs will follow on the heels of those cuts and the door will be opened wide for charter schools.
To fight back, our union has declared a National Day of Action for Saturday, February 24, 2018.
Please join us on February 24 and plan to attend this gathering of OAPSE members and other trade unionists who understand that a fair economy needs strong unions to even the playing field.
OAPSE will provide lunch for all OAPSE members and their guests, and parking and mileage for those members who drive.
For more information, contact your regional office or Rob Fantauzzo at 1-800-786-2773. Also, check www.oapse.org for the latest on the rally.
See you in Columbus on Saturday, February 24.
OAPSE SUES SERS TO HALT THREE-YEAR COLA FREEZE
Our Union has sued SERS over the 3-Year COLA freeze imposed on nearly 80,000 retired school employees. Below is the news release that explains the lawsuit. And you can read the lawsuit by clicking the link at the end.
Executive Director Joe Rugola said the OAPSE leadership made the decision to sue because our union is committed to “always fight for what is best for our members. We have been very clear about our position on these COLA cuts and freezes. Hundreds of our members rallied at SERS this summer. We called. We sent postcards. We attended board of trustee meetings, and we had numerous conversations with the trustees. Unfortunately, the SERS board of trustees ignored our members’ voices. We had no choice but to go to court to fight for justice for our active and retired members.”
For additional background on OAPSE’s fight to protect pensions, check out our new video below.
OAPSE SUES SERS OVER THREE-YEAR COLA FREEZE TO RETIREES; UNION SAYS PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES PENSION SYSTEM IS PUNISHING LOW-INCOME RETIREES FOLLOWING A HISTORY OF BAD INVESTMENT DECISIONS MADE BY ADMINISTRATORS, ACTUARIES
The Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4) today filed a lawsuit against the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS), Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Cavanaugh Macdonald Consulting, an actuary firm hired by SERS. Filed in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, the lawsuit seeks to halt the three-year cost-of-living freeze imposed by SERS in October. The COLA freeze impacts nearly 80,000 current retirees, who average a monthly pension benefit of $1,223.33.
The lawsuit details years of poor investment decisions and extravagant payments to Cavanaugh Macdonald and other external financial managers as well as internal investment consultants. OAPSE points out that SERS has spent a staggering $852,393,157 on outside investment fund management fees since 2007. And since 2001, external investment expenses have increased by more than 214 percent, while the SERS fund balance increased by only 64 percent.
During that same period, the lawsuit notes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) outperformed the SERS growth rate by more than 40 percent.
“This is absolutely a criminal waste of resources by SERS. They spent $852 million – and that’s just on outside consultants – only to get a smaller return than they would have from a savings account. It’s a pathetic investment performance, and as a result of their ineptitude, OAPSE retirees are being forced to do without the cost-of-living increases they desperately need. It’s wrong, and we had no choice but to sue to stop this,” said OAPSE Executive Director Joe Rugola.
Rugola said, “OAPSE has for years attempted to convince SERS to adopt various policies and practices that would have better protected long-time public school employees and retirees. They refused to listen. As a consequence, 80,000 retirees – most of whom do not get Social Security benefits – are being punished for the mistakes others have made over decades of poor fiscal management.”
Other issues raised in the lawsuit include:
*Since 2000, SERS has expanded benefits without providing for increased funding sources, which contributed to a reduction of its funding ratio from 102 percent to 62 percent.
*SERS pension fund has a market value of $13.7 billion and pays hundreds of millions of dollars to outside investment managers to make less than the market indexes, but says it cannot afford to pay retirees earning an average pension of just $1,223.33 per month an additional COLA amount of $30.58 per month.
*SERS continues to invest in hedge funds, which have historically underperformed more traditional investments and require higher commissions and fees than traditional investments.
*OAPSE is challenging whether the three-year COLA freeze complies with Ohio law that mandates an annual review of the COLA.
OAPSE is challenging whether the Ohio General Assembly improperly delegated the
*COLA decision to SERS when it violated the state’s one-subject provision by including the COLA freeze in a massive budget bill unrelated to SERS and COLA policy.
*By enacting the COLA freeze in the manner it did, SERS has improperly created different classifications of retirees, thus violating their equal protection rights under the law.
Click here to view the lawsuit
Dr. King: A Special Relationship with AFSCME
On the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, AFSCME and its affiliate unions like OAPSE remember the civil rights leader and the connection between him and our union. When he was killed, Dr. King was in Memphis to support the 1,300 striking sanitation workers who were members of AFSCME Local 1733.
That strike had its origins in the tragic deaths of two Local 1733 members. On February 1, 1968, Echol Cole and Robert Walker sought shelter from torrential rains and a violent storm and were crushed to death in the back of their old sanitation truck when it malfunctioned. They had no pension, no workers’ compensation or life insurance. And the City of Memphis refused to provide any burial funds for these young men and their families.
Their 1,300 co-workers decided enough was enough, and the Memphis Sanitation Strike was born on February 12. They walked off the job for Cole and Walker, but also for recognition of their union and dues deduction, wage increases, safer working conditions, a grievance procedure that included arbitration, and an end to racial discrimination in promotions and job assignments.
For 65 days, the strikers were off the job. They marched, organized boycotts of city merchants and held sit-ins. On March 29, Dr. King made his first visit to help the strikers, when he led 5,000 union supporters in the “I Am a Man” march through the city. Unfortunately, a few violent protestors broke windows and began looting. In the response from the police, a 16-year-old boy was killed by the police, and the city issued a curfew and called in 4,000 National Guard troops.
On April 3, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled back to Memphis to support AFSCME sanitation workers in what was to be a non-violent march. That evening, he delivered his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech to a packed room of supporters. The next day, he was assassinated.
Dr. King’s presence in Memphis and his words helped bring justice, dignity and victory to the members of Local 1733. On April 8, 40,000 supporters silently marched through Memphis, led by Dr. King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, her children, Dr. Ralph Abernathy, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Dr. King’s closest friend, and AFSCME International President Jerry Wurf.
In the wake of the assassination and the march, President Lyndon Johnson sent the director of the department of labor to assist with negotiations, and the strike was resolved on April 16. Local 1733 members won recognition of their union and 15-cent per hour raises over two-years, in addition to other concessions from the city.
As part of AFSCME’s I AM 2018 campaign, OAPSE members will participate in a national moment of silence on February 1 at 4:20 p.m. in recognition of brothers Cole and Walker and their ultimate sacrifice.
Dr. King’s “Mountaintop” speech can be read in its entirety by clicking the link above. Below are just a few passages specific to the strikers and their issues.
And that’s all this whole thing is about. We aren’t engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are God’s children. And that we don’t have to live like we are forced to live.
*****
The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers.
*****
Now we’re going to march again, and we’ve got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be. And force everybody to see that there are 1,300 of God’s children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That’s the issue. And we’ve got to say to the nation: we know it’s coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.
Fill the Bus!
For many of us, the holiday season is a joyous time with family and friends, celebrating and exchanging gifts. But for some families – those dealing with high medical bills or unemployment, or other financial difficulties — holiday cheer can be in short supply, especially when children are involved.
Making life a little better for kids at Christmas is why retired bus driver and member of Local 336 Robin Thompson started volunteering for the Firefighters for Kids organization. The group started in 1977 when a firefighter responded to a call and met a family who had fallen on hard times and was unable to give their children any presents. Firefighters for Kids started in that firefighter’s basement to provide for that family, but the group quickly outgrew that space. It now provides toys and gifts to thousands of children every year. And it relies on volunteers like Robin to make that happen.
She had been working with Firefighters for Kids for a few years when a coworker at the Columbus City Bus Garage asked if she would recommend the organization if he wanted to donate toys.
“Dwayne (Hughes) knew I volunteered, and he said he wanted to do something for kids in our community. And that’s how our Fill the Bus Toy Drive started six years ago,” Thompson said.
She retired two years ago, but Thompson still volunteers with the Fill the Bus event. She credited Hughes and Mickey (Michelle) Osbourne as two of the leaders of the effort. Hughes and Osbourne are both bus drivers and members of Local 336.
“This was really Dwayne’s idea that we partner with the Firefighters. And Mickey handles our logistics and coordination, including all the routing that has to be done to drop off and pick up 130 boxes to schools and offices in the Columbus City Schools district.”
Staff in each school and building drop new, unwrapped toys in the boxes for a few weeks in November and December. Then, volunteers pick up the boxes full of toys and store them at the bus compound until delivery day.
“We have learned a lot over the years, so each year gets better and we collect more toys and even bikes every year. We started with one bus, but now we are filling two buses,” Thompson said.
She noted that the volunteers especially enjoy filling the buses, decorating the buses and delivering the toys to the Firefighters for Kids toy drive held each year at NBC Channel 4 studios.
“For the last three years, Superintendent Dan Good has met us when we are decorating the buses. He buys us breakfast and goes with us to deliver the toys. The district has been very supportive of us helping these families – letting us use the bus compound to store the toys and loaning us the two lift buses to make the deliveries. We appreciate the support because helping these kids is really important to us. It just means a lot to make sure they have a Christmas,” Thompson said.
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