OAPSE

AFSCME

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Fall Update From Joe Rugola

To: OAPSE Members
From: Executive Director Joe Rugola
Re: Fall Update
Date: September 23, 2021
As the saying goes, there truly is no rest for the weary – including OAPSE members who are facing challenges on several fronts as we navigate the first weeks of the new school year.
But even though it seems as if a new problem or obstacle pops up every day, the one thing you don’t have to worry about is the fact that OAPSE is fighting for you and will be here for you – and we will overcome those challenges together.
I wanted to update you on a few topics which may affect OAPSE members and let you know what we are doing to stand up for your rights.
Federal Vaccine Mandate
The federal government has issued regulations imposing a COVID vaccination mandate on some government employees across the country. It is the opinion of OAPSE and our national union, AFSCME, that this requirement does not apply to OAPSE members, with the exception of those who work in Head Start agencies.
School employees and workers in our county boards of developmental disabilities (DDs), community colleges and public libraries are not covered by the administration’s vaccine provisions. Some employers in the public sector, including boards of education, may be considering imposing a COVID vaccine requirement. We do not expect the State of Ohio to require COVID vaccinations.
Our union is prepared to respond to any employer which imposes a COVID vaccination requirement as a condition of employment. While courts in the United States have – up to now – upheld the right of employers to impose such mandates, OAPSE has the right to bargain over the impact of such mandates on our members.
Our union will demand that such negotiations must take place with any school board, DD, public library or community college which implements a COVID vaccination mandate. If there is any discussion of a vaccination requirement for our members, make sure your OAPSE local officers contact their field representative or regional director immediately.
Ohio National Guard as School Bus Drivers
It is clear that there is a nationwide shortage of school bus drivers. In Ohio, school districts have faced this shortage for several years, but the COVID situation has made the problem even worse.
You may have heard that other states are planning to use members of their National Guard units to drive school buses – and even that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has considered such a move.
We have contacted the governor about the situation, and he has responded. We will be in regular communication with him and senior officials in the governor’s office as discussions continue about the shortage.
Our bottom line is that our students must be safe and that no action is taken that violates our collective bargaining agreements. We are opposed to any bus driver who is not fully trained and qualified to drive students.
And we will be putting forth our recommendation that the first step to easing the shortage should be to recruit qualified retired school bus drivers who have experience and training and know what they are doing.
It takes a special person to drive a school bus. They take very seriously the responsibility of keeping students safe and making sure they get to school and home on time. They care about “their” kids. It’s a tough job, and we are so grateful to our members who do it so well every day.
In fact, OAPSE State President Lois Carson recently went before the Columbus City Schools Board of Education to express her appreciation for bus drivers in Columbus and across the state. You can view her remarks at the bottom of this update.
Social Security Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
Our fight continues to repeal the Social Security Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).
On September 15, I addressed the AFSCME International Executive Board, whose members represent more than 1.5 million members across the country. I emphasized the harm the GPO and WEP do to tens of thousands of Ohio retirees. And the International union played one of our videos that highlights the impact of the GPO on four of our members. You can view the video here.
The presentation and video were very well received, and President Lee Saunders pledged the full support of the national union as we continue our efforts to repeal these unjust laws that penalize public workers – particularly women – who often cannot afford to retire and must work well into their 70s.
In addition, Mark Bernard of Massachusetts, who serves with me as an International Union Vice President, wrote in support of our efforts to his member of congress, Richard Neal, who chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee which has jurisdiction over the GPO and WEP repeal legislation. You can view that letter here.
The national union’s legislative staff will continue to make the repeals a top priority by passing the Social Security Fairness Act. In the U.S. House of Representatives, that means passing HR 82, which currently has 227 cosponsors. In the Senate, the vehicle for repeal is SR 1302, which is sponsored by Ohio’s Sherrod Brown and has 34 cosponsors.
To see more stories about how devastating the GPO and WEP are for our members, go to www.oapse.org and click on the “Social Security Card” at the top of the page. You will be directed to a special area where you can view more videos and download petitions.
Sisters and brothers, thank you for being part of OAPSE and for making us stronger so we can fight these battles and make life better for the 34,000 members we represent and all public workers in Ohio.
BOE 2021-09-21

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Win $$ For Sticking With the Union!!

What’s better than being part of a strong union? (Well, aside from keeping your job, your pay and benefits, your seniority and your pension during a pandemic!)

Showing your support and entering our drawing for cash prizes! Just show some love for OAPSE on “Sticking With MY Union” Day, August 30, by wearing a sticker or applying a bumper sticker to your car.

Send us a photo at [email protected] and we will post to our social media accounts and enter you in a drawing for cash prizes. You can get stickers from your regional office, your field representative or your regional director. Send your photos and short video clips in to us August 30, 31 and September 1 to be entered. The drawing will be held during the OAPSE State Executive Board Meeting on September 11. We are looking forward to seeing your pride in sticking with our union!

Click below to hear OAPSE Executive Director Joe Rugola’s message about Sticking With the Union.

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Summer Update from Director Joe Rugola

To: OAPSE Members

From: Executive Director Joe Rugola

Re: Summer Update

Date: July 22, 2021

I hope this finds you well and enjoying a summer that feels a little more “normal” than what we experienced last year. July is typically a quiet time for most OAPSE members, but that doesn’t mean your union is taking time off from representing you – in your workplace, in your community, at the Statehouse and even in Congress.

I want to give you an update on some of the priorities your OAPSE leaders and staff is working on and how they will impact you now and in the future.

Repeal of Social Security Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

OAPSE and our International union are putting on a full-court press to convince Congress to repeal the GPO and the WEP, both of which are unfair and penalize public sector employees when they retire.

I provided testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security, and you can read that here. I focus on the GPO and tell the stories of OAPSE members who – because of the GPO – will lose Social Security benefits they should receive when they retire after decades of public service. This paragraph sums up the broad situation for OAPSE members:

The GPO hits OAPSE members particularly hard because it disproportionately impacts low-wage workers, particularly women. About 80 percent of public pensioners affected by the GPO are women. Most of these women began their careers expecting to retire with both a public pension and a Social Security spousal benefit. It’s a shock when they realize that they will not receive a much-needed portion of their expected retirement income. Many are forced to make extreme choices because of the loss of income. They are already existing on shoestring budgets, having been low-wage earners. The GPO cuts are demoralizing, as evidenced by the individual examples included in this testimony.

OAPSE leaders Barb Ward, Bev Payne, Carol Harper, Lois Carson and Sheila Dawkins-Flinn agreed to let us tell their stories and just how much the GPO impacts everything from delaying their retirements to considering selling their homes and moving in with family to save money. Four of these long-time school employees are in their 70s and four are still working because they simply cannot afford to leave work. The fifth – Carol Harper – had to retire because of a severe back pain. But now, Carol says she will have to sub just to pay her bills and help raise the grandchildren who live with her.

Our hope is that by providing personal stories to Congress, they will see the devastating impact the GPO has on our members and will repeal it and the WEP.

Thousands of OAPSE members are impacted by the GPO and the WEP, and if you are one of them, we want to hear from you so we can tell your story and show Congress just how widespread this problem is.

You can email Kathy Malone at [email protected] with your information so our communications team can get in touch and get the details of your situation. Thank you in advance for helping us tell these stories.

And look for more information on direct action in the coming months.

Now More Than Ever, I’m Sticking With My Union!

As an OAPSE member, you have seen the value of your union over the past few years. We have detailed our success during the pandemic in keeping our members employed, continuing your pay and benefits and ensuring health and safety protocols and job security.

We are in negotiations in hundreds of jurisdictions across the state to bargain for improved contract language, wage increases, and guarantees regarding privatization and discipline, and a host of other issues that affect you at work.

To put it more broadly, OAPSE has been fighting for you. And we are going to keep right on fighting to ensure fairness and justice for every single member.

Your support for your union is critical as we wage these battles on your behalf. It is the solidarity of 34,000 members that gives us the clout and the power to make a difference and to see justice done.

You can show your support on August 30 during our Now More Than Ever, I’m Sticking With My Union! event and contest.

We will be sending local presidents new lapel stickers and bumper stickers. On August 30, send us your photos and videos of you with your sticker and you will be entered in our contest for prizes. And we will post you on our social media for members across the state to see.

We will accept videos and photos August 30-September 1. Just email them to [email protected] to be entered into a drawing for prizes including cash, an overnight stay at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus and more great prizes. Every photo or video will be counted as an entry. Names will be drawn at the OAPSE Executive Board Meeting on September 11.

We will send details about this to local leadership in the mail. But watch our Facebook page for more information.

I’m really looking forward to seeing all the members who are proud of our union and the work we do!

OAPSE Free College for Members and Your Families

The OAPSE Higher Education Plan (HEP) continues to grow, and thousands of members and their families have taken advantage of free college.

Now, in addition to degrees through Eastern Gateway Community College and Central State University, you can get your degree at Franklin University.

For all the updates to HEP, go to www.oapseeducation.org or call 888-590-9009.

HEP is just one of the members-only benefits we are proud to offer. Make sure to check it out before the fall enrollment deadline of August 16.

OAPSE Making a Difference (OMAD)

Our union is proud to provide food assistance to students around Ohio through our OAPSE Making a Difference (OMAD) program.

Since 2014, we have assisted hungry students in Columbus City Schools, Fairland Local Schools, East Cleveland City Schools, Lima City Schools, Zanesville City Schools and Canton City Schools. Unfortunately, we were unable to have an OMAD project in 2020 because of the pandemic.

But we’re back! This year, OMAD will be assisting students in the Manchester Adams School District, where employees are represented by OAPSE Local 343. Manchester is one of the poorest districts in the state. (Adams County has the highest unemployment rate in Ohio and even more jobs are on the way out because of the power plant closures).  On September 9, local, district and state OAPSE leaders will join the school district to distribute bags of snacks and meals to elementary students and food vouchers for a local restaurant to middle school and high school kids.

We need your help to make this happen. Since 2014, members and staff have donated thousands of dollars to make this program possible. And we are asking for your help again. If you have already donated, thank you! If not, you can still send your personal, local or district check to OMAD, Inc. 6805 Oak Creek Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43229. Every dollar is tax deductible and goes directly to feeding hungry students in districts where OAPSE has members.

I know OMAD Chair Sandy Wheeler joins me in thanking you for your past support of OMAD and your generous donation to this year’s project at Manchester.

We will keep you updated about all the topics detailed here and others as they come along. As always, please stay in touch with your field representative and regional director about any issues and questions.

Stay safe, stay well, and God Bless.

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Update from Executive Director Joe Rugola

To: OAPSE Members

From: Executive Director Joe Rugola

Re: Updates on OAPSE Priorities

Date: June 2, 2021

Greetings, OAPSE sisters and brothers. I hope this finds you well as we wind down the 2020-2021 school year and you head into the summer season. And what a year it has been!

Since March 2020, we have been through a series of events unlike any we have ever known. From the shutdown of school buildings to the closing of libraries, community colleges, boards of developmental disabilities and Head Start agencies to the hybrid learning, partial and complete re-openings to the mask mandates which have been in place for a year but are officially lifted for vaccinated people today – our circumstances seemed like they were changing every few days.

But our commitment to OAPSE members never wavered. We adjusted our focus and priorities based on your needs. And we never stopped fighting for you, your job security, your wages and benefits and your health and safety. And we won those fights!

Included in this email are a few updates of interest to our members across Ohio. Take a look and be assured that we will stay on top of important issues that impact you and your family at work and in your communities.

Have a safe and healthy summer. I look forward to seeing you at district meetings in the fall.

Social Security Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision

For more than 30 years, OAPSE has been engaged in a fight to repeal the Social Security Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Both of these laws penalize OAPSE members who have worked in our schools, county boards of developmental disabilities, libraries and community colleges by reducing social security benefits when they retire.

In the case of the GPO, the overwhelming majority of public employees affected are women, who often see their Social Security survivor benefit drastically reduced or even eliminated. For example, a school employee who is entitled to a SERS pension of $1,500 per month and a survivor benefit of $1,800 per month, the Social Security payment would be reduced to just $800. Many public employees lose their entire Social Security benefit as a result of the GPO.

For public employees who worked in the private sector as well and are entitled to a Social Security benefit as a result of that work, the WEP reduces the Social Security payment by as much as 50 percent.

OAPSE has led the fight to repeal the Offset and Windfall provisions here in Ohio and in Washington, DC, and I have testified in front of Congress on several occasions.

While both laws are unfair, the Offset is especially cruel to women who have spent many years working in the public schools or our other jurisdictions. The reductions in Social Security survivor benefits often pushes those women to or below the poverty line, or forces our members to work many years after they would have retired.

You can be certain that the union will continue to wage this battle no matter how long it takes to right this wrong.

Family Fun Days

It’s that time again! And back by popular demand after a year’s hiatus are our Family Fun Days deals for members only. OAPSE members-only benefits are available for visits to Ohio’s amusement parks, zoos and the Center of Science and Industry (COSI). Take a look at the video below for the places you can get discounts. For details, click here and enter your member number and last name. Go to My Benefits and then Family Fun Days to see how to access the members-only benefits.

Check back throughout the summer as providers are still working through their COVID protocols and reassessing how to offer benefits safely. And have fun!

OAPSE Making a Difference at Manchester Adams Local Schools

OAPSE members will have the opportunity to assist students at Manchester Adams Local Schools as part of our OAPSE Making a Difference (OMAD) program. OAPSE Local 343 represents the employees in the school district.

As we always do for our OMAD projects, we are asking for donations to make it possible to provide meals and snacks for the 1,000 students in grades pre-K through 12.

We are again working with Champion Foods to put together tote bags of meals and snacks. The local union will stuff the tote bags for students in elementary school. The middle school and high school students will receive certificates/vouchers for food from a local provider.

On Thursday, September 9, the members of Local 343 will be joined by Southwest District officers and OAPSE state officers to distribute the bags and vouchers directly to the students.

“We are so excited to partner with the members of Local 343 to feed hungry students. That has been our mission since we founded OMAD in 2014. We really count on your donations to help make our OMAD projects possible, and we thank you in advance for whatever you can do as a member, a local or a district,” said Sandy Wheeler, OAPSE state secretary and president of the OMAD foundation.

Donations are tax deductible. You can send your donation to the OAPSE State Office, 6805 Oak Creek Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43229. Just mark your envelope Attention: OMAD.

Now More Than Ever, We’re Sticking with our Union!

OAPSE members know it always pays to have a union – and that’s especially true during unpredictable times like those we have experienced over the past 15 months.

Even during the worst economic crisis in decades, the closing of schools and the curtailing of important public services provided by OAPSE members at libraries, childcare and Head Start facilities, community colleges and help for the developmentally disabled, our union kept working on behalf of the 34,000 workers we represent.

We partnered with state and local government officials and school boards to keep OAPSE members paid, keep your benefits intact, and make sure health and safety measures were in place to protect those of you who returned to onsite work.

Along with AFSCME International, we fought for COVID relief packages to provide critical funding to states, local governments, schools and directly into the pockets of American workers.

And we stayed on the job to handle workplace disputes with employers and to negotiate contracts that included raises and stronger benefits.

And we aren’t finished! In fact, OAPSE field representatives and regional directors will negotiate 260 contracts this summer. And they will be pushing for the strongest contracts possible given the additional funding streams since last spring.

You can count on everyone at OAPSE to stick with you. And we hope that you will continue to stick with the union!

You can join your OAPSE sisters and brothers in a pubic display of support on August 30, when OAPSE will sponsor our second Sticking with the Union Day.

We will have “Now More than Ever, I’m Sticking With MY Union!” stickers and bumper stickers available for you. On August 30, we ask you to wear your sticker and send us photos and short videos so we can post to social media and show our members and the public that even after all we’ve been through, we are still here fighting for each other and that we are proud to be OAPSE!

More information will be provided by email, on Facebook and by your field representative. We look forward to posting your message of solidarity on August 30!

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Family Fun Days Discounts Are Here!

It’s that time again! Time to be outside and enjoy special OAPSE members-only benefits at Ohio’s amusement parks, zoos and the Center of Science and Industry (COSI). Take a look at the video below for the places you can get discounts. For details, click here and enter your member number and last name. Go to My Benefits and then Family Fun Days to see how to access the members-only benefits. Check back throughout the summer as providers are still working through their COVID protocols and reassessing how to offer benefits safely. And have fun!