Ohio’s School Bus Driver Safety Road-E-O was held this May and the top 3 finishers were all OAPSE members!

Kevin Ball from Olentangy Schools finished in 1st. Kevin also finished 2nd in 2023.

Teresa Felter from Seneca East Schools finished in 2nd.

Chuck SantaMaria from Orange City Schools finished in 3rd. Chuck won the Road-E-O in 2023.

In total, 6 OAPSE members finished in top 8 spots. Congratulations to Kevin, Teresa, and Chuck, and congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s School Bus Driver Safety Road-E-O!

OAPSE Delegates convened in Cleveland last week to discuss and vote on union resolutions, take part in educational workshops, and enjoy some down time with OAPSE sisters and brothers from across the state. With over 400 people in attendance, it was a busy, but great, three-day event. Thank you to everyone who attended! Hope to see even more members for OAPSE’s 80^th Conference in Columbus in 2026.

This month, Cleveland Heights City Council passed a resolution focused on helping school employees, and all public workers, get the retirement they deserve. Cleveland Heights City Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal the unfair GPO and WEP provisions Ohio public sector workers face in retirement.

Davida Russell, OAPSE State Executive Board Member and Northeast District President, also sits on Cleveland Heights City Council as Vice President. Davida recently introduced four resolutions to City Council, all of which highlight how important it is to elect candidates that understand and care about OAPSE members and working families.

Davida was able to pass a resolution in support of repealing GPO and WEP, a resolution supporting S. 3681, the Preparing and Retaining All (PARA) Educators Act, which aims to offer grant money to train and retain school employees, a resolution recognizing April 23 as National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day, and a resolution proclaiming April 28 Workers Memorial Day.

Davida Russell, and elected officials like her, know how important OAPSE members are in the workplace and in the community. We know that Davida will keep fighting for us, and we’ll keep fighting for her. Thank you Davida!

This week, the Social Security Subcommittee of the US House Ways and Means Committee had a hearing for H.R. 82 and OAPSE was there. OAPSE’s State Officers, Lois Carson (President), Mike Lang (Vice President), and Sheila Dawkins-Flinn (Secretary), were in attendance continuing to fight for the repeal of the unfair GPO and WEP provisions that devastate OAPSE members in retirement. As this process continues to move forward, OAPSE and AFSCME are making sure we have a presence and our voice is heard!

While Lois, Mike and Sheila were in Washington DC, they met with staff of Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and JD Vance. Senator Brown is the sponsor of the companion Senate Bill (S. 597) to repeal GPO and WEP, and Senator Vance has recently become a co-sponsor. The OAPSE State Officers were able to thank the Senators for their work to repeal these provisions and also remind them just how unfair and harmful GPO and WEP are to Ohioans who work in the public sector.

“We have a lot of support in the House and Senate, but more is needed and educating Congress is key.” President Carson explained. “We don’t have the number of Senators we need to move the Bill along yet, so we need our allies, like Senator Brown and his co-sponsors, to explain the importance of repealing GPO and WEP to their fellow Senators around the country. We need OAPSE members to call our Ohio Senators and thank them for their support. We also need to stress how important it is for Senator Brown and Senator Vance to keep working and educating the Senate until we have the 60 votes we need!”

The US House Social Security Subcommittee plans on holding more hearings in the future and even holding a markup, which is the next step to bring repealing GPO and WEP to the floor of the US House.

For members who would like to reach out to Senator Brown and/or Senator Vance, their office numbers are below. We are closer than we’ve ever been to repealing GPO and WEP, so lets keep fighting!

Senator Brown phone numbers: (614) 469-2083 (Columbus) (216) 522-7272 (Cleveland) (202) 224-2315 (Washington DC)

Senator Vance phone numbers: (614) 369-4925 (Columbus) (216) 539-7877 (Cleveland) (202) 224-3353 (Washington DC)

Delaware City Schools secretaries and educational aides, OAPSE Local 767, had an extra reason to celebrate during spring break. They secured a huge win and ratified one of the largest raises ever for the local! Local 767 President, Kim Estes, was overjoyed with the outcome. “I’m so grateful that the hard work of our bargaining committee and all our members led to this remarkable outcome. Our members greatly needed this increase.” Kim exclaimed. “Both sides came together in a collaborative effort to make this contract possible. The hard work of our membership and Local Officers, Melissa Gilligan (Vice President), Jeanne Stout (Treasurer) and Rose Long (Secretary), really paid off!”

Last year, Local 767 only received about 10 cent increases with a promise to see more when funds were available. Kim and Local 767, with help from their field representative Andre Washington, worked tirelessly to hold the administration to that promise. That effort led to a contract, and raise, everyone could agree on. The local ratified the agreement with 100% in favor.

Congratulations to Local 767 and all the OAPSE locals with similar stories. Fighting for what our members deserve is what makes us OAPSE Strong! Together we fight, together we win!