Category Archives: OEA-R News

OEA-R Webinars

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Senior Scams

November 20, 2024

OEA-R Webinar Schedule

https://oea-r.ohea.us/events-programs/webinars/

January 22, 2025—SERS for Actives and Retirees

February 26, 2025—Kickoff for Read Across America

March 30, 2025—Overcoming Barriers Among Immigrants by Empowering Adults with Literacy

May 28, 2025—Listening to Building Understanding

Past Webinars

Moving From Land Acknowledgements to Action in the Buckeye State

 

 

Join the OEA-Retired Racial and Social Justice Committee Book Study

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For another year of exciting discussions, all OEA members are invited to join us on this journey. We aim to inspire engaging conversations in books that relate to everyday experiences on the topics of racial and social justice. This will help us learn from each other and grow in understanding.

All sessions will be virtual on Zoom and will take place the third Monday of each month from 7pm-8pm (unless otherwise stated).

Please contact Makia Burns, OEA-Retired Liaison, burnsm@ohea.org with questions.

Book Reading Schedule:

  • Oct 21 & Nov 18 – Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
  • Dec 16 & Jan 27 – One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
  • Feb 24 & Mar 17 – How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith
  • Apr 28 & May 19 – The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
  • Jun 16 & Jul 21 – Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Aug 18 & Sep 15 – Frederick Douglass by David Blight
  • Oct 20 & Nov 17 – Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi

Program Flyer

click to register

 

 

OEA Member to Member Election Information

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OEA Voter Information Guide

 

 

Important Dates for November 5 General Election

  1. October 10: Voter Registration Deadline Register to vote here
  2. Check your driver’s license. You cannot vote in person with an expired ID. Whatever you are using must be current. Acceptable IDS are, Unexpired Driver’s License, State ID card or interim document. Passport. Military ID, Ohio National Guard, US Department of Veterans Affairs. Screen shots are not acceptable nor are utility bills, other government documents, paychecks or bank statements
  3. Check here to make sure you are registered, and your address is correct. Do not presume anything.
  4. October 11: Early In Person Voting Begins.  View Early Voting Schedule here
  5. October 29: October 29:  Last Day to Request a Vote-by-Mail Ballot.  Print Vote-by-Mail Request Form here  If you plan to vote by mail apply for a ballot NOW. Use the application sent to you by the Secretary of State, download an application from your county Board of Elections website or use the link above.
  6. Vote-by-Mail Ballots must be received at the County Board of Elections Drop Box by 7:30 PM on November 5—Election Day.
  7. Remember, if you apply for an absentee ballot, and you attempt to vote at your polling place on Election Day, you will have vote a Provisional Ballot.
  8. Download a sample ballot. In many counties there may be issues and candidates that you are not familiar with. Do your research. Whether you vote in person or by mail you need to vote the whole ballot. Judges are particularly critical. Levies matter OEA will have lists of endorsed candidates to guide you.
  9. November 4—Last Day to Postmark your Vote-by-Mail Ballot. Get a postmark from a clerk or use Automated Postal Service Kiosk postage for a valid postmark date.
  10. November 5, 6:30AM—7:30 PM Vote on Election Day. Plan to stand in line if you are going to the polls, and dress for the weather. Try to go to the polls in the down times. Mid-morning and mid afternoon are usually best. Avoid lunch time and after dinner. If you are in line at closing time you will be allowed to vote but not one minute after.

Find your polling location here

One of the most important issues on the Ballot is Issue One. The language on the ballot may be confusing and misleading. That is intentional. If you want to get rid of Gerrymandering you must vote YES.

OEA Recommended Candidates

 U.S. President/Vice President—Kamala Harris (D)/Tim Walz (D)

 U.S. Senate—Sherrod Brown (D)

 Ohio Supreme Court Justice

Melody Stewart

Michael Donnelly

Lisa Forbes

 Issue 1—Anti Gerrymandering Amendment   Vote Yes

Ohio House

HD 13 Tristan Rader (D)

HD 14 Sean Brennan (D)*

HD 15 Chris Glassburn (D)

HD 16 Bride Rose Sweeney (D)*

HD 18 Juanita Brent (D)*

HD 19 Phil Robinson (D)*

HD 20 Terrence Upchurch (D)*

HD 21 Eric Synenberg (D)

HD 22 Darnell Brewer (D)

HD 23 Daniel Troy (D)*

HD 31 Bill Roemer (R)

HD 33 Veronica Sims (D)

HD 34 Derrick Hall (D)

HD 35 Mark Curtis (D)

HD 52 Gayle Manning(R)

HD 53 Joe Miller (D)*

HD 57 Jamie Callender(R)

HD 58 Lauren McNally (D)

HD 64 Lauren Mathews (D

Ohio Senate

SD 2 Paloma De La Fuente (D)

SD 18 Katie O’Neill (D)

SD 24 Tom Patton (R)

SD 28 Casey Weinstein (D)

SD 32 Michael Shrodek (D)

US Congress

CD 9 Marcy Kaptur (D) CD 13 Emilia Sykes (D)

CD 11 Shontel Brown (D)

State Board of Education

Dist. 8 Karen Lloyd

Dist. 11 Delores Ford

* Indicates Friendly Incumbent

This listing includes NEOEA areas.

See the complete list of all Endorsed Candidates in a list that you can print and take with you to the polls: OEA Election Guide

Non-Partisan Guide to Presidential Candidates

OEA Endorsed Candidate Expanded Information Site

https://ballot.ohea.org/ballot/

 

Vote YES on Issue One

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OEA Past President and NEOEA-R Organizing Committee Member Patricia Frost-Brooks delivered an address on the need to pass the Constitutional Amendment to end Gerrymandering to Union Members at a Community Meeting in Sheffield on October 10, 2024.

Right now in Ohio, politicians and lobbyists manipulate voting districts to protect their interests and guarantee their re-election. As a result, incumbents running for reelection almost never lose. In other words, we let politicians choose their voters.

The Citizens Not Politicians Amendment bans lobbyists and politicians from the process and instead empowers voters to choose their politicians. Join us today to restore power to where it belongs: with citizens, not politicians.

POP5: Protect Our Pensions, Inc.

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From time to time, members may receive mailings from an organization calling itself “POP5” or “Protect Our Pensions.”   POP5 is not affiliated with OEA or OEA Retired.

While there does not appear to be any inherent conflict between the stated goals of POP5 and OEA, you should also note that there is nothing that POP5 is seeking to accomplish that OEA and our allies are not already working on or have addressed in the past over many years.

OEA, represents over 124,000 educators, which includes over 9,000 retired members, and is deeply committed to protecting and preserving retirement security for all current and future retirees in the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS), School Employees Retirement System (SERS), and Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS).  OEA has been actively engaged in current efforts to improve the funding status of all the pension systems and maintain or enhance benefits in a fiscally responsible way.  OEA’s advocacy on retirement system issues benefits not only our members, but the very system of public education and the students that we serve.

(Adapted from research findings by OEA and OEA Retired)

 

2024-2025 OEA-R Delegate Elections

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DEADLINE:  Monday, October 21

DEADLINE:  Monday, October 21 

DEADLINE:  Monday, October 21 

OEA-R delegates will be elected through October 21 by online and mail-in ballot. Look for election information by email and US mail.  Please support candidates from NEOEA-R.

OEA-R members should look for an email and/or a postcard “Vote now in the OEA 2024 Elections” from “Ohio Education Association <help@yeselections.com>”.

Everyone will get a postcard, envelope or an email with an explanation and instructions for requesting a paper ballot.

The email and the postcard or letter provide an “Election Code” and a “Voting PIN” along with a link to the voting page. If your ballot has not been placed in the US mail by October 15, please vote online no later than 5:00 PM on October 21, 2024.

Here are the Steps to Vote Online:

  1. Go to the voting website: https://www.ohea.org/retired
  2. Enter your Election Code and Voting Pin in the fields
  3. Click on Continue and follow the voting instructions
  • A change this year is the shortening of the election time periods. Elections will run 21 days and not 30.
  • If you are choosing the mailed ballot option, please vote and return your ballot right away. The move to 3 weeks, has several advantages, including housing preparation for delegates, allowing the delegates to attend all district representative assemblies, and it reduces over all cost of the election.

Please support the following candidates from NEOEA:

Debbie Bernauer NEOEA
Karen Carney NEOEA
Marti Franks  NEOEA
Peg Ham NEOEA
Hank Haynes NEOEA
Cheryl W. Hill NEOEA
Bill Lavezzi NEOEA
Steven D. Mitchell NEOEA
John A.  Ververka NEOEA
Valenta G. Ward-Gravely NEOEA
Jené Wilson  NEOEA
Nancy Wonson NEOEA

Candidate biographies are available at 2024OEARARetiredDelegateCandidateBios

Delegates attend both the Fall and Spring OEA Representative Assemblies. On the day before, the OEA-R Delegate Assembly meets at the OEA or STRS building to carry out the business of OEA Retired and for a briefing with the OEA officers and reports from the OEA-R Advisory Council. Delegates from NEOEA also attend the Fall and Spring NEOEA RAs.

OEA-Retired 2024 Fall Conference

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The OEA-Retired 2024 Fall Conference will be a virtual session that anticipates inspiring creativeness in all of us, think about best practices for retirement, and learn from a civil rights activist’s journey in the fight for justice.

Join Us on Wednesday, September 25th at 10am-12:30pm to hear the 2022-2024 Ohio Beat Poet Laureate, Sandra Feen; expert advice on retirement from an STRS representative Lynn A. Hoover (Acting Executive Director and
Chief Financial Officer); and learn from freedom fighter/ Civil Rights Activist, Charles Black.

All OEA members are invited to join us during this discussion

(OEA MEMBERS ONLY EVENT).

OEA-R Fall Conference Flyer

OEA-R Fall Conference Registration

OEA-Retired Delegates to the OEA Representative Assembly

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A new OEA election year kicks off in September. There is some important election information below. If you are interested in being involved and having your voice heard, please consider running for one of the upcoming open positions:

OEA-Retired delegate to the OEA Representative 2024-2025 Fall and Spring Assemblies.

OEA-Retired Advisory Council positions that are available. There is a vacancy position available to elect this fall election and multiple Advisory council seats available to elect for the spring election.

NEA-Retired Delegate seats that will attend next year’s NEA Representative Assembly.

Things to note

Declaration of candidacy deadline dates have changed on the forms, so please pay attention to when the forms are due back to OEA.

Submitting your Forms

You are welcome to scan or take a clear picture of the forms (Front and back) and send them in that way.

You can fill out the form electronically, save it, and send them back that way.
Lastly, you are always welcome to print and mail your declarations back into us, but please remember the mail system can be slow at times. If you are emailing form in, please email them to the provided email address on the specific form.  Please do not send your submission to William Baird’s personal email address.

Another change is the shortening of the election time periods. Elections will run 21 days and not 30.

You will still be afforded the option to vote online or by mailed paper ballot. Paper ballots will still be mailed to all retired members and electronic ballots will be sent to all retired members; you may choose which option you want to use.

If you are choosing the mailed ballot option, please vote and return your ballot right away. The move to 3 weeks, has several advantages, including housing preparation for delegates, allowing the delegates to attend all district representative assemblies, and it reduces the over all cost of the election.

In addition to the OEA Representative assemblies, OEA-R Delegates will attend the OEA-R Delegate Assembly in advance of each OEA Representative assembly and . OEA-R Delegates elected from NEOEA will also attend all NEOEA Representative Assemblies.

FORMS

https://oea-r.ohea.us/page/election-information/

  • NEA-Retired Delegate Declaration of Candidacy
  • OEA-Retired Advisory Council Declaration of Candidacy
  • OEA-Retired Advisory Council Vacancy Declaration of Candidacy
  • 2024-2025 OEA-Retired Declaration of Candidacy

Please direct questions to William Baird, Elections and Conference Coordinator at oeara@ohea.org.    614-227-3169