Category Archives: OEA-R News

LANDMARK Victory! GPO and WEP Repealed

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A win forty years in the making, NEA secures full retirement benefits for educators

https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/landmark-victory-gpo-and-wep-repealed

A bill to repeal the decades-long Social Security penalty on teachers, police and other government retirees won final passage on the night of Friday, December 20 after the Senate voted overwhelmingly to grant nearly 3 million Americans their full benefits.  The bill will now be sent to President Biden’s desk, where it awaits his signature to become law.

This bill repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government.

The bill eliminates the Government Pension Offset, which in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own.

The bill also eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision, which in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes.

“Ohio’s public school educators dedicate their lives and careers to serving our students and creating a brighter future for everyone. But, for educators who came into the profession after working in the private sector, or for survivors depending on the hard-earned benefits earned by their spouses, GPO/WEP made it so they could not receive most of the Social Security benefits they had earned through years of paying into the Social Security system. That is unfair, and it is wrong. But now, our federal lawmakers have stood together to make things right,” said Ohio Education Association (OEA) President Scott DiMauro.

“On behalf of Ohio’s public school educators – past, present, and future – the Ohio Education Association is sincerely grateful to all 15 members of the US House and both Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance and Senator Sherrod Brown, who voted to repeal the punitive, outdated federal laws,” DiMauro said. “OEA is especially grateful to Sen. Brown for his unwavering determination to get his Social Security Fairness Act across the finish line so Ohio’s educators and other public servants can retire with dignity after decades of service in our state.”

Ohio is one of about a dozen states where GPO/WEP has prevented public servants from receiving all of the Social Security benefits they’ve earned. Nearly 250,000 Ohioans will be affected by the repeal of those unfair laws.

“For too long, the federal government has failed to provide the full Social Security benefits many public school educators earned. For too long, potentially great educators have chosen not to enter this profession because they would lose much of the Social Security benefits they had previously earned if they entered a life of public service. That changes now,” DiMauro said.

These changes are effective for benefits payable after December 2023.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/82

https://apnews.com/article/social-security-congress-565aaf221de6d607f207e286655eef25

https://www.ohea.org/oea-celebrates-passage-of-social-security-fairness-act/

Action Alert – GPO/WEP

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Getting to Know SERS

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2025 Delegate Elections – OEA-R Advisory and NEA Representative Assembly

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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)