Union concerned with possible impact of state's cost-saving measures on workers

A letter sent from the state to Ohio Civil Service Employees Administration President Chris Mabe on Monday described the economic picture for fiscal year 2021 as "precarious and grim" and asked the union to come to the negotiating table to discuss ways to reduce personnel costs. That didn't sit well with Mabe, who shared online an image of the letter, which was signed by Matthew Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. "We will never quit," he assured union members who are worried about their wages and job security. Ohio's budget hole is estimated to grow to $2.5 billion in the fiscal year beginning July 1, and the state probably will draw down the $2.7 billion rainy-day fund and make other spending cuts, the Columbus Dispatch reported Monday. Unions representing state workers, of which OCSEA is the largest, are being asked to meet with the state by June 15. OCSEA represents about 30,000 public employees in state and local government, according to its website. "We have had numerous conversations with the state about cost savings during this crisis," Mabe said in a statement. "We've talked to them about voluntary cost-savings days, reining in expensive contractors, restructuring management teams and saving money through long-term telework." Ultimately, he said, public workers are needed most in times of crisis. "Now is the time for the administration to use the Rainy Day Fund for what it was intended: emergencies such as this," he said. Mabe, who lives in Lorain County, told The Chronicle-Telegram last month the COVID-19 pandemic has done more than affect the workers he advocates for — it has affected his family. His wife, Brenda, is a corrections officer at Lorain Correctional Institution. She was one of the 29 employees at the Grafton prison who were diagnosed with COVID-19. The virus soon spread to other members of the family. "Our son was hospitalized for about six days. My mother-in-law was hospitalized for two days," he said. "Our son and my mother-in-law both tested positive. The other three of us were symptomatic but not tested so they just titled us presumptive." The experience put a more personal motivation behind his advocacy for additional testing and personal protective equipment being provided to workers in state prisons. He said last month that it took about a week of arguing back and forth with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to allow any staff to wear masks inside the facilities. The department confirmed last month that both staff and inmates are permitted to wear protective masks, and prisoners have been issued at least four cloth masks and surgical masks. It describes its approach to testing as "aggressive and unique," including mass testing at certain hard-hit facilities. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.