U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown continues to champion the fight to repeal WEP/GPO. Why? Because Sen. Brown, the incumbent candidate for Ohio's U.S. Senator, cares about public employees and their ability to retire with dignity!

WEP/GPO penalizes government employees who worked in the private sector (nearly 240,000 in Ohio) from receiving the social security they worked for and deserve.

Thanks to his support and the support of OCSEA retirees and activists, we are inching closer to an important legislative milestone. The bipartisan legislation, which Brown authored and is pushing for passage, now has 62 co-sponsors in the United States Senate—an important number needed to prevent a filibuster and remove a potential roadblock to passage.

Sen. Brown brought his battle to restore Social Security benefits for public employees to Columbus in June when he held a field hearing for the Social Security Fairness Act at the Columbus Firefighters union hall on West Broad Street in Columbus. OCSEA retirees helped pack the room with their brothers and sisters from AFSCME and other public employee unions.

Speaking to public employees in the audience, Sen Brown said, “You make your communities a better place. You didn’t go into this to get rich, you did it because you heard the call of public service. It’s absurd that for decades now two laws have punished you and punished your work by cutting Social Security benefits that you’ve earned.” 

Retirees and other public employees gave emotional testimony about how the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) can reduce or wipe out their Social Security benefits. The so-called Social Security offsets, which affect approximately 250,000 Ohioans, reduce benefits for public employees who worked jobs in the private sector. The onerous provisions are especially harmful to widows/widowers and middle-income workers.

“I thank Sen. Brown for standing up for our members who get shortchanged when they retire,” said OCSEA President Chris Mabe. “Public service employees dedicate their lives to making our communities safer and stronger and they don’t deserve to have their Social Security benefits slashed. It’s simply unfair. Repealing WEP and GPO now would right a wrong that never should have happened in the first place.”

Michelle Hunter, a longtime OCSEA member who attended the hearing, worked for MRDD for 32 years and held a second job in home healthcare. She says she was heartbroken when she filed for Social Security and received only $147 a month. The benefit cut forced her to continue working.

“I’m so happy Sherrod Brown is pushing this and we need to continue to be behind him,” Sister Hunter said.