On October 15th, the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas issued a preliminary injunction preventing changes to the composition of the STRS Board while litigation is in progress. 

ORTA wishes to thank the organizations and individuals who have engaged in our fight to retain elected teachers on the STRS Ohio Retirement Board.

The Ohio Federation of Teachers, Ohio Education Association, and Ohio Conference of American Association of University Professors funded the injunction to stop the removal of elected teachers to the STRS Ohio Board. They released this statement:

“We are thankful for Judge Aveni’s ruling to grant a preliminary injunction. This determination confirms what retired and active members of STRS have known since June: this is an unconstitutional power grab by the legislature. Educators, just like all other public employees in Ohio, deserve a meaningful voice in our pension plan.” — Statement from OEA President Jeff Wensing, OFT President Melissa Cropper, and OC AAUP Executive Director Sara Kilpatrick.

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Colleen Marshall, NBC4 Columbus, has reported factually and without bias on STRS Ohio since the Governor's failed attempt to remove Wade Steen from the STRS Board in May 2023. Watch her report on Judge Aveni's decision to support the preliminary injunction.

David Pepper has dedicated many of his Substack articles to the state's ongoing attack on members of the STRS Ohio Board. 

"I have detailed the saga of how Ohio’s always lawless lawmakers have spent years attempting to steal the power of teachers and retirees over their own ($100B) pension fund. And how a number of their attacks have been in clear violation of Ohio law and the constitution." - David Pepper

And above all, we want to thank all of Ohio's teachers who contacted their legislators, asking them not to support this attempt by a small group of politicians to remove democratically elected members from our pension Board. 

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​​Lawsuits are expensive. OFT, OEA, and OC AAUP paid the legal fees for the lawsuit to retain our democratically elected members on the STRS Ohio Board.

ORTA is continuing to collect donations for our Pension Defense Fund to pay for the ongoing lawsuit brought against current Board Chair Rudy Fichtenbaum and former Board member Wade Steen by Ohio AG Yost. 

ORTA needs your help. Please make a donation to the Pension Defense Fund to help pay legal fees to defend and protect our pension and retirement benefits from current and future legal attacks. We are seeking 1,000 members to contribute $10 per month to the fund. This would enable us to pay attorney fees and rebuild the Pension Defense Fund.