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Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association

Fighting for Ohio's teachers since 1947!

ORTA advocates for the pensions and benefits of Ohio's active and retired educators; demands accountability from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio; and lobbies Ohio's legislators to provide a strong and sustainable retirement system for all Ohio educators, Pre-K through higher education. We rely on membership dues to continue our work.

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Free AMBA Webinars

Your ORTA membership includes monthly live webinars from AMBA. The webinars are free but registration is required. Each webinar begins with an ORTA Update from Dr. Robin Rayfield, ORTA's Executive Director. Recordings of past webinars are stored on our website.

Judge grants preliminary injunction in lawsuit over Ohio teachers retirement system

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.

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Join ORTA today!  Take advantage of all of our member benefits!
AMBA
AMBA Benefits

ORTA has partnered with Association Member Benefits Advisors, to offer our members exclusive group rates on health, Medicare supplement, life, dental, vision, and professional liability insurance. AMBA focuses on providing customized coverage through top-rated insurance providers, with options often available to members who may not otherwise qualify for group rates. ​

Free AMBA Webinars

ORTA has partnered with AMBA to offer a series of short webinars about important topics like long term care, Medicare, medical transportation, and more. The talks are educational and informative. Join us for the next one, and invite a friend! ​​

 

Each webinar begins with an ORTA update by Dr. Robin Rayfield, Executive Director.​​

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Educators Professional Liability Insurance

Protect your reputation and your career today with professional liability coverage.​Become a member of ORTA and qualify for the new Educators Professional Liability Policy provided through our trusted benefits partner, AMBA.​

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Passport Unlimited 

As a member of ORTA, you have access to exceptional savings through Passport Unlimited. Passport offers savings at Sam's Club, Kohls, Apple, and hundreds of other retailers and services. You'll receive email updates about new savings in dining, travel, and shopping.​

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Monthly Newsletters

Subscribe to receive monthly newsletters via email with updates from ORTA Executive Director Dr. Robin Rayfield and Executive Council Chair Dean Dennis. Past newsletters are stored on our website.

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Classroom Grants & Scholarships

In addition to social activities, many ORTA chapters offer classroom grants, continuing education scholarships, and scholarships for graduating seniors. Check our list of ORTA Chapters to find out if your local chapter offers grants and scholarships.​

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ORTA Facebook Group

We created this new Facebook group to make Ohio's retired and active teachers aware of all of the opportunities available to them through our county chapters throughout the state. Chapters can submit posts about monthly meetings, classroom grants and student scholarships, volunteer opportunities, events and activities.

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ORTA Video Library

250 E. Wilson Bridge Road

Suite 150

Worthington, Ohio 43085

​Open M-F: 7:30 - 3:30

​Phone: (614) 431-7002

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