OCEA members,
As you may know, we have been in formal negotiations with the County since May. The last time we met with the County they provided us with their paltry, offensive offer. After minimal discussion in our first meeting, our expectation was for the County to come to negotiations on June 24 with a full response.
Instead? They weren’t prepared. They didn’t have time to prepare a full response. However, they did have time to prepare a repackaged version of their financial presentation. It was beyond insulting. It was borderline bad-faith bargaining.
OCEA Operations Manager Veronica Rodarte, our chief spokesperson, and your negotiations team did not shy away from calling the County out. Do they have more important things to do? Do they care about us? Were negotiations this year a surprise? We stuck to our data, our position, and our proposals. The County had no good answers and hid behind excuses and double talk.
We know this isn’t surprising for most. OCEA members are used to doing the work while executives and senior managers skate by.
And, based on the events at the Board of Supervisors meeting this week, we can reasonably conclude that the chaos taking place at the negotiations table is an extension of the County’s chaotic leadership. This County is dysfunctional. Maybe when the current CEO is gone, we will see a difference.
So where does that leave us? We meet again next week where we expect to receive a response from the County. We will see what kind of thought is put into their response next week. We are not holding our breath.
There are also half-baked ideas from the County that could have massive impacts on our workloads. As a means of addressing non-existent budget woes, the County is looking at separations and other reductions to the County ranks.
Are you ready to do even more at work with less? That is what the Executives (many who work fully remote) are proposing for us. Again, it’s as if they live in a different world.
The County has not researched the impacts or the efficacy of these cost-savings “ideas,” which directly impact our position in negotiations and the working conditions of our members. Moreover, the County has the legal obligation to negotiate with OCEA on these matters prior to implementation. We will be talking more about this in the coming weeks.
Let’s be clear. OCEA members will stand on our proposal and our data. The County needs to show a fraction of the dedication OCEA members put into their jobs everyday or we will pursue all remedies including legal ones.
Hey County of Orange! DO. BETTER.
In Solidarity,
Team OCEA
