Happy Labor Day 2023!

Dear OCEA member,

Last year in my Labor Day message to you, amid unprecedented Union actions at industry titans including Amazon, Starbucks, and Chipotle, I wrote that “the spark to organize has been lit in a way never seen before.” That “we are a part of that future, and the future is Union strong.” A year later, both nationwide and here in Orange County, we continue to witness the labor movement rise to meet its promise to protect America’s workers—this generation and the next.

A recent article published in Gallup reports “More in U.S. See Unions Strengthening and Want It That Way.” Eighty-eight percent of Americans under the age of 30 support Unions; 71 percent support them when considering all age demographics. A similar number—about 75% of Americans—support the dual strikes in Hollywood by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. From the Teamsters who flexed their united might to ensure better pay and working conditions for UPS drivers across the country to the Medieval Times and Unite Here Local 11 hospitality and hotel workers on strike here in Southern California, it’s been another Hot Labor Summer for the books.

Here at OCEA, the work you’ve put in over the last 15 years to change the sentiment toward public employees has been incredibly successful. Orange County’s residents have seen firsthand the benefits of having resilient, dedicated government workers at the County and Courts, and in Cities and Special Districts—especially in trying times like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today we celebrate your work and your activism. Even if you aren’t an active OCEA member (yet!), standing in solidarity with those who are helps to build our strength in numbers. On Labor Day we rest. But on Tuesday, and for the rest of the year, the fight for fairness in the workplace continues.

For the first time in OCEA history, Union members helped to elect the first worker-friendly majority to the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Next year we will have the opportunity to again turn out in record numbers to make incredible gains for workers by electing Judges, Supervisors, Council Members, Board Members, and more—to work for the people instead of against them.

I look forward to standing side by side with you as we continue to work toward the future we deserve.

Happy Labor Day.

In Solidarity,

Charles Barfield
OCEA General Manager

Publication Date: September 4, 2023