OCEA members - Negotiations needs YOU!

It’s official! The OCEA bargaining team and the County have scheduled our first 2019 negotiations session for Wednesday, April 17. This will be the first negotiations session since we entered into our short-term bridge agreement last year. As you recall, OCEA and the County reached a short-term bridge agreement when the County negotiator abruptly resigned and it became clear a long-term agreement was not feasible. This short-term agreement allowed OCEA members to receive wage enhancements without any takeaways, including the preservation of annual leave. You can learn more about how we negotiated the short-term bridge agreement through this short video.

The OCEA bargaining team has met regularly and continues to conduct the necessary preparation for bargaining—but we need YOU to complete the team. A union’s greatest strength is its strength in numbers. When we stand together we can win contract victories that can boost our wages, enhance our benefits, and provide us the ability to be the best public servants we can be. OCEA members who are active in their workplace and their community enhance the strength and reach of OCEA. We request that all OCEA members complete a brief survey that will help guide and support the team that will win a fair contract in 2019! Here are some examples of ways you can get involved:

• Union Action Team (UAT): UAT members help spread the word about bargaining in their workplace and help organize co-workers. UAT members will receive training and regular updates about negotiations.
• OCEA Steward OCEA Stewards are active in the union, organize their co-workers and help OCEA staff on representation issues. OCEA Stewards are also expected to attend a monthly Steward meeting held at OCEA during lunch or after work. To be a Steward, you must be an OCEA member and have ten or more of your co-workers sign a petition on your behalf.

Our power at the bargaining table is directly related to our strength and unity in the workplace. Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey so we can be strong for 2019 negotiations! Surveys are due at 5 p.m. Friday, March 29.

Publication Date: March 18, 2019