OCEA members ratify Tentative Agreement with County

Dear OCEA member,

OCEA Members Ratify Tentative Agreement

The OCEA Board of Directors, your OCEA Bargaining Team, OCEA Stewards and staff are proud to announce the ratification of a Tentative Agreement (TA) with the County of Orange by all six OCEA bargaining units. This landmark Agreement includes annual base-building wage increases plus guaranteed reductions in each of the first three years in what you would have otherwise paid towards your retirement. That means significant increases in your take-home pay. The Agreement’s four-year term was crafted to help ensure the stability and security you and your families deserve, even in the event of uncertain economic times.

OCEA Members Have Spoken
Voting took place over six days this past week, beginning last Tuesday at 5 p.m. and concluding Sunday evening. OCEA members in every bargaining unit clearly understood the significance of what your Bargaining Team accomplished and spoke with one voice to ratify the Agreement. Here’s a summary of what the membership ratified regarding wages:

• 3.7% raise effective the first pay period after Board of Supervisors adoption (a 2.5% wage increase and a 1.2% increase resulting from the County’s assumption of that percentage of your “reverse pickup” retirement contribution);
• 3.7% raise effective July 3, 2020 (a 2.5% wage increase and a 1.2% increase resulting from the County’s assumption of that percentage of your “reverse pickup” retirement contribution);
• 3.7% effective July 2, 2021 (a 2.5% wage increase and a 1.2% increase resulting from the County’s assumption of that percentage of your “reverse pickup” retirement contribution); and
• 3.5% wage increase effective July 1, 2022. On that date, a permanent elimination of reverse pickup for all current and future PEPRA and 1.62 at 65 Classic employees.

Each of the above retirement contribution reductions represent real increases on your paycheck.

When combined with annual wage increases, the result is a total 14.6% pay increase over the term of the Agreement.

Next Steps
The Board of Supervisors must adopt the Tentative Agreement and is scheduled to consider doing that at its October 22, 2019 regular meeting. The first 2.5% wage increase and the first 1.2% increase resulting from the County’s assumption of a portion of your retirement contribution will take effect the first pay period after adoption by the Board of Supervisors. We want to get money in your pockets as soon as possible and the timing of the ratification has allowed enough time to place our Agreement on the Board’s October 22 agenda so the initial increases should appear on your November 15, 2019 paycheck.

Changes to Annual Leave
For the past four years, your OCEA Bargaining Teams have stood firm on the principle that any changes to Annual Leave would have to result in overall improvements for most members. What your Bargaining Team unanimously recommended in this Agreement is a transition to a system that provides you the same flexibility as Annual Leave, while at the same time cementing into the Agreement the security that comes from being able to cash out more hours with no approval required.

Under the current AL system, County managers could simply say “no” when we attempted to cash out. That’s no longer true. For you and other OCEA members, the changes provide increased flexibility to cash out your hours - which the County cannot deny - while accruing time in the new “Healthcare and Vacation” system that also provides you security, flexibility and more control over how hours are used and cashed out. 

I want to thank each and every OCEA member who voted in the ratification process. Exercising this basic right is at the heart and soul of why working families stand together to bargain in good faith for fair wages and benefits.

It’s a privilege for me as your Lead Negotiator to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with you to achieve a contract we can all be proud of, a contract that guarantees better wages, more take-home pay, and more security and flexibility to help you make life work.

In Solidarity,

Charles Barfield, OCEA General Manager
Lead Negotiator

Publication Date: October 15, 2019