Standing Together in 2020
Dear OCEA member,
As 2019 comes to a close, I want to thank all of you for the work you do and for all we have accomplished together this past year.
Tremendous opportunities and challenges are on the horizon for us in 2020. For County workers, the New Year will be our opportunity to elect worker-friendly candidates to local, state and federal offices. A delegation of Superior Court workplace leaders will travel to Sacramento in January to urge state lawmakers to restore funding equity for the Orange County Superior Court system, and we will pressure the Court itself to fight for its fair share of resources.
In cities and districts across Orange County, we will negotiate contracts and confront those who stand in the way of economic fairness. And we will also be there with a wide range of opportunities for individual members to get involved, to continue to learn at members-only seminars, and to provide even more lifestyle, recreational and entertainment opportunities for members and their families with a broader array of special events and discounts.
The right to stand together as one union is something our grandparents fought for. That right allows workers across the United States the opportunity to sit across the table from their employers as equals and negotiate the wages and benefits that built the American middle class. It is standing together in our union that arms us with the strength and resources to achieve personal dignity through work, and to achieve economic justice and security for ourselves and our families.
We can begin the year by exercising the right to act as one by joining thousands of community members in the Women's March on January 18 in the Civic Center just down the street from the OCEA building. You can sign up for the march by clicking here.
We also know that working families will face great challenges in 2020 including the spectre of national so called "Right to Work" legislation which is code for union busting. But as we face these ominous forces aligned against us, we have something they don't -- we stand for what's right, and we know that when we stand together and speak with one voice, we can't be silenced by any politician or weakened by any new law.
It's an honor to stand with you in support of your families, fairness on the job and the incredible work you do each day to serve our communities. Happy New Year to you all, and let's commit that 2020 will be a year we can look back on as a year of fairness, great progress, and sustained success as one union standing together!
In Solidarity,
Charles Barfield
OCEA General Manager
Publication Date: December 31, 2019
