Women's march this Saturday in downtown Santa Ana

Dear OCEA members,

Last year, the first annual Women’s March set a record as the largest mass demonstration in Orange County history. More than 20,000 people marched through the streets of downtown Santa Ana in a nonpartisan demonstration to assert that women’s rights are human rights. More than 500,000 turned out in our nation’s capital and when combined with other Women’s March demonstrations, became the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.

The reasons so many people took to the streets were as varied as each individual demonstrator. I attended and spoke out during the Orange County march in support of the women who work in Orange County, under discriminatory conditions that have created the widest gender pay gap among county governments recently audited by the State of California. I spoke out about issues of sexual harassment that County workers have known all too well, most publicly related to former department head Carlos Bustamante. I spoke out for fairness in the workplace for all workers, regardless of their gender, age or ethnicity.

There is no question that the best protection for women in the workplace—both against inappropriate sexual advances and pay inequities—is a strong union. The majority of OCEA’s members are women. Together, we will turn the tide against the economic injustices that continue here.

We will once again bring that message to thousands of women who will gather this Saturday, Jan. 20 at 9 a.m. for the second Women’s March. If you would like to join OCEA members who will be marching together, please plan to meet at 8 a.m. at OCEA headquarters. The downtown area will be very busy on Saturday. Those planning to walk with your coworkers will find parking scarce, so to secure a space in OCEA’s lots please RSVP with Cathy Yatch, OCEA’s Administrative Manager. Send her an email at cyatch@ocea.org so that we can assign the limited parking available. Please see the flyer for general information on the OC Women’s March.

We recently celebrated the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, who famously said “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” It bends toward justice because of people standing together to demand justice. Please join us if you can.

In solidarity,

Jennifer Beuthin
OCEA General Manager 

 

P.S. Please take a look at my most recent column in the Orange County Register about institutional discrimination in County government and this year’s march.    

Publication Date: January 18, 2018