OMEA member,
Last Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the Orange City Council voted to approve your new one-year contract. Thank you to every member who stayed engaged through this process. Your participation is what made this agreement possible.
The new contract takes effect July 1, 2026, and the 3% cost-of-living adjustment will be reflected on your first full pay period in July.
Contract Deal Points
- Term: July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027
- Compensation: 3% cost-of-living adjustment to base salary
- No Furloughs or Layoffs: During the term of the agreement, the City shall not impose furloughs, reductions in work hours, or layoffs on any OMEA-represented employees.
- Labor-Management Working Group: The City and OMEA will establish a joint working group to evaluate and develop recommendations on alternative work schedules—including 4/10 schedules—and telecommuting opportunities for eligible classifications. The group will convene within 90 days of ratification.
- Parity Agreement: If any other bargaining group receives any monetary compensation increase during the term—including specialty pays, incentive pays, premium pays, stipends, educational incentives, certification pay, longevity pay, one-time payments, bonuses, uniform allowances, holiday pay, or any other form of compensation that increases total cash remuneration—OMEA members will receive the same increase under the same effective date, percentage or monetary value, and equivalent terms.
- Language Cleanup: Modifies the Vacation Conversion provision pursuant to Internal Revenue Code 451 (Constructive Receipt). Adds language confirming the City will compensate employees overtime portal-to-portal while assigned to or supporting an emergency incident during a City Manager-declared emergency.
This agreement carries us through a difficult budget year while protecting your job security and locking in parity with every other bargaining unit in the City. OMEA will continue advocating for you—at the table, at City Hall, and wherever decisions are made that affect your work and your future.
In Solidarity,
OMEA
