Welcome to the OCEA website!

Please feel free to have a look around. Whether you are interested in taking advantage of our discounts program, buying special events tickets at low prices, or receiving representation on workplace issues, you are in the right place! Our members receive those benefits, and much more! We vote on the ratification of collective bargaining agreements, we purchase special supplemental insurance coverage, we vote for our leaders—we can even run for office in our great organization!

If you are not yet a member, click here for information on how to join.

We now have over 13,500 members employed by the County of Orange, or by other public agencies located in the County. As you explore our website, watch for the things that make us what we are: service, member involvement, communication, visibility—and above all, a positive attitude!

OCEA, A Real Union At Work For You Since 1937...

The Orange County Employees Association was founded by County employees in 1937, for the purpose of advancing the welfare of the employees and their families. Although the Association was small at first, it grew and evolved into a strong organization which provided much more for employees.

The 1960s...
In 1960, OCEA hired a General Manager and became incorporated under California law. The first General Manager, John Hiatt Sawyer, received his law degree from the University of Michigan, and was licensed to practice law in both Michigan and California. He had experience on the management side while working for corporations in the private sector. He was the ideal candidate for the job, and his skills were a tremendous asset as OCEA moved from bargaining informally with the County and began to bargain formally with the County under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, beginning in 1969.

At the same time, OCEA’s volunteer leadership continued to form the basic direction and policies of OCEA. The OCEA of today owes a huge debt of gratitude for the wisdom and foresight of OCEA’s volunteer leaders of that era. The benefits of their knowledge and perceptiveness are still felt today. Their contributions of decades ago are the bedrock of OCEA’s present independence and strength.

Through OCEA, the members continued to work with County managers and the Board of Supervisors in a commitment to maintain the high quality of government which the citizens of the County of Orange enjoyed. OCEA’s close work with County Agencies and Departments benefited management, employees, and the general public as well.

Growth in Membership...
Through the course of recent decades, as the County’s workforce rapidly grew, so did membership in OCEA. Members and staff worked with “elbow grease” and zeal to make OCEA ever stronger, with increased services and benefits. All the while, we believed that working cooperatively with County management would produce swifter, better, and longer-lasting results for all concerned.

To this day, OCEA members believe that working together with supervisors, managers, and fellow employees is the most efficient and effective way to gain benefits for employees. Wherever possible, this is the course of action that OCEA has followed. When necessary, though, our members have not hesitated to stand together in picketing, demonstrations, use of the news media, and other shows of solidarity.

OCEA now has a full-time, professional staff of skilled personnel. They are capable of aiding OCEA’s members in the most difficult and sensitive situations. Our staff includes attorneys, salary and benefit analysts, communications specialists, and other personnel skilled in various specialties, as well as effective and dedicated office services support.

Nonetheless, it is OCEA’s members, and not its staff, who have been responsible for OCEA’s strength, growth, and accomplishments. Without our membership, OCEA would not exist. It is only through the commitment and involvement of our members, and the large number of them who have been chosen through the years as leaders, that we have remained rock solid and independent for almost 70 years.

Looking Forward...
OCEA is always moving forward. We have gone from occupying one room in an old house, to constructing and owning our own headquarters since 1974. We have moved from offering our members representation and a single term life insurance policy, to providing a wide range of programs and services. OCEA now represents not only employees of the County of Orange, but other worthy groups of employees within the County as well, including employees of many cities and special districts.

OCEA works hard to maintain and improve salaries, benefits, and working conditions for public employees in Orange County. Additionally, OCEA is committed to providing a wide range of other services and benefits—programs which help a member’s dollars go farther and which make a member’s life outside of work more enjoyable. Through special arrangements with vendors, we offer discounts on Southland attractions and special events, discounts from local merchants, and insurance plans not available to non-members.

As we move further into the present millennium it will be exciting to watch OCEA continue to grow, to move forward, and to lead the way!

Whom do we represent?

When most people think of OCEA, they immediately think of OCEA’s members employed by the County of Orange or by the Superior Court.  We are much more than that.  We are also OCEA Affiliates and OCEA Chapters.

OCEA Affiliates are organizations which have contracted with OCEA for services.  OCEA Chapters are organizations for which OCEA is the exclusively-recognized bargaining representative.

OCEA represents employees in the following County agencies, departments, and groups, as well as certain employees who are not employed by the County.  In this latter group are employees of the Superior Court, as well as employees of many other agencies, primarily cities and special districts.  Listed below are also many non-County groups with employees represented by OCEA.  Note that we do not represent any management employees.

County Agencies, Departments, and Other Groups
(Eight bargaining units.)

Additionally, the County represents the following special groups which are not County agencies:

Superior Court
(Three bargaining units.)

Cities, Special Districts, and Other Public Agencies
(At least one bargaining unit for each group.)

OCEA Affiliates

OCEA Chapters