OCFA Negotiations Update: Jan. 31, 2023

Dear OCFA member,

OCFA’s JPA Board of Directors had its first meeting of the new year on Thursday, Jan. 26. As you may know, due to the recent election a new JPA Board of Directors has been selected to run the Orange County Fire Authority.

Forty percent of the Board are new members, and now includes:

Ross Chun, City of Aliso Viejo
*NEW* Connor Traut, City of Buena Park
Anne Hertz-Mallari, City of Cypress
*NEW* John Gabbard, City of Dana Point
John R. O’Neill, City of Garden Grove
*NEW* Tammy Kim, City of Irvine
*NEW* Joshua Sweeney, City of Laguna Hills
Sandy Rains, City of Laguna Niguel (CHAIR)
Noel Hatch, City of Laguna Woods
Mark Tettemer, City of Lake Forest
*NEW* Nitesh Patel, City of La Palma
Shelley Hasselbrink, City of Los Alamitos
*NEW* Bob Ruesch, City of Mission Viejo
Carol Gamble, City of Rancho Santa Margarita
*NEW* Chris Duncan, City of San Clemente
Joe Kalmick, City of Seal Beach
Troy Bourne, City of San Juan Capistrano
*NEW* Phil Bacerra, City of Santa Ana
David John Shawver, City of Stanton
Austin Lumbard, City of Tustin
Vince Rossini, City of Villa Park (VICE CHAIR)
*NEW* Chi Charlie Nguyen, City of Westminster
Gene Hernandez, City of Yorba Linda
Donald P. Wagner, County of Orange
*NEW* VACANT SEAT, County of Orange

At Thursday’s meeting, both OCEA General Manager Charles Barfield and incoming OC Firefighters Local 3631 President Chris Hamm addressed the JPA Board by greeting the incoming members and asking for collaboration between the new Board and its workforce.

“We’d like to turn the page with an eye towards collaboration. With an eye towards getting our labor campaigns done and behind us and moving forward,” OCEA General Manager Charles Barfield said to the board. “Going forward, we’re more than ready to sit down with your staff to finish the task that’s in front of us, that we’ve been talking about for some time. … As you conduct your business going forward, give your negotiator the authority to finish the job with 3631 and OCEA.”

Though our last negotiations session was in June 2022, the new JPA Board gave direction to OCFA’s lead negotiator to return to the table and resume negotiations. Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Your OCEA Negotiations Team has not backed down throughout this process. We will continue to fight for the contract you deserve, and we hope this new JPA Board will show a willingness to negotiate fairly that their predecessors did not.

Please stay tuned for more info.

In Solidarity,

OCEA

Publication Date: January 31, 2023