Protect Your Retirement: Vote Iriss for OCERS!

Dear OCEA member,

In the fight to protect your retirement security, Iriss Barriga—your OCEA Board Member and OCEA Health & Welfare Trustee—has stepped up to run for the open General Member seat on the OCERS Board of Retirement and become your next elected Trustee. Today marks an important first step in that process!

Iriss was at the Registrar of Voters this morning to pull the papers needed to run. Next she will work to gather signatures of OCEA members in support of her candidacy, which will officially place her on the ballot.

Ballots will be mailed by the Registrar on May 13, 2024 and must be returned to the Registrar by June 18, 2024.

As you may know, the OCERS Board is made up of 10 members, two of whom are current OCEA members, Chris Prevatt and Adele Tagaloa. Chris will retire this year and has prepared Iriss to fight for your retirement—just as he has over the last decade.

Iriss has already begun to educate herself on the intricacies of your retirement system, engaging in retirement seminars, connecting with OCERS members across unions, and familiarizing herself with the pension system that will support you during your retirement.

She began her career with the County in 1997 as an extra help office assistant. Today, Iriss is a Senior Child Support Specialist at Child Support Services. She's been a Trustee of the OCEA Health & Welfare Trust since 2019 and a member of the OCEA Board of Directors since 2021. Through her career and her union activism, Iriss has found her purpose as a protector for some of Orange County's most vulnerable children and now as a leader for the working families of OCEA.

"When I started at the County, I thought I was too young to think about retirement, until someone I worked with explained the retirement formula and contributions. Knowing that I have my retirement makes me feel more financially secure," Iriss said. "I want to run for the OCERS trustee position because I want to put my experience to use making decisions that benefit our members' retirement. I'm committed. I give a lot of my time to co-workers and OCEA members. This is the next extension of that."

Iriss will make sure members have a voice on the OCERS Board, but we need your help to get her there. Ballots must be returned to the Registrar of Voters by June 18, 2024, and we must spread the word to vote for Iriss!

If you would like to add your signature in support of Iriss, please contact OCEA Senior Organizer Alisha Greene at agreene@ocea.org.

In Solidarity,

OCEA

Publication Date: March 18, 2024