Public works employees are on strike in the city of Orange, following months of labor negotiations that recently reached an impasse.
More than 70 employees, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 47, which represents Orange’s maintenance and crafts and water divisions, put down their tools this week to ask for wages and benefits they argue would bring parity with other cities of the same scale.
Dozens of workers have been gathering to picket outside of City Hall, including on Wednesday, March 4, when they were chanting their ask for “fair contracts.”
“Our members are not asking for a huge raise,” Local 47 Business Manager and Financial Secretary Colin Lavin said, adding the workers are asking to keep up with the consumer price index.
“They haven’t taken any of that into account,” Lavin said, “So this city needs to do something.”
City leaders and IBEW Local 47 have engaged in labor negotiations since spring 2025, around the time the labor union’s contract with the city ran out.
“We offered them the same increase as all our other employees, which is 2%,” Mayor Dan Slater said. “Clearly, they need more than 2%, but unfortunately, we just don’t have the money, so we have to hold the line.”
“We have cut $20 million over the last couple of years,” Slater added, referring to the city’s struggle with budget deficits, which the council slimmed down to about $2.6 million this fiscal year after approving nearly $18 million in general fund cuts.
“The sad fact in general is all of our employees, every single bargaining group, of which there are eight, is under median pay for Orange County. And we are losing quality employees left and right because of that,” Slater said. “We’re certainly open to discussions, and we certainly sympathize with our employees, but we can’t spend money we don’t have.”
Slater said the city had been bracing for the strike, and city staffers have been “cross-trained and they can fill in where they’re needed,” but will focus on essential services.
Services that may be delayed or affected, city officials said, include “maintenance and repairs,” “response to time-sensitive issues” and “non-emergency field and administrative services, including parks maintenance.”
Police, fire, emergency response services and the safety of the city’s drinking water systems will not be affected, city officials said, and all service requests can continue to be made through the Orange 24/7 app and the city’s 24-hour water emergency repair line at 714-538-1961.
“We haven’t talked about how long it’s going to go,” Lavin said. “But this is something that they, with dignity and respect, really want to do because they love the city and love working there.”
“So, maybe,” he said, “as long as it takes.”