Electrical workers are poised to strike in Orange after labor negotiations with the city deadlocked.
City leaders and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 47, which represents city employees in the maintenance and crafts and water divisions, have engaged in labor negotiations since spring 2025, a city statement said.
The last contract the city and IBEW Local 47 agreed on ran out in June.
Negotiations with IBEW Local 47 are “currently at an impasse,” and the union has notified the city it plans to strike at a date to be determined, Orange officials said.
The city has been negotiating the contract “amidst ongoing budget constraints,” city officials said in their statement, referring to a structural deficit the city is grappling with.
The City Council has begun addressing the budget shortfalls, deciding last July to approve nearly $18 million in general fund cuts for this fiscal year. After a series of staff and steep spending cuts, the council slimmed the deficit to about $2.6 million this year.
“We did a strike authorizing vote, and our members weren’t too happy,” Local 47 Business Manager and Financial Secretary Colin Lavin said. “It is unfortunate that the city has taken the position that they are broke and they don’t have money and are choosing to not give our workers a minimal raise.”
IBEW Local 47 union representatives are asking for wages and benefits that parity with other cities of the same scale, Lavin said.
The union represents around 150 employees working for the city, he said.
“The city of Orange is committed to fair and productive negotiations and ensuring that essential services are maintained for our residents and businesses,” Mayor Dan Slater said. “The door remains open to further discussion and timely resolution.
“The employees represented by IBEW Local 47 perform critical work for our community, and the city respects our employees’ legal right to engage in protected labor activity,” he added.
Services that city officials say may be delayed or affected 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 water drinking systems will not be affected, city officials said, and in anticipation of the intended strike, the city “has prepared contingency plans to ensure service impacts, if any, are limited,” including deploying city staffers in “a manner that focuses exclusively on front-line, essential services.”
All service requests can continue to be made through the Orange 24/7 application and the City’s 24-hour water emergency repair line at (714) 538-1961.