Hundreds of county employees flocked to the parking lot outside their offices for free hot dogs this week to celebrate the coming 250th anniversary of the Fourth of July. But most skipped speeches from county supervisors about the importance of their work amid tense labor negotiations offering workers no raises.
A line forms as county employees wait to receive free hot dogs while county leaders speak from a podium near the Board hearing room during the county’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Fourth of July on Monday, June 29, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
“Today our county family celebrates the 250th anniversary with the best hot dogs in Orange County,” said Supervisor Doug Chaffee at a Monday rally in the heart of the county civic center. “I hope our county family remembers their impact and central role in building America.”
250th Fourth of July celebration at the Orange County Civic Center in Santa Ana on Monday, June 29, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
The speeches come as supervisors are reportedly telling workers across the county, including the OC Employees Association, the Teamsters Local 952 and the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, that there’s no room for raises in the budget even after they gave themselves a 25% raise last year.
[Read: OC Supervisors Say It’s Illegal to Slash Their Salary Hikes]
“We’re not asking for the 25% that they received,” said Iriss Barriga, a member of the OC Employees Association bargaining committee. “If we’re not here, who’s going to be doing the work? The board of supervisors aren’t coming in to do that. Other people aren’t going to do that. Our members deserve fair wages.”
Iriss Barriga, a Senior Child Support Specialist and a member of the OC Employees Association bargaining committee stands for a portrait during the 250th anniversary of the Fourth of July on Monday, June 29, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
This year, county leaders disclosed they’re facing a $75 million structural deficit, meaning their recurring income is falling short of their recurring expenses and they’re tapping into reserves for the fourth year in a row.
They’ve also helped balance the budget with the use of what county senior staff call “one-time funds” a term county supervisors never publicly explained before they voted on the budget.
After the budget was approved, county spokesperson Molly Nichelson responded to Voice of OC questions clarifying that most of the funding came from internal reserves and a couple million dollars of interest.
[Read: Orange County Leaders Warn of Dangerous Budget Future]
County leaders are also hammering out details of a retirement package they plan to offer to roughly 2,000 senior employees that would let them retire early and close out their position leaving the county with a smaller staff pool than its current workforce of over 18,000.
Erick Castellanos, a member of the OC employee association’s bargaining committee and an investigator for the Alternate Defender’s office, said the current state of things is “disheartening.”
Erick Castellanos, middle, a member of the Orange County Employees Association bargaining committee and an investigator with the Alternate Defender’s Office, applauds during remarks at the county’s 250th Fourth of July celebration at the Orange County Civic Center in Santa Ana on Monday, June 29, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
“We are told we do excellent work. We provide excellent services for the residents of Orange County but unfortunately the county is not willing to offer us excellent wages or benefits,” Castellanos said in an interview. “We’re hopeful they’ll come around and realize the value of county workers.”
Barriga also highlighted a series of concerns over the retirement plan, noting that it could drive up the county’s unfunded pension liability and increase worker burnout.
“County employees are disappointed and they feel overstretched,” Barriga said. “Some of the case workers there at child support have about 2,800 cases per person. They’re definitely going to be impacted by having a 10% drop of people.”
Castellanos also highlighted that impact, pointing out that in the past, county retirement offers have led to departments having large vacancies for years.
“It shrinks the workforce but it does not shrink the workload,” Castellanos said. “There’s a sentiment of people feeling overwhelmed, overworked, stressed out, close to burnt out, and that coupled with the fact that the county’s offering zero wage building options? It’s upsetting.”
They’re not the only union raising complaints.
The Teamsters Local 952 union which represents employees throughout Public Works, Waste and Recycling, and OC Community Resources, also flagged concerns, pointing out their contract ended on June 25 yet there’s no end in sight to negotiations.
“Our members are the backbone of many of the services that keep Orange County running every day,” said Teamsters Local 952 Secretary Treasurer Eric Jimenez in a statement dated May 27. “We remain committed to negotiating in good faith.”
Samuel Carlin, a business agent for the Teamsters, also noted that the county has in the past not paid employees their missed wages when contracts expire and are later renegotiated with raises.
“They are notorious for not paying retroactive wage increases,” Carlin said in a Monday interview. “We know better because of the last cycle and prior OCTA negotiations and Teamsters 952 isn’t going to wait and wait.”
It’s an issue that most county supervisors don’t want to discuss publicly heading into their summer vacation, with their next public meeting currently not scheduled until August.
Supervisor Chaffee was the only one who spoke to the issue after his speech, declining to speak on any specifics but said supervisors offered “a number of adjustments” including another holiday.
Orange County Supervisor Doug Chaffee speaks during the county’s 250th celebration of the Fourth of July. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
“It’s not exactly zero. My expectation is we’ll try to find raises when we can,” Chaffee said. “I’ve asked for information from our finance people on how far can we go without laying people off. That’s kind of the edge we’re on.”
He also defended his own raise, saying he’s donated more than his own salary to charity over the past year.
“I donated more than my entire salary to various causes,“ Chaffee said. “It’s something I can do more with, that’s all I can say.”
Both Chafee and Vicente Sarmiento both donated their raise to charity after a public backlash last year against supervisors for granting themselves a pay boost with virtually no public debate.
Three other supervisors – Don Wagner, Janet Nguyen and Katrina Foley – kept the raise.
[Read: Orange County Supervisors Now Make More Than California’s Governor]
Supervisor Katrina Foley– who voted against her own raise last year but also kept the money – praised the “county family” in her speech, praising labor unions and their ability to give people the American dream.
Supervisor Katrina Foley holds up an American flag during her remarks at the 250th anniversary of the Fourth of July on Monday, June 29, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
“I know that as the daughter of a painters union representative, as the wife of a teacher, that the union and labor has brought strength to our family. Stability to our family,” Foley said. “Thank you to labor, thank you for continuing to represent all that is good about America.”
Meanwhile, her ongoing reelection campaign has received over half a million dollars combined in advertising from various county employee unions.
[Read: OC’s Most Competitive Races For The June Primary Election]
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento also praised the unions in his speech, saying “workers built this country.”
He also declined an interview request at the event, but issued a short statement Monday afternoon on the importance of continuing at the bargaining table.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento speaks during the county’s 250th Fourth of July celebration at the Orange County Civic Center in Santa Ana on Monday, June 29, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
“We have to work more aggressively with our employee representatives to see what we can accomplish working together and creatively to address the very real concerns of our employees,” Sarmiento wrote. “I believe we have a long way to go.”
Supervisors Don Wagner and Janet Nguyen did not attend Monday’s event and did not respond to requests for comment.
OC Employees Association General Manager Charles Barfield and Nick Berardino, the former OCEA general manager and current head of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County that helped put on the event, both gave speeches praising workers.
Nick Berardino, the former OCEA general manager and current head of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
“Thank you county employees, all of you who do so much,” Berardino said. “When times were sad and bad in 1994 when the county declared bankruptcy, it was the county employees who stood up. The county employees who fought and went without so this county would be what it is today.”
OC Employees Association General Manager Charles Barfield speaks during the county’s 250th Fourth of July celebration at the Orange County Civic Center in Santa Ana on Monday, June 29, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
“America was not built by words alone. It was built by workers,” Barfield said. “The history of labor in America is a story of courage.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
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