Public sector workers for Orange County, California, represented by Teamsters Local 952, went on strike Tuesday, the union confirmed. The local represents more than 465 workers for the county, including landfill operations workers employed by Orange County Waste & Recycling.
Christian Castro, a union representative, said union members want to work but feel they were forced to strike, in part due to low wages and employee attrition.
“The ball's in their court. We're ready to make a deal when they are,” Castro said.
A strike could affect operations at three landfills operated by the county, according to the union. Orange County has contingency plans in place to minimize service disruptions, Public Information Manager Molly Nichelson said in an emailed statement.
"We respect the rights of our dedicated employees to engage in lawful strike activity under California law. Our priority remains ensuring the continuity of essential public services for our residents," she wrote.
In a release published Thursday, Teamsters Local 952 highligted "longstanding wage disparities" that have caused staffing shortages and increased workloads. They also said they approached the county in December to begin negotiations, but the county only began to make progress in negotiations in August, according to The Orange County Register.
The workers' contract expired on June 25. Castro said the union held a meeting with the county as recently as last week, but the two sides have not yet come to an agreement.
Orange County owns and manages three active landfills. The county is winding down operations at the Olinda Alpha Landfill as it nears capacity. To offset the lost disposal space, the county has proposed increasing the Prima Deshecha Landfill's average daily tonnage from 4,000 to 8,000 tons per day. It also operates the Frank R. Bowerman landfill which is permitted to accept up 8,500 tons per day on average annually.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents workers for a variety of employers in the waste industry, including WM, Republic Services, Recology and California Waste Solutions. The union's Local 396 continues to negotiate contracts with several haulers in the Los Angeles area as well.
The union has touted recent wins elsewhere in California. Most recently, that included 69 workers with WM voting to join the union and 60 California Waste Solutions workers ratifying a new labor contract.
In a Facebook post from the official Teamsters page on Monday, the union said more than 900 Republic Services workers represented by Teamsters have ratified new contracts this year nationwide. It expects 2,000 more to do the same by the end of the year, per the post.
