Photo: Teamsters Local 952
SANTA ANA (CNS) - More than 465 union workers have walked off the job and onto picket lines Tuesday, which potentially could disrupt essential government services for residents, after failure to reach a contract agreement with Orange County.
Members of Teamsters Local 952 began picketing at 6 a.m. Tuesday, with union officials planning an 11 a.m. news conference outside the County Administration Building in Santa Ana as the Orange County Board of Supervisors meets.
The workers are employed across Orange County Public Works, Orange County Waste & Recycling, Orange County Community Resources and other county operations and officially began their strike at 4 a.m. Tuesday.
A strike could cause delays to road and flood channel maintenance, landfill operations, parks and beach maintenance, repairs to county and first responder vehicles, and other public services, according to the union.
In response to the strike threat, Orange County officials said Thursday that contingency plans were in place to maintain essential services.
"We respect the rights of our dedicated employees to engage in lawful strike activity under California law," the county said in a statement. "Our priority remains ensuring the continuity of essential public services for our residents. We have contingency plans in place to minimize service disruptions."
Union officials said Monday that they remained frustrated with the pace of contract negotiations and accused the county of failing to reach a fair agreement.
Teamster's spokesperson Christian Castro said, the Orange County Board of Supervisors told the union the will have a proposal for them after the board meets in a closed session on Tuesday.
"We have done everything in our power to reach a fair agreement," said Eric Jimenez, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952. "Instead, we have been met with months of delays and a complete disregard for the workers who keep Orange County running. The County has forced our members to walk off the job to fight for the respect and fair contract they deserve. We cannot allow the erosion of our public services because the County refuses to invest in the workers who provide them. Our members are united, and we will not back down until we win a fair contract."
Teamsters officials said they called on the county to begin bargaining as early as December 2025, more than six months before the previous agreement expired. The union began submitting proposals in March, but alleges the county did not make meaningful movement toward an agreement until August.
The union said it filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging bad- faith bargaining by the county.
According to the union, the months of delays have cost workers wages they will not recover because the county has refused to provide retroactive pay as part of a new agreement.
The union also pointed out that the contract dispute comes months after the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to increase supervisors' salaries by 25%, an increase of approximately $49,000 per supervisor annually, bringing their annual salaries to more than $244,000.
The county's earlier statement did not address the union's allegations regarding the pace of negotiations or retroactive pay.
The planned strike could affect services used by more than 3 million Orange County residents, according to the union.