Orange County alleges Teamsters picketers blocked landfill access

Orange County officials allege striking Teamsters members blocked landfill roads and cut trash deliveries by roughly 75%, according to Voice of OC. The county is seeking state permission to sue the union and obtain a temporary restraining order.

The dispute involves contract negotiations for more than 400 Teamsters workers and access to Orange County’s trash disposal facilities. The union separately alleges the county failed to bargain in good faith; those allegations await a hearing and are not findings by state officials.

According to Voice of OC, the county submitted a 106-page complaint to state labor regulators alleging picketers obstructed landfill entrances and exits from Oct. 13 through Oct. 17. Officials want an order barring union members from standing in streets outside county landfills and requiring additional advance notice of strike sites and schedules.

The county said Bowerman Landfill in Irvine typically takes in about 8,000 tons of trash a day, but daily deliveries fell below 2,100 tons for four consecutive strike days. It also alleged that passing motorists struck and injured at least two union members who work for the county.

David Tieu, deputy director of OC Waste and Recycling and manager of Bowerman Landfill, said haulers were diverting trash to facilities outside the county. In a statement cited by Voice of OC, he warned that overtime, worker fatigue and inadequate staffing could cause injuries, regulatory problems or a landfill shutdown.

The union alleges the county delayed bargaining and sent negotiators who lacked enough authority to negotiate meaningfully. State labor regulators requested a county response. Voice of OC clarified in a correction that the alleged failure to meet and confer properly remains a union allegation awaiting a hearing, not a state finding.

The latest publicly disclosed proposal offered a one-year contract with a 3% raise and no back pay, according to Voice of OC. The county made another offer the week before publication, but its terms were not public. Eric Jimenez, secretary treasurer of Teamsters Local 952, did not respond to the publication’s requests for comment.

The county’s request for restrictions on landfill picketing and the union’s pending bargaining allegations leave both facility access and the conduct of negotiations before state labor regulators.