OC Teamsters reject 4% raise offer, threaten renewed strike

Orange County’s Teamsters have rejected a revised contract offer proposing a 4% raise and threatened to resume striking unless a new agreement is reached soon, Voice of OC reported Tuesday. The offer included neither a signing bonus nor back pay.

A renewed walkout could again slow landfill processing, where many of the union’s members work. County officials initially minimized the previous strike’s impact but later acknowledged processing disruptions in state labor board filings, according to Voice of OC.

Teamsters Local 952 Secretary Treasurer Eric Jimenez said in a Tuesday statement that members overwhelmingly rejected the county’s latest proposal, according to Voice of OC. The rejection followed negotiations with county supervisors and came a week after members left the picket lines.

The revised proposal raised the proposed pay increase from 3% to 4%. But without retroactive pay for the pay periods since the previous contract expired in June, the increase would be closer in value to the original 3% offer, Voice of OC reported.

The Teamsters were among three county unions that did not accept the earlier one-year deal. The sheriff’s deputies union and the local branch of the American State Federal and Municipal Employees union also declined it, according to the publication. The Teamsters are the only county union to have struck during this contract dispute.

Both the county and the union have filed complaints with the state Public Employment Relations Board. Union leaders allege the county bargained in bad faith, while county leaders allege the union used improper strike tactics, Voice of OC reported.

County supervisors had previously cited a growing structural budget imbalance as a reason they could not offer raises, according to Voice of OC. With the revised offer rejected, the union says its members are prepared to return to the picket lines.