Hundreds of Orange County employees represented by Teamsters Local 952 will go back on strike Thursday at 5 a.m., the union said Wednesday evening.
The union had said earlier in the day that it would resume the strike if a deal was not reached by midnight. But later Wednesday evening, the union said the strike would be on.
“No offer was presented by the county,” said Teamsters spokesperson Christian Castro. “A negotiation meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, but without an offer, our members will be going back on the picket line.”
“This strike has been sanctioned by the Teamsters Joint Council 42, which means that UPS trucks, Teamsters sanitation trucks and other Teamsters will not be crossing the picket lines. No deliveries and no trash pickups for county locations,” said Castro.
Earlier Wednesday, Eric Jimenez, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 952, said: “We are outraged that the Orange County Board of Supervisors has once again failed the workers who keep this county running. We paused our strike and returned to work in good faith, giving the county every opportunity to reach a fair agreement.”
“Yet, we have still not received an improved offer that addresses our members’ concerns, including the county’s refusal to provide retroactive pay after months of dragging out negotiations,” Jimenez said.
The announcement marked a swift turn in negotiations between the two sides, which seemed to be showing progress after the Teamsters halted a weeklong strike on Oct. 21.
But union members “overwhelmingly rejected” the county’s latest contract proposal, which bumped a one-time raise from 3% to 4% but still did not include any back pay, according to Castro.
County spokesperson Molly Nichelson said in a statement Tuesday that the county will continue to implement contingency plans to minimize disruptions in service.
“The county respects the rights of our dedicated employees to engage in lawful strike activity under California law,” Nichelson said.
More than 400 workers with OC Public Works, OC Waste & Recycling and OC Community Resources first walked off the job on Oct. 13 after months of failed contract talks over pay increases.
The picketing blocked access to landfills and other county facilities, causing major service disruptions that led county leadership to seek an injunction from the state labor board. In the complaint, the county alleged that the union engaged in “unfair practices” by failing to provide sufficient notice of the strike and physically blocking vehicle access to the county facilities.