The Orange County Board of Supervisors convened a special closed-door meeting Friday to review new proposals for a labor contract with the local union representing the county’s waste and public works employees. This session follows a temporary agreement that has reopened county landfills to waste haulers.
Board Chairman Doug Chaffee confirmed on Wednesday that a "side deal" was in place to reopen the landfills. Christian Castro, a spokesman for Teamsters Joint Council 42, stated that the union agreed to suspend its strike as an “olive branch of good faith.” This temporary hiatus from picketing, which began last week, allows waste haulers to access the county’s landfills without crossing a picket line. The arrangement reduces pressure on temporary sites that waste-hauling companies had been utilizing before transporting garbage to the county’s three landfills.
Chairman Chaffee noted that with the landfills now open, trash companies storing refuse are able to access these facilities. He expressed hope that this situation would remain stable through the week. Chaffee also voiced a cautious outlook for future negotiations, stating his hope that "reasonable conversations" could replace ongoing strikes. He acknowledged the uncertainty of what might happen if the proposals considered on Friday are not accepted.
Before the supervisors entered their closed session, an aide to Rep. Lou Correa, a Democrat representing Santa Ana, read a letter to the board. The congressman's letter encouraged both the board and the union to "continue working together for a fair resolution." The board then proceeded into its closed session to evaluate the proposals from Teamsters Joint Council 42, which were submitted through a mediator. This mediator has engaged in separate discussions with representatives from both the county and the union.
The special meeting comes after a week marked by tension over the Teamsters' picketing strategies. County and union officials engaged in a "back-and-forth" earlier in the week concerning the union's tactics. The county filed a complaint with the Public Employment Relations Board. In its complaint, the county alleged that picketers were violating the law by forming "human chains" and obstructing traffic. The county also claimed that union members were falsely informing customers that the landfills were closed.
Teamsters officials, in turn, countered these allegations, asserting that the county's claims were untrue. They further accused county officials of themselves violating labor law. Chairman Chaffee responded to the Teamsters' denial of the county's evidence, stating the county possessed "pictures and statements from (waste hauling) drivers" and dismissing the union's counter-claims as perhaps "all in our imagination."
