The faceoff between Orange County leaders and Teamsters is heating up as county leaders claim the striking workers are illegally blocking roads and interrupting trash dropoffs.
It comes after state officials have already found county officials “failed to meet and confer in good faith” during the negotiation process for more than 400 Teamsters union workers.
While county officials have publicly downplayed the impacts of the strike for days, their complaint to state labor regulators tells a different story, highlighting how union members allegedly blocking the roads drove off trash haulers and the county’s own executive staff from landfills – cutting trash drop offs by roughly 75%.
In their 106-page claim, county leaders say union members were “repeatedly, from October 13 through October 17, 2026, physically blocking ingress to and egress from County landfills on County property and public roads, impeding County employees and members of the public entering and leaving.”
“As a result of Teamster’s unfair practices, at least two of its members (both County employees) have now been hit and injured by passing motorists.”
County leaders also claim Teamsters’ actions interfere with the collection of trash, pointing out how the Bowerman Landfill in Irvine usually takes in around 8,000 tons of trash per day and has taken in less than 2,100 tons on four successive days because of the strike, with around 2 to 5 trash trucks coming in per hour in some instances.
David Tieu, deputy director of OC Waste and Recycling who manages the Bowerman Landfill, also raised concerns about the ongoing impacts if the strike continues as they’ve had to force non-Teamsters staff to work overtime to staff the landfills, noting they could also face regulatory problems because of the low staffing.
“Right now, many of the haulers are taking the trash out of the county to other facilities,” Tieu wrote in his statement. Fatigue could result in potential injuries and the need to shut down the landfill if there is insufficient staffing available.”
Eric Jimenez, Secretary Treasurer for the Local Teamsters 952 did not respond to requests for comment, but repeatedly blamed the strike on the county’s actions in previous statements.
“We’re in a fight,” Jimenez said at a press conference last Tuesday. “They forced our hand into a strike.”
The county’s labor complaint is going before the California Public Employee Relations Board, which already found the county failed to negotiate in good faith with the teamsters before the strike by delaying negotiations and sending county officials to the bargaining table who had no power to negotiate anything.
“Respondent engaged in the following conduct: failing to vest negotiators with sufficient authority to conduct meaningful negotiations; failing to provide counterproposals; engaging in dilatory and evasive tactics; failing to prepare adequately for negotiations; and threatening that wage increases for the bargaining unit would result in layoffs,” reads the Oct. 6 letter from Joseph Eckhart, interim general counsel for the relations board, in a letter addressed to the county government.
The last public deal between the two sides was for a one year, three percent raise contract with no back-pay, which was offered to all the county employee unions after months of stalled negotiations when supervisors initially insisted on no raises for anybody.
While Eric Jimenez, Secretary Treasurer for the Local Teamsters 952 did not respond to requests for comment, he repeatedly blamed the strike on the county’s actions in previous statements.
“We’re in a fight,” Jimenez said at a press conference last Tuesday. “They forced our hand into a strike.”
Teamsters were offered a new deal last week, the details have not been made publicly available yet.
County leaders are asking the state to let them sue the union in court, issuing a temporary restraining order to block union members from standing in the streets outside county landfills, as well as requiring the union to give them more of a heads up when and where they choose to strike.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
