More of Orange County’s public services are being impacted by the teamsters strike among county workers — including a south county landfill and operations at the animal shelter in Tustin.
At the Prima Desheca landfill bordering San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente and Rancho Mission Viejo, the landfill seemed shut down due to the presence of striking Teamsters on Wednesday afternoon.
At that landfill, there was a sign near the entrance announcing no public access with an OC Waste and Recycling worker advising residents they could not enter the landfill to drop off waste.
Nearby, about a half dozen striking Teamsters were in front of the entrance to the landfill with picket signs and a tent with Teamsters Local 952 emblazoned on it.
A CR&R truck did enter the facility, crossing picket lines, with striking workers saying they had tried to form a human chain to stop trucks from entering the facility but California Highway Patrol officers stopped them from blocking entry. A voice mail message seeking confirmation from the CHP media officer was left in the late afternoon without a response.
In a statement earlier on Tuesday, an OC Waste and Recycling spokesperson said the county’s landfills were open.
“All three landfill locations in Brea (Olinda Alpha), Irvine (Frank R. Bowerman) and San Juan Capistrano (Prima Deshecha) have remained open and continue to accept commercial and residential hauler waste disposal. Wait times have fluctuated throughout the day depending on incoming traffic,” reads the statement from Irene Alonso, a spokesperson at OC Waste & Recycling.
“We continue to monitor access and tonnage received while keeping our cities and haulers updated to keep these important services accessible,” reads the statement from Alonso.
When asked for clarification after a Voice of OC reporter noticed members of the public being directed away from the Prima Descheca landfill, an OC Waste and Recycling spokesperson confirmed the presence of CHP and seemed to indicate a difference between residents dropping trash off and commercial haulers in terms of getting access to the landfill.
“All three landfill sites have remained open today as of this time to receive commercial and residential hauler waste disposal,” OC Waste and Recycling chief spokesperson Francine Bangert said in a statement.
“Wait times have fluctuated throughout the day,” Bangert stated, adding, “Picketing activity has continued at all three sites. We’ve worked closely with our city and hauling partners to monitor wait times and fluctuations in tonnage to continue these important services. We can confirm that law enforcement has been onsite at all three locations monitoring activity to ensure safety and traffic control.”
Meanwhile, kennel attendants at Orange County’s animal shelter are among the over 400 teamsters on strike amid stalled negotiations for a new contract.
Animal care attendants are responsible for processing and caring for animals in the shelter, including cleaning kennels and cages, monitoring pets’ health, feeding and providing water for animals and answering questions from the public.
They also help with visits for potential adopters and train new employees and volunteers, according to a job listing for the role.
Some of those employees started picketing around the county starting yesterday, leaving the shelter with fewer workers to clean kennels and feed dogs and cats.
Denise Woodside, spokesperson for OC Animal Care, said the shelter is continuing operations without interruption and all services remain available.
“Our staff remains focused on delivering high-quality care tailored to the needs of each animal, while upholding our commitment to the communities we serve, including our contract cities, residents, and shelter visitors,” she wrote in a Wednesday afternoon email to Voice of OC.
Woodside didn’t respond to specific questions about how the strikes are impacting the shelter or who’s taking care of the animals and things like cleaning cages.
Workers walked off jobsites yesterday after months of stalled negotiations on a new contract, according to Eric Jimenez, secretary treasurer of the Local 952 Teamsters that represent workers across a host of county departments.
Most of their workers focus on county landfills.
“Our members were forced to go down this path because the county officials chose not to bargain in good faith. Up until today the county has made no movement to try to settle this dispute,” Jimenez wrote in a Tuesday statement to Voice of OC.
County leaders said they respect striking workers’ rights and are prioritizing the continuation of public services for residents.
