Sanitation Workers May Strike

Orange County’s 1,100 sanitation workers are prepared to go on strike Monday if a new five-year contract can’t be signed by Sunday’s deadline.

Union officials would not comment publicly, but trash-hauling contractors say they are convinced a contract can be agreed on and a strike avoided.

But more than 100 sanitation drivers from Santa Ana who met Tuesday wearing “No Contract No Work” T-shirts said they have been preparing for months for a strike and do not consider the two sides close enough to an agreement to prevent that.

If drivers strike, county officials say most cities have backup plans that would ensure trash pickup.

“You’d see some delays,” Garden Grove City Manager George Tindall said. “Trash might not get picked up for a day or two. But we’ve been assured by our contractor that we wouldn’t have a trash buildup problem. But we’re concerned, of course. It could become a public health problem if trash builds up for many days.”

Sanitation contractors, however, say strike talk is premature.

“We are going to do everything within our power to make sure that there is a strong enough economic package on the table to prevent a strike,” said Bob Coyle, vice president of Waste Management Inc., a trash hauler that operates in eight Orange County cities.

The two sides are meeting with a federal mediator in Santa Ana. The old contract expires Sunday.

The six sanitation companies that service Orange County cities and unincorporated areas have been negotiating for three months with Teamsters Local 396, which represents sanitation drivers, mechanics, and maintenance employees. Though a federal mediator’s recommendation is not binding, Coyle said good progress has been made this week.

Teamsters’ representative Danny Bruno could not be reached for comment. But another Teamsters source who did not want to be identified said the two sides were still not close enough to dismiss any strike talks.

“If necessary, we’re ready,” said one sanitation driver, who asked that his name not be published. “We can’t support our families on what we’re making.”

Drivers in Santa Ana said they make $12.90 an hour, even if they have been with the company more than 20 years. Drivers said frequent overtime is the only way they can support their families.

Though neither the Teamsters nor the trash collecting vendors would discuss terms of the negotiations, several sanitation sources said the union wants a $10-an-hour raise spread over the five years of the contract, but with an immediate $6-an-hour raise.