The battle over picketing at Orange County landfills intensified Tuesday as county officials sued the Teamsters council representing waste and public works employees and sought a temporary restraining order.
County officials have taken issue with how the Teamsters Joint Council 42 members have been picketing at three county landfills, complaining that they are blockading two of the sites.
“They shouldn’t be blocking anything — that’s a health hazard,” Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee said.
Christian Castro, a spokesman for the union, denied
Christian Castro, a spokesman for the union, denied its members were blocking trucks going in or out of the landfills. Castro said a complaint the county filed with the California Public Employment Relations Board making similar allegations was rejected.
“They found no merit for the county’s request for an emergency injunction,” Castro said. “The county is pursuing other avenues through superior court and we’re confident the court will find these are equally without merit.
“This is just another desperate attempt by the county to take responsibility for the labor dispute. Instead of pursuing legal action against its own workers they should focus on what matters most — delivering a fair contract, ending the strike and getting people back to work.”
The board denied the injunctive relief sought
The board denied the injunctive relief sought by the county, but the complaint remains pending, county officials said.
The union has vowed to expand its picketing in the coming days, including at John Wayne Airport, Castro said.
In its board complaint, the county alleged that picketers were breaking the law by forming “human chains,” blocking traffic and falsely telling customers the landfills were closed.
In one instance during a scrum, a picketing
In one instance during a scrum, a picketing worker’s right foot was run over by a public self-haul customer, and another picketer suffered a similar injury in Brea within the next hour, county officials said.
Chaffee said most of the problems were occurring at Olinda Alpha Landfill, 1942 N. Valencia Ave. in Brea, and the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill, 11002 Bee Canyon Access Road in Irvine.
The Prima Deshecha Landfill, 32250 Avenida La Pata in San Juan Capistrano, remains open without significant issues, Chaffee said.
Chaffee said the county’s complaints are valid.
There’s a lot of photographs that are part
“There’s a lot of photographs that are part of the declarations” in the lawsuit filed on Monday, Chaffee said.
“The three landfills are open and active and it would apply across the board,” Chaffee said of the lawsuit. “Strangely, one doesn’t seem to be blocked and the two others seem to be..
“And this is kind of interesting because we’re paying extra to the highway patrol to help people come and go, and the highway patrol has different divisions and one is helping and the other isn’t.”
The county turned to the California Highway Patrol
The county turned to the California Highway Patrol for security because officials were dissatisfied with responses from local law enforcement, including sheriff’s deputies, whose union is negotiating with the county for a new contract, Chaffee said.
“They would drive away and so it all resumed,” Chaffee said of the issues with blocking access to the landfills.
County officials have tried to sweeten their offer to the union, but Chaffee said they cannot offer more without triggering pay and benefit adjustments for other unions under parity clauses.
If this results in something better —
“If this results in something better — and it would — (the other unions) will get an adjustment up to the same level,” Chaffee said. “If we bring everyone up to the last, best and final offer, it’s millions more it’s costing us. We have to take that into account with the parity clause.”
The work stoppage could affect haulers in cities throughout the county. They have storage space for trash, but it can fill quickly before the waste must be taken to a landfill.
Cities can truck waste outside the county, but that would increase costs, Chaffee said.
“My hope is we can get back to the bargaining table and get a deal done and end the strike,” Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Katrina Foley said. “That’s good for everyone.”
