A strike by sanitation workers that has impacted trash collection in much of north and northwest Orange County is heading into a new week, and at least one city is considering a local emergency declaration to help get services back up.

The work stoppage by more than 400 employees of Republic Services, who collect trash in the contract cities and work at the company’s waste management facilities in Anaheim and Huntington Beach, started in the early morning hours on Thursday, Dec. 9. The workers are members of Teamsters Local 396.

In addition to Huntington Beach and Anaheim, the communities of Fullerton, Brea, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Placentia, Yorba Linda, Villa Park and others have seen interruptions in service in recent days.

But a sign of progress: Republic Services and the union plan to resume talks Tuesday morning, Dec. 14, said Andy Marshall, contract coordinator for Teamsters Local 396. A timeline for when the strike could end is unclear.

Limited pickup is taking place in locations such as schools, hospitals and the John Wayne Airport, where an accumulation of waste would be a health concern, officials said. Huntington Beach spokeswoman Catherine Jun said Republic Services on Monday was collecting trash in some parts of town that were supposed to have pickup last week.

Huntington Beach leaders are considering a local emergency to help them implement a plan to restore collection services by the weekend, a city news release said. Details of a plan will be hammered out during a special meeting planned on Tuesday, the release said.

“The need to develop a trash disruption mitigation response plan has been driven by the fact that Republic Services has been unable to coordinate reliable and ongoing trash collection services,” officials said in the release.

In an emailed statement Monday, a Republic Services representative, who did not include their name, said the company “is working hard to resume normal service as quickly as possible, and we are making progress with many of our customers today.”

The company has advised residents in impacted cities to bring their bins back in if no collection comes on their scheduled day. Residents may use trash bags once their bins are full.

Residents in Huntington Beach can take their trash to any of five locations set-up for garbage drop-off, city officials said: Greer, Edison or Murdy Park; the Public Works Yard on Gothard Street; or Meadowlark Golf. In Anaheim, officials are noting “practical steps” that residents can take to reduce trash accumulation, such as putting off yard work and reusing water bottles.

From the picket line Monday outside the Republic Services facility in Huntington Beach, employee Omar Ortiz said a work stoppage was “the last thing that we wanted to do.”

“So we feel, and we truly believe, that the company pushed us to do this,” the 28-year-old said. “But we love what we do. We take pride in what we do. We love the city. We love to take care of our customers. We have a lot of customers that do appreciate us, and we appreciate them.”

Union members, who authorized a strike on Nov. 23, have alleged unfair labor practices by Republic Services as the groups negotiate for a new contract, including that the company gave bonuses to some employees without first bargaining with the union.

“We’re just looking for something that’s fair,” Ortiz said. “We’ve been labeled as essential workers. We just want to get treated as such.”

The company’s statement said it remains “committed to bargaining in good faith to resolve this work stoppage and reach a fair deal for all.”

Marshall said that while talks have moved forward with other waste companies contracted by cities in Orange County, discussions with Republic Services weren’t “making any progress in our mind.”

“We are doing everything within our power to get this settled,” he said Monday afternoon. “We understand that it’s a hardship on everybody. And so we just ask for everybody’s understanding that everybody has to make a fair living and a fair wage.”

Orange County Second District Supervisor Katrina Foley, who represents some of the impacted areas, including Fountain Valley, the airport and unincorporated parts of the county, said it will be important to get employees back to work and full services restored soon, especially in areas that see a lot of visitors.

“The holidays are upon us,” she said. “People need their jobs. The community needs to stay clean. We definitely don’t want to have trash out during the holiday.”

Between Dec. 4 and Saturday, the decrease in waste hauled to the two county landfills used by Republic Services was roughly 4,000 tons, said Ruth Wardwell, spokeswoman for Orange County Waste and Recycling.

She said some staffers at the Olinda Alpha Landfill in Brea reported more people coming to the site to dump trash, but “it is not specified whether these are from impacted neighborhoods or just a general increase.”

Related Articles