Orange County workers strike, demand higher wages

Orange County workers, represented by Teamsters Local 952, went on strike on Tuesday as a labor dispute over higher wages to keep pace with the rising cost of living continues.

The union represents nearly 500 public employees at OC Public Works, OC Waste and Recycling, OC Community Resources, and other county operations that serve three million residents.

Sam Carlin, Local 952 union representative, said bargaining with the county has been ongoing for months.

"The County of Orange has not bargained in good faith. We have to file unfair labor practice charges," Carlin said. "They didn't have a proposal for us for months and months."

Teamsters said they called on the county to begin bargaining in December 2025, but workers say the county did not make meaningful progress until August 2026.

At the heart of the matter is fair wages. "They gave themselves a 25% raise; we deserve the bare minimum; we deserve more than the 3% they offered us," Carlin said. The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to increase their salaries by 25% last year.

Carlin added that they didn't want to strike, and that it's unfortunate it's gotten to this point.

"Our workers make Orange County work," he said. "It's unfortunate they couldn't give us an offer before this day," Carlin said. There is an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.

The strike could cause delays to road and flood channel maintenance, landfill operations, parks and beach maintenance, repairs to county and first responder vehicles, among other services, the union said.