Orange County bus mechanics, machinists and techs to begin strike, halting service, in an effort to reduce local traffic. The union says it will also stop all trash collection at a time when the recycling collection is not working.
RANCHO VILLAGE, CA (KTXL) – The union representing labor staff at the city of Rancho Santa Fe’s bus garage says it has a tentative agreement with the city covering their demands to negotiate for a better living standard. But the bus mechanics and machinists want to stop all trash collection for six days starting Tuesday, Feb. 28, until they can be sure the trash is picked up.
“We’re not going to do anything. We’re going to call a strike. We have a meeting with the city’s transportation officer Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, in the afternoon,” says a spokesperson for the Machinists Union. The spokesperson would not disclose the date or time of the strike, but says they are in contact with the union, the city, and are talking.
A spokesperson for the city said the city would be in contact with the union by Tuesday, February 14 at 5 p.m. If no agreement is reached, trash collection will be stopped for six days from February 12 to February 18 at 5 p.m.
The bus garage represents over 5200 union employees, and they are asking the union to bargain a contract based on a two-year or a four-year contract.
In addition to the union’s call to strike, the bus garage has also called for all trash collection to stop.
“This is going to have to be the largest single waste load in the state, and it’s going to have to be picked up as per usual,” says the spokesperson for the Machinists Union. “We’re not going to say we’re done with it, but there’s a possibility we’ll have to pull a strike for it.”
In response to the union’s statement, the Machinists Union spokesperson told News4 they’re expecting another meeting on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, at the bus garage.
The spokesperson for the city said the bus garage is a city maintenance contract, so any workers could strike, but they can also decide to not renew their membership if they don’t agree with
