Fixed route bus service on Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) network will not operate starting Nov. 3 through at least Nov. 6 after labor negotiations between OCTA and Teamsters Local 952 broke down, and a strike notice was issued. OCTA’s paratransit service, ACCESS, will continue.
Teamsters Local 952 represents 150 mechanics, machinists and service workers employed by OCTA. The two sides avoided a strike in mid-October after California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership team intervened and brought the entities back to the negotiating table. OCTA requested gubernatorial intervention a second time, but that request has not received a response.
OCTA and its union representatives have been working on a new agreement throughout the summer and fall; the existing contract expired Sept. 30.
“We are disappointed the union has called off negotiations and ask that they return to the table, so we can reach a fair resolution that rewards our maintenance employees for their great work,” said OCTA Chairman Mark A. Murphy, who also is the Mayor of Orange. “Thousands of people rely on OC Bus to get to school and work every day, and we hope the union calls off the strike to avoid further hurting the people in Orange County who can least afford to be hurt.”
“We understand how this labor dispute will adversely affect thousands of riders who depend on the bus system for their transportation needs,” said Teamsters Local 952 Secretary-Treasurer Eric Jimenez. “We have done everything in our power to avoid a strike.”
The release from the union on Nov. 2 did not include specifics of where negotiating sticking points remained, including noting the union offered ways to save the authority money on healthcare costs that were rejected by OCTA. However, in the union’s initial strike authorization, it noted “key health and welfare issues” needed to be addressed.
“We have brought in mediators. We have come up with ways to save OCTA money on healthcare. We have reached out to OCTA board members and local political leaders. We have honored the governor’s request to return to the table and continue talks. We have asked our members to be patient and continue working with the utmost professionalism without an agreement…only to have OCTA continually refuse to bargain in good faith and disrespect us by walking out of negotiations,” said Jimenez.
- A 14.25 percent wage increase over three years, including an immediate five percent raise, another 4.75 percent raise on Oct. 1, 2023, and an additional 4.5 percent raise on Oct. 1, 2024.
- Continuing contributions to two pension plans that union members receive, which includes 26.4 percent of an employee’s wages to the Orange County Employees Retirement System and $1.30 per hour worked to the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund.
- An increase in healthcare contributions by 16 percent over the three-year contract timeframe, as well as an offer to provide options to lower the monthly cost for maintenance employees.
OCTA explains its maintenance employees are part of the Teamsters Labor Alliance Trust fund for health insurance where the plans cost and design, which includes premiums, co-pays and benefits, are controlled by Teamsters leadership.
OCTA says it will meet with the union at any point; Teamsters Local 952 says it will return to the table when OCTA’s bargaining position is significantly modified.
