IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 23, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Waste Management of Orange County is currently on a normal operations schedule, with the company's employees in Irvine and Santa Ana who are members of Teamsters Local 396 reporting to work as scheduled today.
On Friday, these employees voted on proposed five-year contracts as successor agreements to the contracts that expired Sept. 30 -- the employees who work for the company's Santa Ana operations voted to ratify the contract. In a separate vote, the employees who work for the company's Irvine operations voted against ratification.
The offer was the company's "last, best and final" offer. The union and Waste Management agreed to put the contract to a vote after both parties agreed to the terms of the proposed contract, and union leadership and bargaining committee members recommended its ratification to their members.
Due to normal operations at this time, Waste Management doesn't anticipate any impact on our customers in Orange County. These regions include those served by our Santa Ana operations, which are the cities of La Habra, Santa Ana and Orange and the surrounding county regions, including Cowan Heights, Lemon Heights, North Tustin, El Modena, Orange Olive and Orange Park Acres. We have plans in place to address any service changes we may experience in the future in the regions serviced by Irvine, which are the cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Newport Coast and regions of the canyon areas and south county: Las Flores, Ladera Ranch, Coto de Caza, Emerald Bay, Trabuco Canyon, Modjeska Canyon and Silverado Canyon.
We hope to reach a mutually agreeable solution with our employees in Irvine. However, we currently have managers and employees from throughout Southern California on standby in Orange County to support the implementation of our contingency service plans, should they be needed.
Waste Management will continue to make all efforts to reach consensus on the proposed contract with our employees in Irvine. The company feels strongly that continuing the education process about the proposed contract with our employees in Irvine is the best course of action for all parties concerned.
However, should a change in service occur, we will make necessary staffing adjustments by utilizing those employees we currently have on site or bringing in additional employees from other regions, and also alert customers to the proper procedures for disposing of trash. We will take steps to ensure the safety and well-being of those employees who will continue to work. We welcome continued dialogue in order to achieve a positive result for all parties involved.
For updates, visit Waste Management of Orange County's Web site at www.wmorangecounty.com.
Waste Management is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America.
The Waste Management logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2844