Brea officials want Republic Services \u2013 a waste hauler for many OC cities \u2013 to pay them $5.4 million after labor disputes this past summer and strikes in 2021 delayed trash pick ups.<\/p>\n
Part of that money includes over $130,000 in customer credits as compensation for the work stoppage this year and in 2021 \u2013 about $12 per residential customer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter careful review of their records submitted for the audit, the City has calculated the liquidated damages, expense reimbursements, and customer credits owed from the 2025 labor disruption, along with the expense reimbursement and penalty assessment owed from the December 2021 labor disruption. In total, the City is seeking $5.4 million owed from Republic Services,\u201d reads a Thursday city news release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
City officials say they\u2019ve sent requests for reimbursement to Republic Services, one of Orange County\u2019s largest trash haulers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City mailed a letter to Republic Services requesting reimbursement for both labor disruption instances, along with details of the audit, last month and is awaiting response.\u201d<\/p>\n
James Richardson Jr, a spokesperson for Republic Services, said the company shouldn\u2019t owe the city money.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are reviewing the information in the City\u2019s audit, but we strongly disagree with the City\u2019s position on the applicability of liquidated damages,\u201d Richardson wrote in a Thursday statement, which accounts for $4.6 million of the city\u2019s $5.4 million request.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe value our partnership with the City of Brea and are committed to providing the highest level of service to customers throughout Orange County.\u201d .\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a city audit into Republic\u2019s records about this year\u2019s labor dispute, Brea City Public Works Director Michael Ho sent out a letter and invoice to the trash collector in September asking for millions in reimbursement by Oct. 23.<\/p>\n
Trash pickups were temporarily halted in July for about a week after about 1,000 Orange County garbage collectors refused to show up to work in solidarity with workers in Boston who went on strike for better pay and benefits.<\/p>\n
The labor dispute in the North Eastern part of the country triggered a national action that mobilized waste hauling workers across different regions of America, disrupting services in Brea, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, Placentia, Yorba Linda and Seal Beach.<\/p>\n
[Read: Trash Pickup in Orange County Resumes Following Delays from Workers\u2019 Picket Line<\/a>]<\/p>\n Under the union\u2019s contract with Republic Services, workers can honor picket lines to apply more pressure on the company when workers at another facility go on strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n Part of the $5.4 million city leaders are asking for includes over $672,000 as reimbursement for a work stoppage in December 2021.<\/p>\n Former City Manager Bill Gallardo sent a similar letter requesting the money back in January 2022, but officials say Republic Services never paid them.<\/p>\n The letter came after 400 Republic Service workers went on strike<\/a> in December 2021 because they hadn\u2019t reached a contract with the company.<\/p>\n