WEBVTT - SoCal Storms & OC Strikes 0:00:00.420 --> 0:00:07.650 K-F-I. This is Monks and Merrill. 0:00:07.690 --> 0:00:10.090 Because in Kentucky, our cousins are made differently. 0:00:10.750 --> 0:00:11.190 Cousins. 0:00:11.650 --> 0:00:12.190 Call me. 0:00:12.470 --> 0:00:15.970 Hosted by Michael Monks and Chris Merrill. 0:00:16.210 --> 0:00:18.369 On KFI AM640. 0:00:19.650 --> 0:00:22.410 Yeah, that got weird fast last week. Real fast. That 0:00:22.450 --> 0:00:27.060 was your fault. So it's on me. I'm Chris Merrill, 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:29.200 the guy who Would like his cousins to call as 0:00:29.260 --> 0:00:31.580 Michael Monks. Listen anytime on demand and subscribe to the 0:00:31.620 --> 0:00:34.360 podcast on the iHeartRadio app. Never miss a moment. On 0:00:34.380 --> 0:00:37.470 the socials, at Monks and Merrill, at Monks and Merrill. 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:41.269 I was spending all weekend reposting. You know I'm an 0:00:41.290 --> 0:00:43.370 Instagram guy. I know you are. And I was spending 0:00:43.570 --> 0:00:48.770 all weekend just reposting the disaster that we were seeing 0:00:48.830 --> 0:00:53.180 from this tropical, I saw somebody call it a tropical cyclone, Rachel. 0:00:53.220 --> 0:00:56.910 And I was like, who calls it tropical cyclone? Tropical 0:00:56.950 --> 0:00:58.270 storm by the time it got to land. 0:00:59.690 --> 0:01:00.110 Everywhere. 0:01:00.310 --> 0:01:02.870 I mean, San Diego got pummeled. And then, obviously, all 0:01:02.910 --> 0:01:06.170 the south-facing beaches here just got ripped up. And everything 0:01:06.190 --> 0:01:12.100 that we were seeing late last week, too. Especially Long Beach, Laguna, Malibu. Man, 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.440 it was like, well, if you thought yesterday was bad, 0:01:16.100 --> 0:01:18.360 the tides are three inches higher today. Plus, the winds 0:01:18.390 --> 0:01:20.590 are coming in. It just kept getting worse and worse 0:01:20.630 --> 0:01:21.770 and worse. It's a mess. 0:01:21.830 --> 0:01:25.660 The videos that we're seeing on our television friends, that was... Man, 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:28.060 it's just hard to wake up to that. And when 0:01:28.100 --> 0:01:28.900 is the relief coming? 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:29.300 Don't know. 0:01:29.340 --> 0:01:31.740 What does it look like right now? KFI News reporter 0:01:31.780 --> 0:01:36.750 Jason Nathanson is live for us today in Long Beach. Jason, 0:01:36.790 --> 0:01:39.090 my goodness, how are the people doing in that city? 0:01:40.230 --> 0:01:41.870 You know, I found things were calming down here a 0:01:41.890 --> 0:01:43.650 little bit, but now the waves seem to have picked 0:01:43.670 --> 0:01:45.010 back up. There's a couple people in front of me 0:01:45.030 --> 0:01:47.580 who are right on the boardwalk, and they're really like, whoa, 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:50.800 they need to get out of there. You guys should 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:55.510 walk back. It's pretty dangerous. I mean, they're really risking 0:01:55.530 --> 0:01:57.390 their lives right now because these waves are coming in 0:01:57.430 --> 0:02:00.850 and they hit the seawall and it just goes, crashes 0:02:01.050 --> 0:02:05.090 up and comes down with such force and it violently 0:02:05.290 --> 0:02:09.669 shakes everything. And you can't help but kind of be 0:02:09.710 --> 0:02:13.230 a little bit scared. So I'm standing on 65th right now, 0:02:13.690 --> 0:02:15.850 which is right on the peninsula where you've seen the 0:02:15.910 --> 0:02:19.060 videos of all these homes along. There are about 12 0:02:19.060 --> 0:02:22.960 or so homes that are red-tagged here. And To my 0:02:23.020 --> 0:02:25.220 right right now is a blue home that I'm told 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:28.820 was built about 100 years ago. It's collapsing. It's ready 0:02:28.860 --> 0:02:31.620 to just fall into the sea. To my left is 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:36.910 a brand-new construction, brand-new build. It looks like brick and concrete, 0:02:37.090 --> 0:02:40.830 and I'm told there's steel poles going into the foundation. 0:02:40.850 --> 0:02:44.750 And that's fine from what I can tell. That's going 0:02:44.770 --> 0:02:48.460 to stay. So it's really a tale of construction. It's 0:02:48.510 --> 0:02:51.400 a tale of, you know, what people have done to 0:02:51.940 --> 0:02:55.840 try to protect themselves as we've learned how powerful nature 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.340 is and what it's going to do. And new building 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.310 codes is going to save some of these houses. But 0:03:01.950 --> 0:03:04.150 then on the other side, where there's about eight or 0:03:04.150 --> 0:03:06.410 10 houses that are not red tag, but are in 0:03:06.590 --> 0:03:10.060 danger of this happening to them. I talked to VR. 0:03:10.070 --> 0:03:11.299 Do you guys get the sound that I sent you? 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:11.660 Yes. 0:03:12.630 --> 0:03:15.169 Okay, so I talked to VR, who is a guy who, 0:03:15.250 --> 0:03:18.780 when Hurricane Marie first hit, and we saw a lot 0:03:18.820 --> 0:03:22.900 of this stuff happening in Long Beach, VR became, he 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.020 was on almost every newscast. Really great guy, really zen 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:28.710 about this whole thing. I talked to him, and they're 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:31.590 trying to save his house over there, and they're bringing 0:03:31.610 --> 0:03:34.470 in a lot of sand, and they have a plan 0:03:34.630 --> 0:03:37.510 with the sand, and maybe the Army Corps of Engineers 0:03:37.550 --> 0:03:38.970 to try to save some of those houses. 0:03:40.010 --> 0:03:41.940 By adding a lot more sand, maybe. 0:03:41.940 --> 0:03:45.740 3,000 to 5,000 pounds of sand and then packing it 0:03:45.820 --> 0:03:49.540 up with sandbags and making a barrier to stop the 0:03:49.580 --> 0:03:51.840 flow of water till the city officials get to it. 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:54.370 How do you add 3,000 to 5,000 pounds of sand? 0:03:54.550 --> 0:03:58.090 We just go buy sand and come. Truckloads of sand, 0:03:58.110 --> 0:04:00.550 we just buy it and we bring it. See, it 0:04:00.590 --> 0:04:03.510 is a fraction. Spending $ 4, 000 to protect a $ 4 million 0:04:03.850 --> 0:04:06.070 home is a fraction of expense for us. 0:04:06.090 --> 0:04:08.570 And you're doing that. The homeowners are doing it. Most 0:04:08.620 --> 0:04:10.310 of the homeowners are chipping in and doing it. 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:11.220 Wow. 0:04:12.510 --> 0:04:14.850 So he thinks the city is doing what it can, 0:04:15.870 --> 0:04:18.909 and they're just, you know, they want to help as well, 0:04:18.930 --> 0:04:21.450 and they're happy to supplement it. But he does think 0:04:21.470 --> 0:04:23.610 this is a chaotic situation, and they're doing what they can. 0:04:24.010 --> 0:04:26.870 Then I talked to a guy named Craig. Craig doesn't 0:04:26.930 --> 0:04:29.330 exactly agree and thinks there could have been more that 0:04:29.370 --> 0:04:29.750 was done. 0:04:29.770 --> 0:04:31.990 Did you ever expect you would see something? 0:04:32.010 --> 0:04:34.030 Do you know there are risks in owning a home? 0:04:34.510 --> 0:04:35.270 Let's put it this way. 0:04:35.310 --> 0:04:35.860 That's VR, too. 0:04:35.870 --> 0:04:38.430 Oh, that's VR. Yeah, no, I didn't get one from Craig. So, yeah, okay. 0:04:38.450 --> 0:04:39.890 So you talk to another guy who says, no, they 0:04:39.930 --> 0:04:40.570 need to be doing more. 0:04:41.630 --> 0:04:43.490 He said that there was there was a plan to 0:04:43.529 --> 0:04:46.210 dredge and build this kind of channel that would stop 0:04:46.230 --> 0:04:47.810 a lot of this stuff and that they had this 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.159 plan forever. But it was going to cost three or 0:04:50.220 --> 0:04:53.659 four hundred million dollars. And that's maybe why they haven't 0:04:53.920 --> 0:05:00.270 done it. And they've been waiting on that. And then D.R., who, again, 0:05:00.310 --> 0:05:02.529 I told you is a pretty zen guy all around, 0:05:02.589 --> 0:05:04.730 I asked him about living here and, you know, the 0:05:04.790 --> 0:05:07.030 dangers that you can expect from living here. 0:05:07.130 --> 0:05:08.789 Did you ever expect you would see something? 0:05:09.130 --> 0:05:10.800 You know there are risks in owning a home. 0:05:10.890 --> 0:05:14.159 Well, let's put it this way. We buy a home 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:16.180 by oceanfront to enjoy the ocean. 0:05:17.000 --> 0:05:20.100 We should be expecting the fact that the ocean sometimes 0:05:20.140 --> 0:05:21.620 wants to see how your house looks. 0:05:22.290 --> 0:05:24.270 And wants to visit you. It's as simple as that. 0:05:24.790 --> 0:05:27.680 I kind of like that. That's pretty good. 0:05:27.740 --> 0:05:30.420 I mean, it's the best of the attitudes that you 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:34.980 can have in this situation. But it's tense here. I mean, 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:37.440 it is really tense. People are upset with the media 0:05:37.580 --> 0:05:41.540 for being here and watching all this stuff. Some people 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:45.890 are telling us not to film, not to record stuff. 0:05:47.830 --> 0:05:50.590 There's lots of cleanup to be done. There's sand and 0:05:50.830 --> 0:05:53.070 kind of mud and water everywhere. It's not the kind 0:05:53.089 --> 0:05:55.930 of flooding we saw in Newport, but there is a 0:05:55.980 --> 0:06:00.039 little bit of that. and people are worried about their homes. 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:03.180 And VR also told me that insurance is not going 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:06.880 to cover this. Regular homeowner's insurance, not a chance. They 0:06:06.900 --> 0:06:09.440 have supplemental flood insurance that might cover a little bit, 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:11.930 but for the most part, they're bearing all the costs 0:06:11.970 --> 0:06:12.230 of this. 0:06:12.770 --> 0:06:15.650 Jason Nathanson, our KFI reporter in Long Beach. Jason, thank 0:06:15.670 --> 0:06:17.170 you for the work that you're doing. Please stay safe. 0:06:17.290 --> 0:06:19.270 How much of that boardwalk is left? You said you're 0:06:19.290 --> 0:06:21.409 on the boardwalk, but all the footage I see just 0:06:21.450 --> 0:06:24.040 shows it looks like somebody just dropped a box of 0:06:24.060 --> 0:06:24.960 matchsticks open there. 0:06:25.940 --> 0:06:27.410 And that's pretty much the case. And that's one of 0:06:27.430 --> 0:06:30.210 the things, one of the homeowners, he's been showing up 0:06:30.230 --> 0:06:32.490 the boardwalk himself. You can see there's new pieces of 0:06:32.550 --> 0:06:35.150 wood here and there. He's been doing that. There are 0:06:35.190 --> 0:06:37.810 parts where you can walk on it. They don't want. 0:06:37.610 --> 0:06:39.770 You out there. So, you know, you got to get out. 0:06:39.810 --> 0:06:41.240 And if you carry it back to the waves, you 0:06:41.260 --> 0:06:43.760 can get smashed by something. So there are little parts 0:06:43.779 --> 0:06:45.980 where you can walk on it still. But for the 0:06:46.020 --> 0:06:47.040 most part, it's gone. 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:49.510 Jason, thank you so much, man. We appreciate it. 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:50.339 Be safe. 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:51.260 Sure thing. Take care. 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:54.460 Thanks, man. That is just rough to think that you're 0:06:54.500 --> 0:06:57.289 watching your home. You know, the thing that caught me 0:06:57.330 --> 0:07:00.270 is he said that the one home that's being destroyed 0:07:00.290 --> 0:07:03.030 had been there 100 years. Think of all the storms 0:07:03.089 --> 0:07:06.470 that that home has already weathered, but this is the 0:07:06.510 --> 0:07:10.590 one that takes it out. You never know. It's sad. 0:07:11.330 --> 0:07:13.430 So while cities on our coast are trying to figure 0:07:13.550 --> 0:07:16.170 out how to begin the cleanup once they're able to 0:07:16.250 --> 0:07:20.350 do that, crews that head that effort and lead operations 0:07:20.390 --> 0:07:24.120 to handle the next flood say they ain't lifting a finger. 0:07:24.590 --> 0:07:27.650 Until they get more money for the work they've already done. 0:07:27.690 --> 0:07:31.290 While the Teamsters in Orange County say they're ready to strike. 0:07:31.890 --> 0:07:33.130 That's next on Monks and Merrill. 0:07:33.690 --> 0:07:38.660 You're listening to Monks and Merrill On Demand. From KFI 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:41.500 AM 640. More stimulating talk. 0:07:41.660 --> 0:07:45.000 KFI AM 640 live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 0:07:45.060 --> 0:07:47.840 Monks and Merrill with you on this Monday. Let's get 0:07:47.860 --> 0:07:49.000 the week started. 0:07:49.020 --> 0:07:52.000 Although there are some who don't want to start this week. 0:07:52.180 --> 0:07:57.280 More than 400. Orange County employees represented by Teamsters Local 952, 0:07:57.260 --> 0:08:00.800 they're scheduled to strike tomorrow unless the union and the 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:03.800 county reach a deal. These workers are saying that, look, 0:08:03.860 --> 0:08:05.440 we take care of the roads, we take care of 0:08:05.460 --> 0:08:08.590 the flood channels, we take care of the landfills, the parks, 0:08:08.650 --> 0:08:13.050 the beaches, we repair county and first responder vehicles. Give 0:08:13.190 --> 0:08:17.990 us a fair contract. Eric Jimenez is secretary treasurer of 0:08:18.070 --> 0:08:22.050 Teamsters Local 952 joins us on the phone now. Eric, 0:08:22.090 --> 0:08:24.780 thanks for taking the time for us. What exactly do 0:08:25.180 --> 0:08:26.020 your colleagues want? 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:30.500 Well, thank you very much for allowing me to be on. 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:34.140 Good afternoon. A fair contract, that is exactly what they're 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:39.550 looking for. A fair wage, a fair medical, something that 0:08:40.050 --> 0:08:41.810 honors them for the work they do. Like you said, 0:08:42.210 --> 0:08:44.770 these are the members that take care of the roads. 0:08:45.309 --> 0:08:48.750 The emergency vehicles, they take care of the parks, the waterways. 0:08:49.260 --> 0:08:52.059 As you saw in Newport and all the beach cities 0:08:52.100 --> 0:08:54.240 right now, those are our members that are gearing up 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.949 to try to protect those homes from the floodwaters. El 0:08:57.970 --> 0:08:59.650 Nino is coming. Those are our members that will be 0:08:59.670 --> 0:09:03.260 taking care of those waterways. Unfortunately, the county, we reached 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:06.340 out to the county as early as December of 2025, 0:09:06.340 --> 0:09:08.880 asking them to sit down and bargain in good faith. 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:12.000 They chose not to. The state of California has held 0:09:12.140 --> 0:09:15.950 up a complaint that the Teamsters has filed showing that 0:09:15.990 --> 0:09:18.469 the county did drag their feet. They didn't give their 0:09:18.510 --> 0:09:22.190 negotiating team the authority to bargain with the Teamsters union 0:09:22.570 --> 0:09:27.090 in fair bargaining and fair faith. And therefore, they've They've 0:09:27.110 --> 0:09:31.000 made us– they themselves put themselves in the position they're 0:09:31.020 --> 0:09:33.339 in today. If there is a strike tomorrow, it's going 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:38.090 to be because the county chose not to– honors their 0:09:38.110 --> 0:09:41.490 employees and for everything they do. So again, you know, 0:09:41.670 --> 0:09:44.750 for the last six, seven months, they've been offering a 0% 0:09:44.750 --> 0:09:48.069 wage increase, you know, a 0% wage increase in a 0:09:48.110 --> 0:09:50.960 time where gas is $ 6 plus, you know, food, the 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:55.120 cost of living, especially in Orange County is soaring. How 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.200 do you present somebody a zero percent wage increase? And 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:01.679 then a month and a half after the contract expired, 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.900 they finally come with a three percent wage increase. But, hey, 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:06.600 we're not going to do any retro pay or any 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:08.700 back pay for the months that we drug our feet 0:10:09.140 --> 0:10:11.360 to get you a contract. So, again, it's a slap 0:10:11.380 --> 0:10:14.650 in the member's face. They need to honor these workers 0:10:14.670 --> 0:10:17.209 for everything they do for the county. And the way 0:10:17.230 --> 0:10:19.430 they do that is by giving them a fair contract 0:10:19.450 --> 0:10:22.050 with fair wages and some retro pay or some back 0:10:22.090 --> 0:10:23.829 pay for the time they drug their feet. 0:10:24.370 --> 0:10:28.270 Eric Jimenez from the Teamsters Local 952 representing these public 0:10:28.290 --> 0:10:30.470 employees that are talking about walking out tomorrow. Are you 0:10:30.510 --> 0:10:33.910 concerned that it could sway some public sentiment if the 0:10:33.950 --> 0:10:37.569 employees strike right as the roads are flooded and we 0:10:38.030 --> 0:10:39.910 absolutely have to have all hands on deck? 0:10:41.110 --> 0:10:43.569 I mean, by all means, I truly understand that. I 0:10:43.610 --> 0:10:45.589 understand the fear that it could pose for some of 0:10:45.730 --> 0:10:49.950 our county residents. But really what they need to be 0:10:49.990 --> 0:10:53.510 doing is calling the county supervisors and saying, hey, treat 0:10:53.530 --> 0:10:56.900 these workers fairly. Give them a fair wage. We see 0:10:56.920 --> 0:11:00.320 what's going on out there, not just in Orange County, California, 0:11:00.340 --> 0:11:03.400 but the country. Things are expensive. Gas is expensive. Food 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:06.660 is expensive. These people deserve to be paid a fair 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:10.359 living wage. in order to allow them to keep doing 0:11:10.380 --> 0:11:14.800 their job. So again, we are very open to what's 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:17.480 going on out there. But again, this isn't our fault. 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:20.880 This isn't the members' fault. They can't continue to do 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:23.490 their job and protect this county and continue to make 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:27.329 this county work while they're selling themselves short. Everybody deserves 0:11:27.370 --> 0:11:30.470 a fair wage. Everybody deserves a fair shot at life. 0:11:30.990 --> 0:11:34.430 and the county supervisors are choosing to go down this road. 0:11:35.030 --> 0:11:39.030 We have our phones open. We are ready to take 0:11:39.050 --> 0:11:41.160 an offer if the county is willing to do it 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:44.940 before tomorrow morning. They have a meeting tomorrow morning starting 0:11:44.980 --> 0:11:47.900 at 9. We've been sitting here since last week waiting 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:49.340 for them to reach out to us, and they chose 0:11:49.380 --> 0:11:49.679 not to. 0:11:49.940 --> 0:11:52.179 Eric, can you help us understand what a fair contract 0:11:52.220 --> 0:11:54.000 and a fair wage looks like? Can you put some 0:11:54.070 --> 0:11:54.800 numbers on that? 0:11:55.929 --> 0:11:58.859 So, you know, at the last time we were– We 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:02.070 were looking for about a three-year contract. They had offered 0:12:02.110 --> 0:12:05.270 a one-year contract. We decided to say, okay, we will 0:12:05.929 --> 0:12:08.500 agree to a one-year contract, but we're looking upwards of 0:12:08.540 --> 0:12:13.800 a 6% wage increase, something to cover the amount of 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:17.829 money that it's taken to live these days. Now, again, 0:12:17.950 --> 0:12:20.790 negotiations is negotiations. We're going to go and we're going 0:12:20.809 --> 0:12:22.349 to shoot a number, and they're going to shoot a 0:12:22.410 --> 0:12:25.689 number from their side. Unfortunately, what we've been dealing with 0:12:25.830 --> 0:12:28.270 is you guys continue, and when I say you guys, 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:31.580 the Teamsters, you continue to move down, but yet we're 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:35.000 not going to make any movement whatsoever. That is not negotiations. 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:38.000 That is exactly why the state of California upheld a 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:41.210 charge against the county of Orange. because they're not bargaining 0:12:41.230 --> 0:12:44.730 in good faith. So again, from December of last year 0:12:44.809 --> 0:12:48.420 all the way till August, they were proposing a 0% 0:12:48.420 --> 0:12:51.080 wage increase while asking us, can you guys please come 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:52.420 down a little bit more? Can you please come down 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:53.660 a little bit more? Can you please come down a 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.550 little bit more? And then finally, not only that, but 0:12:57.590 --> 0:12:59.590 during the month of July, they decided to go dark 0:12:59.630 --> 0:13:03.050 a whole month without talking to the union. They decided 0:13:03.070 --> 0:13:07.479 to go dark and not talk about negotiations. Finally, in August, 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.800 they came back with a 3% wage increase, which is 0:13:10.900 --> 0:13:13.620 barely getting people by today. But, again, that would have 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:16.559 been a lot better to work with back in March 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:18.959 or April of 2026 so we could have worked a 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:23.459 deal out rather than just giving a 0-0-0 and then saying, hey, 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:27.609 here's 3% with no back pay whatsoever. Remember that. These 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:32.130 members did nothing to drag these negotiations on. These– the 0:13:32.190 --> 0:13:35.530 county decided to drag their feet as much as possible 0:13:35.990 --> 0:13:37.630 and then try to put these members in a box 0:13:37.650 --> 0:13:40.630 where they had to accept an inferior contract. And these 0:13:40.690 --> 0:13:42.630 members aren't putting up for it. The tinctures union isn't 0:13:42.650 --> 0:13:44.440 going to put up for it. So again, you know, 0:13:44.460 --> 0:13:45.980 the county knows what they need to do. They need 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:48.140 to give a fair wage increase. They need to give 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:50.540 some retro pay for all the months that these members 0:13:50.580 --> 0:13:54.700 have went without a increase in their paycheck. These members 0:13:54.740 --> 0:13:57.640 deserve what they're asking for. And again, these members don't 0:13:57.710 --> 0:14:00.380 want to strike. They want to continue to allow the, 0:14:00.809 --> 0:14:04.250 orange county to work orange county works because we work 0:14:04.650 --> 0:14:06.990 that's the way that's our message out there without these 0:14:07.050 --> 0:14:10.290 members um orange county doesn't work and now more than 0:14:10.350 --> 0:14:14.030 ever without nino and the rising tides they need our 0:14:14.070 --> 0:14:16.309 members show them that they're needed by giving them a 0:14:16.350 --> 0:14:18.130 fair contract eric from. 0:14:18.050 --> 0:14:20.700 The teamsters local 952 eric it seems to me that 0:14:20.740 --> 0:14:22.510 if the county gives you what you're looking for that 0:14:22.550 --> 0:14:25.020 money either comes from cutting back on services that are 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:29.000 provided or raising taxes uh And everyone's facing the same 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:31.920 circumstances you're describing, the inflation, the gas prices, all of 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:36.400 these different things. So does it concern you that the 0:14:36.420 --> 0:14:38.940 bill is going to fall on either the taxpayers or 0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:40.540 it's going to fall on the services that are provided 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:44.570 to the taxpayers? It almost shakes out to sort of 0:14:44.610 --> 0:14:46.950 a you versus the general public type situation. 0:14:48.710 --> 0:14:54.270 Well, you know, that's a hard argument to make towards 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:58.740 the Teamsters when the supervisors themselves voted to give themselves 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:02.610 a 25% wage increase. So I could see if everybody 0:15:02.630 --> 0:15:06.460 was taking cuts along with the Teamsters, but they're not. 0:15:07.010 --> 0:15:10.800 The County of Orange supervisors took a 25% wage increase themselves. 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:15.160 So apparently there isn't that much of a deficit or 0:15:15.220 --> 0:15:18.480 that much of money being cut from anywhere else because 0:15:18.500 --> 0:15:21.950 they gave themselves a wage. increase. And probably rightfully so. 0:15:22.290 --> 0:15:24.690 Don't know if it was a 25% that was needed, 0:15:24.990 --> 0:15:28.090 but I think anybody and everybody deserves a wage increase. 0:15:28.130 --> 0:15:31.190 I think anybody and everybody deserves a fair living wage, 0:15:31.230 --> 0:15:34.250 especially in this time right now. But again, that argument 0:15:34.310 --> 0:15:36.230 is very hard that it's going to fall on the taxpayers. 0:15:36.710 --> 0:15:38.670 And we get that. It is public money. We have 0:15:38.730 --> 0:15:43.410 seen taxes cut from the federal government that leaked down 0:15:43.450 --> 0:15:46.710 into the states and into the county. But again, my 0:15:46.730 --> 0:15:49.860 understanding was there was actually a surplus of money in 0:15:49.900 --> 0:15:54.160 our county this past budget. So again, I mean, I 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:57.739 do understand that the taxpayers, you know, will foot the 0:15:57.780 --> 0:16:00.140 bill for it. But remember, all these members are taxpayers. 0:16:00.330 --> 0:16:02.610 I'm a taxpayer. And I don't mind giving a little 0:16:02.630 --> 0:16:04.710 bit of extra money to these people so they could 0:16:04.730 --> 0:16:06.850 have a fair and decent life in California. 0:16:07.350 --> 0:16:11.990 Eric Jimenez, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 952 in Orange County. 0:16:12.030 --> 0:16:14.470 Thanks so much, Eric. We appreciate it. And we'll see 0:16:14.490 --> 0:16:15.190 what happens tomorrow. 0:16:15.370 --> 0:16:16.830 Thanks, Eric. Thank you very much. 0:16:17.740 --> 0:16:20.400 Yeah, so they're saying that this could really hurt road 0:16:20.420 --> 0:16:24.760 and flood channel maintenance, landfill operations, parks and beaches, and 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:26.560 repairs to county and first responder vehicles. He makes a 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:28.140 really good point about the supervisors. 0:16:28.140 --> 0:16:31.100 25% raise? Yeah, wouldn't that be nice? From $ 196, 000 to $ 244, 000. 0:16:30.980 --> 0:16:34.540 Here's where I'm stuck. 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.860 I'm frustrated that the supervisors gave themselves a raise. Now, 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:40.260 I don't know the context. Maybe they haven't had a 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.800 raise in 20 years or something like this. I don't know. 0:16:43.420 --> 0:16:47.320 But where I'm frustrated is I'm paying... I'm paying the 0:16:47.740 --> 0:16:49.780 gas station next to my place is $ 7 a gallon 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.880 right now. I didn't get a raise, you know, so 0:16:52.900 --> 0:16:55.660 that if, if we're going to pay them more, which again, 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:57.640 I'm not disputing that people deserve more money and need 0:16:57.660 --> 0:16:58.990 to be able to keep up with the cost of living, 0:16:59.490 --> 0:17:02.210 but so do I. And if the taxes go up, 0:17:02.410 --> 0:17:04.870 that comes out of my discretionary funds as well. So 0:17:05.030 --> 0:17:08.230 that's where it's very frustrating for me as a taxpayer saying, yeah, 0:17:08.310 --> 0:17:10.570 you deserve a raise, but I don't have the money 0:17:10.609 --> 0:17:11.389 to give it to you. 0:17:11.990 --> 0:17:12.170 Right. 0:17:12.210 --> 0:17:14.850 That's, that's where it gets frustrating for me. But he 0:17:14.869 --> 0:17:16.950 does make a good point about the supervisors giving themselves 0:17:16.990 --> 0:17:19.670 a raise, because again, that's my money, and I didn't 0:17:19.690 --> 0:17:22.869 get a 25% raise. Yeah, the county wasn't hurting financially 0:17:23.109 --> 0:17:25.540 when you approved that just last year. 25% pay increase. 0:17:25.820 --> 0:17:26.000 Yeah. 0:17:26.020 --> 0:17:28.020 Not a good look. At the same time, it does 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:31.020 feel like they're kind of holding people hostage during some 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:32.660 of the worst weather that we've got going on. You're 0:17:32.700 --> 0:17:37.500 risking some public backlash. Absolutely. Absolutely. All right, another major 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:38.240 strike could be coming. 0:17:38.500 --> 0:17:38.899 This one. 0:17:39.700 --> 0:17:41.750 is bound to stink. Trash man says he doesn't get 0:17:41.790 --> 0:17:44.050 paid enough. So is all that money you pay for 0:17:44.070 --> 0:17:46.630 sanitation being tossed in the bin? See what I did there. 0:17:47.350 --> 0:17:49.570 Why your garbage is about to get pricier next. Monks 0:17:49.609 --> 0:17:52.750 and Merrill KFI AM 640 live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 0:17:53.530 --> 0:17:58.430 You're listening to Monks and Merrill. On demand. From KFI 0:17:58.650 --> 0:17:59.070 AM 640. 0:17:59.070 --> 0:18:01.890 Available anywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 0:18:02.170 --> 0:18:04.270 Hey, congratulations to the Bruins. Did you see what the 0:18:04.290 --> 0:18:07.130 football team did this weekend? Yeah, it was a great weekend. 0:18:07.390 --> 0:18:10.369 Knocked out Oregon. Great finish too. I mean, it was 0:18:10.410 --> 0:18:13.170 like kind of a low scoring game. It was good 0:18:13.210 --> 0:18:16.390 defensive game. The Bruins defense looked really good. They had 0:18:16.410 --> 0:18:19.560 to stop a two-point conversion there in order to win. 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:22.060 And Oregon's complaining, oh, they didn't spot the ball in 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:26.720 the right place. It was like half a yard different, whatever. Anyway, 0:18:27.540 --> 0:18:28.310 I was excited for him. 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:28.900 Yeah, it was good. 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:31.840 I thought that was really exciting. So good job, Bruins. 0:18:32.060 --> 0:18:33.960 Way to go on that. And then I think USC 0:18:33.980 --> 0:18:39.140 won this weekend too. So yeah, beat up on Penn State. 0:18:40.070 --> 0:18:40.409 31-23. 0:18:40.910 --> 0:18:43.230 Good weekend for college sports. Not so great for the Dodgers. 0:18:43.890 --> 0:18:47.160 Not so great. They'll try to bounce back today in Milwaukee. 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:50.220 In your home of the Dodgers, AM570 LA Sports. You 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:50.440 got it. 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:52.659 So we were talking in the previous segment about hundreds 0:18:52.700 --> 0:18:55.379 of workers threatening to strike tomorrow in Orange County, but 0:18:55.420 --> 0:18:57.679 that's not all that's at stake here right now as 0:18:57.700 --> 0:19:02.760 far as Union negotiations go nearly 4,000 sanitation workers in 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:07.340 Southern California who are represented by Teamsters Local 396. They're 0:19:07.380 --> 0:19:11.920 working under already expired contracts with major private waste companies. 0:19:12.500 --> 0:19:17.200 The union says a strike remains possible. That is different 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:19.350 than what we just talked about. It's a different union, 0:19:19.850 --> 0:19:23.620 similar type of work. but this would have significant impact. 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:25.070 Blue collar, keeping the streets clean kind of work. And 0:19:25.109 --> 0:19:28.470 beyond Orange County, it's LA, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and 0:19:28.590 --> 0:19:31.470 San Diego counties. So this would be a strike with 0:19:31.590 --> 0:19:36.090 some of your waste providers. So you got Waste Management, Republic, 0:19:36.109 --> 0:19:37.669