Orange County Transportation Authority Board, Teamsters agree on new labor contract

Orange County Transportation Authority board members approved a new contract with the agency's maintenance workers Monday.

Maintenance workers picketed in November in a strike that could have severely impacted bus service in Orange County.

Teamsters Local 952 members ratified the new three-year contract over the weekend, and the board of directors for the transportation agency approved it at its meeting Monday morning.

The maintenance workers fix the buses and gas them up, so OCTA officials said they could not safely run the agency's vehicles without them on the job.

The 150 maintenance workers will receive a 5-percent pay raise over each of the next three years, and also get a $1,250 signing bonus. The new contract will run through the end of 2025.