September 15, 2011: Local 396 Teamsters at Waste Management in Santa Ana and Irvine, Calif. are in bargaining now for their next contract—and it’s off to a bad start.

The notorious anti-union company is demanding that members pay more for their medical benefits and a pension contribution freeze.

Members are complaining that Local 396 is keeping them in the dark.

It’s a familiar story for waste Teamsters in Southern California: members going up against the biggest waste company in the U.S. are left by their local and the International Union to fend for themselves garage-by-garage.

And it sets a bad precedent: Next year the local will bargain new contracts at Waste Management covering members in Corona, Chino, and L.A. County.