Hundreds of Long Beach city workers, including those responsible for hauling trash away from the homes, may be on the verge of a strike.

Members of the Association of Long Beach Employees, or ALBE, voted Thursday to reject the city government’s contract offer. Refuse workers voted to reject the contract by a 96 percent margin, and 91 percent of other city employees represented by ALBE voted against City Hall’s offer.

The union posted the results of the vote on its web page.

ALBE general counsel Wendell Phillips said before the ballots were counted on Thursday that a strike is very likely.

“I think a work stoppage is pretty much inevitable,” he said.

Points of dispute

A strike cannot begin prior to Wednesday, according to a letter ALBE sent to city officials declaring members’ vote to reject City Hall’s contract offer and union leaders’ view that mediation would be pointless at this time.

That’s the day after the City Council is scheduled to vote on whether or not to impose the terms of city management’s final offer to ALBE. Those terms include a 2 percent pay raise retroactive to last October, as well as another 2 percent pay hike that would be effective on Sunday.

Those terms are in line with the collective bargaining agreement between city government and its largest union. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, agreed to a deal with city government nearly one year ago that included a series of 2 percent raises before the contract runs out at the end of September 2019.

The agreement between IAM and City Hall also provides that IAM would benefit from any pay raises negotiated between City Hall and other bargaining associations, not including those representing Long Beach firefighters and police officers.

Earlier this year, the Long Beach Police Officers Association and Long Beach Professional Firefighters agreed to contracts providing for a series of 3 percent raises during contract terms that also expire at the end of September 2019.

City government said in a Friday statement that ALBE had sought terms comparable to those received by Long Beach’s public safety unions. City Hall maintained that agreeing to those demands would result in service reductions and unfairness with unions representing similar employees.

Walker also said ALBE would need to submit further notification before actually going on strike, and that officials have planned to deal with a potential work stoppage.

“We are prepared,” he said.

A new union

City government recognized ALBE in 2016. Its members previously organized under IAM’s banner. Phillips said he suspects city negotiators are afraid of any agreement that may give workers a reason to think the new union can negotiate a better deal than IAM’s team was able to accomplish.

ALBE has some 700 members, about 100 of whom are involved in refuse hauling operations. Other members include fleet mechanics, harbor maintenance mechanics, employees working in gas and oil operations and people working for the city’s water utility, among other fields.

The average ALBE member earns $40,000 to $45,000 per year, Phillips said.

Walker provided different numbers, although those include workers who are not classified as career employees. He said ALBE’s refuse workers earn an average of about $47,000 a year, while other employees make an average of greater than $56,000 a year.