Remote Surveillance Trailer in Garden Grove, CA

The Garden Grove Employees League, representing nearly 90 public works staffers, and city negotiators have reached an impasse in negotiations for a new contract, turning to a mediator to help with a breakthrough.

The union members, part of the Orange County Employees Association, say the city has stonewalled worker requests for recognition pay, shift differential enhancements and affordable healthcare.

After seven bargaining sessions, contract negotiations are expected to head into mediation Friday, Aug. 15, a rare move for contract disputes, OCEA said. The process of mediation will bring a neutral third-party from the state into the collective bargaining process.

“Respect the crew that works for you,” chanted union members who rallied on Tuesday, Aug. 12, around City Hall ahead of the City Council meeting.

Workers say their contributions maintaining critical city infrastructure, including streets, trees, and public buildings, are often hidden, but vital to the community, as they also clear homeless encampments, clean up needles found in parks and respond to urgent after-hour calls, sometimes waking up at 2 or 3 a.m.

City officials said they wanted to keep pay “equitable” among employees.

“The city of Garden Grove is committed to providing equitable compensation and benefits for all our employees, consistent with agreements established for all of our other represented employee groups, while being mindful of the city’s long-term financial health,” city spokesperson Johnathan Garcia said.

Union leaders say the city has denied requests for recognition pay around chemical application and heavy equipment operation, and Garden Grove is the only city that doesn’t offer shift differential pay for 24-hour operations.

“The city has repeatedly stonewalled workers, offering flimsy and contradictory excuses for shutting down even the most basic demands for fair improvements. Instead of engaging with genuine solutions, officials hide behind vague budget claims or dismiss GGEL proposals outright, showing blatant disregard for worker needs,” OCEA Assistant General Manager Tim Steed said.

Workers from UFCW 324, United Domestic Workers, and IATSE 504 joined GGEL staffers at Tuesday’s rally as they walked around the civic center.

Three Garden Grove councilmembers, Arianna Arestegui, Yesenia Muneton and Phillip Nguyen, also dropped by before the council meeting.

The last contract with employees expired on June 30.

A high school football coach from Los Amigos High School in California is currently in hot water for his behavior during the first game of the 2025 season. A new sideline video shows him make physical contact with an opposing player from Garden Grove.

It somehow went unnoticed until this point.

The contact can be labeled as a “punch” because the high school football coach’s hand was closed. Regardless of how you choose to define his actions, it is unacceptable behavior on any level of the sport.

Los Amigos and Garden Grove are rivals.

Los Amigos High School is located in Fountain Valley, California— smack dab in the middle of Irvine, Anaheim and Huntington Beach. It enrolls approximately 1,500 students in grades 9-12.

Garden Grove High School is located in Garden Grove, California. It enrolls approximately 2,200 students in Grades 9-12.

Garden Grove and Los Amigos are separated by less than five miles. Depending on greater Los Angeles traffic, you can drive from one school to the other on South Newhope Street in about 15 minutes.

These two schools are longstanding rivals based on their proximity. As a result, the battle between the Lobos and the Argonauts always gets intense on the gridiron.

High school football coaches must not get physical with an opposing player.

The most recent meeting between Garden Grove and Los Amigos took place on August 22 to begin the new high school football season. It was a tight game that went down to the wire.

The Lobos ultimately defeated the Argonauts by a score of 42-36.

Unfortunately, their victory is tarnished by inappropriate behavior. A coach from Los Amigos punched a player from Garden Grove.

This specific incident took place during the first quarter on a downfield pass from the Argonauts. It was tipped and picked off by the Lobos.

When the defender went to the ground with the interception, a player from Garden Grove dove on top of him to try and force the ball loose. The fluky play happened right in front of Los Amigos’ sideline.

As the Argonauts player got back to his feet, an unidentified Lobos coach stepped in to break things up. He got unnecessarily physical. He threw a punch with his left hand. It might’ve been intended as a shove but his hand was closed because he was holding some kind of binder or clipboard.

Regardless of intention, it was not acceptable.

You can see the altercation occur on the broadcast replay below:

The officials absolutely should’ve thrown a flag in that exact moment but the coach’s contact somehow went unnoticed at the time. And, to be completely honest, I do not know the origin of the following video.

However, I have since stumbled upon a sideline angle of the aforementioned punch. It is clear as day.

Even the nearest player from Los Amigos looked at his coach in shock.

As of this writing, I am unaware of any punishment or suspension that might stem from the coach’s ill behavior. I have reached out to Los Amigos High School for further comment.