During public comment at the Oct. 28 Imperial County Board of Supervisors meeting, a Teamsters representative said the county’s recent executive promotions and salary increases were being fast-tracked while frontline Teamsters employees continue to seek modest raises through collective bargaining.

“We believe the practice reflects a serious lack of transparency and accountability,” Ruth Huarte told the board. She said the Teamsters declared impasse and that the union will enter fact-finding on Oct. 30. Huarte asked the board to justify how taxpayer resources are allocated and urged the supervisors to support rank-and-file employees.

Huarte also relayed complaints from members about the employee health fair, saying some workers arrived early and did not receive gifts or amid long lines missed eating before returning to work; she said some employees worried about receiving memos for being 10–15 minutes late after the three hours of release time for the fair.

Why it matters: The remarks place labor relations and pay decisions before the board’s public record ahead of the union fact-finding phase and request board attention to employee morale and logistics at county events.

Board members acknowledged the comments and said staff would follow up regarding the health fair. The meeting record does not show a board response on compensation policy; Huarte said the Teamsters will pursue fact-finding beginning Oct. 30.

Clarifying details:
- Teamsters said the fact-finding phase begins Oct. 30, 2025.
- Complaints included poor organization at the employee health fair and concerns about return-to-work timing and potential memos for slight tardiness after release time.