San Francisco Superior Court clerks vote by 99% to authorize a strike
As court management stalls contract negotiations, court workers are ready to take matters into their own hands to get the courts back on track and end the delays and errors caused by mismanagement
Last Wednesday, October 9, San Francisco Superior Court clerks voted by 99% to authorize their contract negotiations team to call a strike if management does not make substantial progress toward meeting their biggest concerns.
Their contract expired September 30, with management having essentially refused to negotiate, instead requesting mediation. Meanwhile, a backlog of cases caused by short staffing, faulty technology, inadequate training, and mismanagement has continued delaying criminal and civil cases. In August, over 70 criminal cases were dismissed due to the delays.
“The sixth amendment guarantees defendants the right to a speedy trial. Right now, that’s not happening – meaning the San Francisco Superior Court is denying people their constitutional rights,” said Benjamin Thompson, a courtroom clerk with the criminal division and vice president of the SEIU 1021 SF Superior Courts chapter. “As the staff handling these cases, we know where the problems lie and what we need to fix them, so that we can do our jobs and those seeking justice – from defendants to victims and victims’ families – get their day in court. When you have a court that is adequately staffed, and said staff are thoroughly and properly trained at their jobs, the wheels of justice turn as they are meant to: smoothly and correctly.
“By seeking to maintain the status quo, management seems to be denying there’s a problem. Those of us working in the courts every day know there’s a problem. People sitting in jail cells waiting for trials that should have already happened know there’s a problem. San Francisco residents know there’s a problem, when 70 cases get dismissed due to delays. If going on strike is what it takes to make management acknowledge there’s a problem and take serious steps to fix it, we are ready to do that.”
In addition to depriving defendants of their constitutional right to a speedy trial, the ongoing delays at the court are putting a strain on the city’s overcrowded and understaffed jails. “When people are stuck in jail waiting for their day in court longer than they should be, it just makes the overcrowding problem worse. It also means the jail medical staff, who are already stretched thin, can’t meet the population’s needs,” said Joe Duncan, an RN working for the SF Department of Public Health in the city jails who also serves as labor co-chair for the SEIU 1021 RN chapter. “It creates ripple effects throughout the system, exacerbating existing problems. That can lead to bad things happening.”
