On Thursday, January 9, SEIU 1021 members at the San Francisco Superior Courts voted by an 84% supermajority to ratify a tentative agreement reached with court management shortly before the December holidays.

The new contract includes much-needed improvements to staffing and training that the clerks have been vocally demanding over the past several months of negotiations — and during their one-day strike October 24, which caused the courts to grind to a halt and paused major trials, including the infamous Momeni murder trial.

“This ratification vote in its turnout and its approval show the unity and strength of our members, as well as the faith and trust placed in our negotiations team,” said SEIU 1021 San Francisco Superior Court Chapter President Kimberly Septien, who also served on the union’s bargaining team. “We are confident that the language won in this contract will ensure a more balanced and fair workplace. With the language in place, we can now begin the work to address the issues that have long affected our members.”

Among those issues is chronic short staffing, exacerbated by a lack of cross-training in the criminal court division. New language in the contract closes loopholes that have previously allowed positions to remain vacant when clerks have been promoted or temporarily moved into other positions.

The new agreement also mandates courts management to provide ongoing, quality training for all court employees, as well as to have training manuals in place by May 1, 2025. New technology being introduced without proper training or consideration for its affect on workflow has caused significant issues; the new contract ensures that workers will get 60 days’ notice before new technology is introduced, as well as the opportunity to negotiate its impact on the workplace with management.

San Francisco Superior Court has historically been underresourced relative to the number of cases it processes. Changes to the state funding formula are needed to ensure full staffing to eliminate and avoid backlogs like the one that resulted in 70 misdemeanor cases being thrown out last August.

Some highlights of the new agreement include:

• A one-time, pensionable $6500 payment due shortly after ratification for all SEIU 1021 represented employees (including temporary and probationary employees). 
• All full-time employees with 3 months continuous service will receive three (3) floating holidays in addition to the six (6) floating holidays employees already have.
• The Court will give us 60 days notice and negotiate over the affects of any new technology it introduces to our workplaces. 
• Starting February 1, 2025, new employees will serve 9 months probation (reduced). 
• The Court is now mandated to quality, on-going training for all Court employees. Reference Manuals will be made available in all departments by May 1, 2025. 
• Attendance Alert: all references to Attendance Alert will be removed from the contract. 
• Acting assignment pay kicks in after 5 consecutive days (with CEO authorization). Under most circumstances, acting assignments will now be limited to 180 days. All acting assignments will be posted for internal recruitment after 10 days.