San Francisco court clerks to strike Thursday

San Francisco County Superior Court scaled back operations but remained open on Thursday amid a one-day strike by the court clerks.

The clerks, whose contract expired at the end of September, are protesting what they claim are the court's inadequate staffing and training.

According to the court's media office Thursday, San Francisco County Superior Court only opened a select list of departments across its three campuses on Thursday "to prioritize those cases with statutory deadlines such as criminal cases, custody arraignments, unlawful detainers, and civil harassment and domestic violence matters."

The court claims that the clerk's union, SEIU local 1021, refused to respond to questions about a potential strike in recent months and blamed the impasse on potential budget cuts next year.

A media release issued Wednesday evening by SEIU 1021 acknowledged that the strike action -- understood to involve close to 200 clerks -- was likely to "halt trials and delay hearings on everything from felonies to traffic violations to proceedings for divorces and child custody cases.

"We don't have enough clerks to staff the courtrooms. Clerks from other divisions are being thrown in to cover absences and vacancies without proper training. Different courtrooms handle different kinds of matters, some of which are unique to that courtroom alone. Clerks aren't just interchangeable parts to be slotted in without a second thought," said Benjamin Thompson, a courtroom clerk at the SF Hall of Justice and vice president of the SF Superior Court chapter of SEIU 1021.