Court workers strike, disrupting Alameda County legal system

Alameda County courts were forced into an "emergency operations plan" Wednesday when court staff went on strike following a breakdown in negotiations over salaries, workloads and understaffing issues. The strike left the courts without clerks, court reporters and managers for the day, disrupting court hearings and the processing of lawsuits.

Presiding Judge Thomas Nixon said the court would like to offer more pay and benefits but is restricted by cuts in the budgets adopted by the governor and Legislature.

The strike affected criminal, civil and juvenile courts and was authorized in a vote by 98.7% of union member court workers.

County Public Defender Brendon D. Woods filed two petitions with the Court of Appeal for emergency relief, demanding that the court "comply with the law requiring an official court reporter in felony court proceedings," according to a news release issued Thursday. While his office "fully supports the workers' demands for fair wages and working conditions" it cannot ignore that felony defendants have a "complete record of court proceedings," the release stated.

A collective of unions and associations representing the court workers claims there is a "pervasive understaffing problem" with nearly one in five positions unfilled. They also claim workers are pressured to perform tasks they aren't trained for, and the court administration has engaged in bad faith at the bargaining table.

The court administration claimed the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 (SEIU Local 1021) demands for salary increases and retention stipends are unsustainable given the court's dire budget situation caused by the State of California's cuts to court funding. These demands would lead to layoffs for a "significant number of staff members to ensure it maintains a state-mandated balanced budget," the court said in a press release.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's office was contacted for comment but did not respond.

"As shown during past contract negotiations and just last month, when the court has the money, we strive to take care of the people who are critical to our operations," Nixon said in the news release. "Over the last year, we have done everything in our power to keep all our employees working by making decisions to cut costs rather than lay off employees."

The court said $4.4 million was cut from its budget at the beginning of this fiscal year as part of a statewide $97 million cut to trial court budgets. It says this lost revenue required the court to institute unpaid furloughs and prevent replacements from being hired for 90 days after an existing employee left a position. 

New state budget projections announced last month allowed the court to begin to repay employees with a stipend for wages lost during furloughs last year, the news release stated. The court proposed a 1% pay rise and a one-time stipend at the time of contract signing.

The court said over the last three years, employees in the three bargaining units currently on strike received more than 10% in pay increases among other benefits requested through negotiations. 

According to SEIU Local 1021, a lack of staffing is forcing untrained legal processing assistants into fulfilling the duties of trained courtroom clerks, claiming it raises the possibility of errors allowing and increases wait times.

In a union news release, Kasha Clarke, a courtroom clerk working at the Hayward Hall of Justice was quoted as saying, "We are here to serve the public, and we're concerned that the court's actions are harming us and harming the public. Forcing someone into a position they're not qualified for could lead to errors, and justice not being served.

"As the ones who keep the wheels of justice turning, we need to be prioritized by the court and the state so we can do our jobs and prioritize the public," she said in the release.

Clerks earn an average of $75,062 a year. The average tenure of a clerk is about 10 years. Employees represented by the Alameda County Management Employees Association average $123,852 a year in salary with an average tenure of 16 years at the court, while court reporters' wages average $131,040 per year with an average tenure of 12.

"We truly understand our employees' frustrations and their desire to receive continued raises to help them offset the rising cost of living," Nixon said in the news release. "They absolutely deserve the added peace of mind that increasing their wages will bring and we are doing everything we can to make sure they get some increase in salary.

"I cannot stress enough that this isn't a matter of us not wanting to give them a raise and that we're somehow hoarding a pot of money. Just the opposite. It's that we lack the financial wherewithal to do so.

"We don't have the ability to raise money other than by asking for more from the state, which we do constantly, and we continue to hope that the governor's 2025-2026 budget will restore and replace those funds taken last year."

The Alameda County district attorney, public defender and bar association CEO were all contacted for comment but did not respond in time for print.