San Francisco court clerks threaten strike for more staff, better training

Clerks at San Francisco Superior Court are threatening to strike next week, claiming that a "staffing crisis" has caused criminal defendants to be held in custody for days after judges ordered them released.

The clerks - who are organizing with the union SEIU 1021 and rallied outside the Hall of Justice on Thursday - claim they face relentless challenges around short staffing, inadequate training and mismanagement that have created delays and mistakes at the courthouse.

Courtroom clerk Ashley Hebert said at the rally, "Because we don't have the bandwidth to process all that paperwork, people are staying in custody longer than they've been ordered to and they're doing an additional two to three days in custody."

Ann Donlan, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Superior Court, said the court had no comment on either the rally or the claim that criminal defendants are being held in custody after judges order their release.

Rob Borders, a clerk for the court for 11 years and a member of the union negotiations team, said, "When you work in the criminal environment, a simple mistake on a piece of paper means somebody stays in custody longer than they're supposed to."

Borders said the clerks were asking for a new contract that guaranteed better training. There are only three people supervising 45 clerks in one building, according to Borders.

The clerk also described a rift between management of clerks in the civil courthouse on McAllister Street and those in the Hall of Justice.

"It's not lost on us that we're kind of like the black sheep of the system," Borders said. He claimed that when the civil court needed more clerks, they often got them, though he said they are "dealing with similar issues."

If a strike goes ahead next week, it would be the second in two years, with clerks striking over the same issues as last time.

james_twomey@dailyjournal.com