San Francisco court clerks strike again, saying court refuses to meet employees halfway
By CBS Bay Area
San Francisco court clerks are back on strike a second time. They say nothing has changed in the past two years except their workload, which they say has gotten worse.
Trials were paused and juries sent home until Monday as courtroom clerks demanded change on the hall of justice steps.
Rob Borders, a criminal courtroom clerk represented by SEIU Local 1021, told CBS News Bay Area that inadequate staffing, long work hours and poor training for employees are creating a bottleneck of cases.
“We feel inclined to work faster than is comfortable. And the result of that is paperwork errors that can lead to, you know, miscarriages of justice. People staying in jail longer than they’re supposed to,” Borders said.
The union and the court have been in a negotiation tug of war since October 2024, when clerks first went on strike for one day over similar issues. But Borders said the court refuses to meet employees halfway.
“Any competent management would be able to figure out a solution,” Border said. “That doesn’t just simply mean that we have to do have to do more work and we’re under more pressure.”
Court Executive Officer Brandon Riley said the court offered an annual 2% raise and increased health benefits, which the union refused.
“It is unfortunate that SEIU has decided to disrupt court services after more than 28 bargaining sessions and two mediation sessions to reach a fair 3-year contract that reflects the economic realities of state funding for the judicial branch,” Riley wrote in a statement.
Riley said the court will prioritize emergency cases and keep mandated services running, but warned that other matters without deadlines may be recessed.
Legal analyst Steven Clark said it’s in the courts’ best interest to work with strikers.
“It’s very important that the parties get together, get these clerks back to work, because without them, we’re in big trouble in our legal system,” Clark said.
But Borders said he doesn’t want to create chaos, just wants to be heard.
“We want them just to meet us in good faith,” Borders said.
The criminal court was delayed on Thursday, but trials are expected to resume on Monday, barring another strike.
