Superior Court of Alameda County

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SEIU 1021 SF Court worker Julie Rumsey addresses the "Stand Up for Justice" rally flanked by her co-workers April 18
SEIU 1021 SF Court worker Julie Rumsey addresses the "Stand Up for Justice" rally flanked by her co-workers April 18

Funding courts starts with valuing the work

Published on April 20th 2012

The bureaucrats who run California’s courts got another swift kick of public criticism April 18 when SEIU 1021 members joined numerous attorney organizations, the state chief law officer and local politicians in demanding full funding for trial courts.

The “Stand Up for Justice” coalition, consisting of nearly every bar association in the state, consumer and legal aid attorney groups, judges, former judges, law professors, the Chamber of Commerce and its corporate lawyers, joined by SEIU and the Building and Construction Trades, made impassioned if polite pleas for access to justice for all without ever mentioning why court budgets had been slashed over the years or by whom. (Hint: The Administrative Office of the Courts and the Judicial Council spending half a billion dollars on its techno wet dream database system known as CCMS.)

While court workers have been complaining for years about dwindling resources, layoffs, speed ups and concessionary contract demands, the resulting courtroom closures, trial and processing delays, rising fees for services and lack of access to justice for regular citizens have become such a problem it has moved the attorney groups to stand up and call for changes.

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SEIU court workers make their demand clear.
SEIU court workers make their demand clear.

CCMS RIP

Published on March 30th 2012

Under threatening skies some 200 SEIU court workers and their allies rallied outside the meeting of the Judicial Council of California in San Francisco Tuesday, March 27 to press their two-year old demand to cut off funding for a boondoggle database system that has been soaking up court monies. This time they got the answer they wanted.

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SEIU Court Workers Win Big Over Database Boondoggle

Published on March 17th 2012

SEIU won a big victory in its push to get more funding to the state’s trial courts on March 14, when the Assembly Budget subcommittee on public safety voted unanimously to suspend all funding for a boondoggle database system until the full legislature gets the chance to review it.

SEIU superior court workers -- including Local 1021 members from the Superior Court of San Joaquin County -- traveled to Sacramento for Wednesday’s committee hearing as part of the union’s two-year court campaign. That campaign is using lobbying, demonstrations and newspaper op-ed pieces to expose how the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on an IT system nine years in the making and still not working is draining court resources, closing courtrooms, cutting legal services for the public, causing hundreds of layoffs throughout the state court system and forcing pay cuts on the employees remaining.

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Justice Gets Mugged 2: SEIU 1021 Superior Courts Industry Roundup

Published on July 29th 2011

Here’s the latest from all of our SEIU 1021 Superior Court chapters:

ALAMEDA — Despite our protests, the court laid off 73 workers in 2010 and this year is targeting 20 court reporters for layoffs. Judges apparently want to hire their own reporters, i.e. outsource our work, and have the attorneys/parties pay for it. We’re going to the table over this in August.

AMADOR — SEIU 1021 members extended their MOU for one year with only a 1.65 percent reduction (nine paid holidays prorated over the extension) and won language that frees up cash now and gives members paid time off during the year. There is also language to reopen if budget numbers swing 10 percent either way in respect to state budget allocations.

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Watch the video "Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied"

Justice Gets Mugged: SEIU 1021 members cite Judicial Council for breaking the legal system

Published on July 29th 2011

The California judicial system — the largest in the nation, larger even than the federal court system — got mugged this summer to the tune of $350 million ... by the lawmakers who passed the state budget.

This new round of cuts will so cripple the state’s superior (trial) courts that the gears of justice may all but grind to a halt.

"Cutting $652 million from California trial courts over the last four years is unprecedented, appalling and an absolute slap in the face to our members and the public," said John Gales, chair of SEIU 1021’s Superior Courts Industry Council.

The real victims, however, are court employees, the public and our constitutional rights. As usual, it was SEIU 1021 court workers who spoke out the loudest. They organized for the July 22 meeting of the Judicial Council, the body of judges that allocates the court system’s budget, and charged the judges with mismanagement.
 

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