"San Francisco criminal court clerks issued a "cry for help" on Monday, threatening to strike for three days if the court did not respond to their demands for more staff and better training to handle an influx of criminal cases. After 11 hours of negotiations, the clerks' union and the court's bargaining team came to a tentative agreement on Tuesday night."
"But the agreement was made on "terms that don't really address the issues," said Rob Borders, a union organizer. He said that the soaring caseloads would continue to directly affect about 40 courtroom clerks. Clerks were promised a 2-percent annual raise in order to stave off a strike, Borders said. That is less than the annual 3-percent U.S. inflation rate. The court's management also agreed to have "ongoing meetings" about clerks' overwhelming workloads, but made no guarantees about concrete action."
"Clerks' duties include managing court records, processing documents filed in court and preparing court orders to protect victims or arrest defendants who did not appear for their hearings. This year, criminal courtroom clerks have gone from processing 20 cases a day to 50, Borders estimated. The "historic" number of cases, Borders warned, has led to delays and higher error rates. An error, he said, can mean someone getting arrested - or released from custody - when they shouldn't be."
San Francisco criminal court clerks threatened a three-day strike to demand more staff and better training after caseloads surged. After 11 hours of bargaining a tentative agreement averted the strike, though union leaders said the terms did not fully address staffing and workload concerns. Clerks received a 2-percent annual raise and management agreed to ongoing meetings about workloads but made no binding commitments. Caseloads for criminal courtroom clerks rose from roughly 20 to 50 cases per day, increasing delays and error rates that can lead to wrongful arrests or releases. Clerks manage court records, process filings, and prepare court orders to protect victims and address absent defendants. The union filed unfair labor practice charges.
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