Santa Clara County clerks union hit with big layoffs while courts pick back up

“We know the court’s only option is to lay off in case we don’t agree to any type of furloughs. I know they want to cover this deficit, but we were in the middle of negotiations. It feels so unfair.”

— Union President Johnny Lopez

With Santa Clara County courts phasing up operations after largely shuttering during the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 50 court employees are facing layoffs as the system grapples with its portion of the state’s virus-fueled budget deficit.

It has prompted leadership in the Superior Court Professional Employees Association to cry foul over not being offered the same layoff protections extended to their peer unions in the county court system. The union represents about 380 court clerks, assorted specialists and investigators, and janitors, and accounts for more than half of the court’s total staffing.

The union reports that 52 members were expected to be served with layoff notices. But union President Johnny Lopez said at least 20 employees abruptly were escorted out of their offices Wednesday, with the rest expected to see the same Thursday.

“It took us by surprise. They were so embarrassed. They were never treated like that,” said Lopez, who has worked for the court for 15 years as a legal process clerk. “We know the court’s only option is to lay off in case we don’t agree to any type of furloughs. I know they want to cover this deficit, but we were in the middle of negotiations. It feels so unfair.”

Santa Clara County Superior Court officials portrayed the walk-offs as a gesture of compassion.

“The court deeply regrets having to lay off employees and reviewed every line item in the budget to avoid this action,” court CEO Rebecca Fleming said in a statement. “We have provided more notice to the affected employees than required by the labor agreement and released them from work so they can process this news and plan for the next phase in their career while being paid until the effective date of the layoff.”

The prospect of losing 13% of their membership by the end of the summer has been a gut punch to the relatively nascent SCPEA, which formed in 2015 after splitting off from the formidable Service Employees International Union.

What has particularly raised the hackles of the union is the fact that court employees represented by SEIU, and court managers represented by the County Management Employees Association, negotiated agreements with the Superior Court that averted layoffs through a combination of furloughing two days a month and incentive-laden voluntary retirements and resignations.

SCPEA was expecting a similar arrangement, and then they learned this week that even with furloughs and voluntary departures, they still would have to absorb layoffs.

“They gave our supervisors protection for at least five months,” Lopez said. “To give us no protection, it’s sickening to do this to us.”

He also noted that his union represents some of the court system’s lowestpaid workers, who account for much of the gender and racial and ethnic diversity of its staff.

The court braced for austerity measures after Gov. Gavin Newsom in late June signed a state budget that cut $177 million from trial courts, leaving the court to quickly tackle its share of the cuts, which amounted to $15 million.

“While the court is attempting to achieve savings through furloughs and voluntary programs, involuntary actions such as layoffs will likely be necessary to maintain court operations under the circumstances of significantly reduced funding,” reads a court statement issued June 30.

The statement also included language suggesting that SCPEA was slow in agreeing to negotiations.

The clash evokes memories of the discord between the court and SCPEA that arose just eight months into the union’s existence, when in August 2016 its members staged an eight-day strike to secure two years’ worth of raises.

The strike brought the county court system to a grinding halt, and Lopez said he believes that factored into what’s happening now.

“I always thought they would have payback for us going on strike,” he said. “But we are the ones they look to to shoulder these problems. This is why we started the association in the first place. We’re tired of it.”