Clerks threaten strike over unfair wages
Labor group says court can do better for its lowest-paid employees
After working for Santa Clara County Superior Court for years without a raise, the labor association that represents hundreds of essential clerks threatened Monday to go on strike as early as next month unless they get a better contract offer from the court.
“The group feels very strongly that they haven’t been treated right,’’ said labor lawyer Gregg Adam, who represents the Superior Court Professional Employees Association (SCPEA). The association represents more than 400 clerks, janitors, legal researchers and family court mediators.
In a short statement late Monday, Court Executive Officer David Yamasaki declined to debate the labor dispute publicly. “The court values all its employees, but firmly believes labor negotiations should be done at the table, not through the media,’’ he said.
The court is facing a $5 million deficit this year under a new Judicial Council funding formula that seeks to divert resources to needier areas, such as San Bernardino County. But the labor association contends the court can afford to do better, particularly for janitors and clerks, who they say are the lowest paid and most overworked employees.
Experienced counter clerks make about $55,600 a year in one of the country’s most expensive areas. The court also has lost about a third of its staff through attrition since the economy tanked in 2008, and clerks say they cannot keep up with what has become an overwhelming amount of data processing, filing and phone calls and visits from the public.
The courts have offered a net 4.5 percent raise in the first fiscal year of the two-year contract, as well as an immediate 5 percent raise for the 88 percent of the workers who have been with the courts for at least six years. In addition, the workers would get an extra 6 percent, which they would have to pay into the retirment system, boosting their gross pay and ultimately their retirement benefits. But the association says the cost of living has increased more than that since the recession began and are seeking an undisclosed wage hike during the second year. The clerks rejected a 4.5 percent offer last years that did not include the extra 5 percent boost.