San Francisco court clerks call off strike after reaching tentative deal

(CN) — San Francisco Superior Court clerks announced Tuesday evening they were calling off planned strike after reaching a tentative agreement with court management, averting a work stoppage that threatened to halt trials and delay hearings across the city’s court system.

The strike, which had been scheduled to begin Wednesday morning, was canceled following last-minute contract negotiations between Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and court management. Details of the tentative agreement were not immediately available.

“The strike announced and scheduled to begin tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 29, has been called off,” union spokesperson Jennie Smith-Camejo said in a statement late Tuesday. “Court operations will continue on their usual schedule tomorrow.”

The roughly 200 clerks who work in both civil and criminal divisions had voted 98% in early October to authorize the strike, their second such action in just over a year.

The clerks had been protesting what they described as management’s failure to address staffing shortages and training deficiencies that have plagued the court since their last strike in October 2024. Just days ago, clerks picketed outside the Hall of Justice, demanding better working conditions and accusing management of breaking promises made in their previous contract.

“This year is a mirror of the issues that we faced last year. But the problem has become more acute,” Rob Borders, a courtroom clerk and union negotiator, said in an interview last week.

Borders and other union members said a hiring freeze combined with an unprecedented caseload had left the court dangerously understaffed, forcing clerks to work in courtrooms where they lacked adequate training. The union also raised concerns that overworked clerks were more likely to make errors that could affect court proceedings.

“If you are in a position where you might make a mistake, if you’re only doing 10 cases, 20 cases, it might not come out, but if you’re doing 30, 40, 50 cases, it’s going to be an issue,” Borders said.

Following the expiration of their contract last October, the clerks staged a one-day walkout. That strike brought the court to a near standstill, with only essential and emergency services operating under a skeleton crew of supervisors and junior clerks.

In January, the two sides reached a one-year agreement that included provisions to prevent positions from remaining vacant when clerks were promoted or temporarily reassigned. The contract also required court management to provide ongoing training and develop training manuals by May 1.

However, union members said those promises were not kept. Benjamin Thompson, a courtroom clerk and union vice president, said last week that management had failed to make significant changes despite the settlement.

“We just want a good contract. We want to be treated fairly. We want to be trained. We want to have management live up to its promises and meet our demands, which are not unreasonable,” Thompson said during the Oct. 21 picket.

The union had been in contract negotiations with management since September but accused court leadership of not making a “serious, good-faith” effort to address their concerns.

Neither the San Francisco Superior Court nor union representatives immediately responded to requests for comment.

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