San Francisco court backlog could worsen as clerks strike over unfair labor practices

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Roughly 200 San Francisco court clerks walked off the job Thursday, citing staffing shortages and what they describe as insufficient training. It's the latest strain on a court system already grappling with backlogs and delays.

With labor negotiations stalled, trials and juries were dismissed until Monday. Court remained open on Thursday only for emergency and constitutionally required hearings.

"They've allowed the staffing level to get so low here that they haven't been able to adequately train people for some of the assignments that were put in," said Rob Borders, a criminal courtroom clerk at the Hall of Justice and member of SEIU's bargaining team.

Borders said clerks are asking the court to address staffing and training concerns as caseloads have climbed.

"The increased caseload has been ongoing for the last two years, and the courts made little effort to try to address it. Other than just making us work harder, work faster, we don't want to be in that position, because we don't want to make mistakes," Borders said.

PREVIOUS: More than 200 SF court clerks could go on strike over alleged unfair labor practices on Thursday

Clerks handle scheduling, paperwork and court orders -- responsibilities they say are critical in keeping the justice system running smoothly.

"We don't want to make mistakes," Borders said. "Mistakes from our work product, from the minute orders, could lead to people staying in jail longer than they're supposed to. It could lead the bench warrants going out that aren't supposed to go out."

Ben Thompson, a courtroom clerk in the criminal division, said morale is suffering.

"Those of us that are here are exceedingly burned out," Thompson said.

By Thursday afternoon, the Hall of Justice was mostly empty. Public notices announced the temporary closure of the criminal clerk's office. Courtrooms were consolidated, leading to crowded hallways and shortened hearings.

"All of our courtrooms were consolidated," said Melissa Lubin, a criminal defense attorney. "My client is in custody, and he wants to have his case heard, so, yes, it is impacting him."

Christina Iriart, another criminal defense attorney, described the disruption in one word: delays.

"The clerks are the backbone of any courthouse. We need them to function," Iriart said. "They're specifically just amazing people at this courthouse"

On Wednesday, San Francisco Superior Court Executive Officer Brandon Riley called the strike "unfortunate," writing in a statement:

"Despite bargaining in good faith to reach a fair labor contract, the Court and the union have been at impasse since December," he said. "The Court has bargained fairly, and we are hopeful that we can reach a deal during today's bargaining session to avert any disruption to access to justice."

In its own statement, Service Employees International Union Local 1021, the union representing the court clerks, wrote on Wednesday:

"The San Francisco Superior Court clerks' contract negotiations team was hopeful Tuesday that the package of common-sense proposals they had put together over the weekend, which made significant movement in an effort to strike a compromise with court management, would get the two sides to an agreement that would put the brakes on a strike. However, the court management team under the direction of CEO Brandon Riley simply refused to negotiate over the clerks' new proposals at all, all but guaranteeing that the open-ended unfair labor practice strike announced on Monday would go forward on Thursday."

The mayor's office told ABC7 Eyewitness News it has been in talks with both sides to encourage negotiations.

Supervisor Jackie Fielder joined workers on the picket line earlier Thursday.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins voiced support for the clerks, saying in a statement that a "fully staffed courthouse with well-trained and well-supported clerks is essential for victims of crime to get justice and to ensure that the rights of the accused are honored."

"The clerks are essential workers that keep the courthouse running," Jenkins said. "Without their work, jury trials are not sent out as we're seeing today, and other critical operations go undone that directly impact victims of crime and those accused."

She added that she supports the clerks' demands for better wages, training and resources.

Bay City News contributed to this report.