The Superior Court of Alameda County has been experiencing significant disruptions due to an ongoing strike by members of the Service Employees International Union 1021. Court operations continue to be limited, with many non-critical cases such as civil, family law, traffic, and probate matters facing delays. The Court maintains its commitment to providing access to justice and insists it has offered multiple invitations to mediate the dispute, which the union has declined, choosing instead to strike, according to the Superior Court of Alameda County.
On the other side of the dispute, the SEIU 1021 members took to the streets for a second day of what they describe as an unfair labor practice strike. Courtroom Clerk II Kasha Clarke expressed her frustration in a statement obtained by SEIU 1021, saying, "All day yesterday, management accused us of slowing down court business and not doing right by the public, but the public was the least of their concerns last year when they issued furloughs that sent our members home without pay and deprived the public of our services. We need to have our concerns — our real concerns — addressed at the bargaining table, from understaffing to undertraining to unfair practices."
The union has rebuffed the Court's claims of overstaffing, pointing to numbers that suggest Alameda County has fewer Superior Court workers per capita than similar jurisdictions. Additionally, they have highlighted a steep increase in their vacancy rates over the past years, which, according to their analysis, rose from 11.58% in 2020/21 to an alarming 19.02% in 2023/24. These statistics, they argue, lead to untrained workers being pushed to handle jobs outside their classification, hampering the efficiency and quality of the justice system.
Furthermore, striking workers and their supporters have been vocal on social media. SEIU 1021's President Theresa Rutherford addressed the crowd at a rally, reportedly saying, "This is a righteous fight, this is a just fight. We’re going to hold our bosses accountable. We are fighting for our community and we will win!" as per an SEIU 1021 social media post.
President Rutherford just told the crowd “This is a righteous fight, this is a just fight. We’re going to hold our bosses accountable. We are fighting for our community and we will win!”
— SEIU 1021 (@seiu1021) February 20, 2025
