SAN JOSE — For the first time since 2002, Santa Clara County court employees Wednesday went on strike, forcing the court administration to postpone all but essential hearings, close seven clerk’s offices and send hundreds of prospective jurors back home.
More than 280 employees — three-quarters of the legal system’s clerks, janitors, legal researchers and family law mediators — walked off the job. Superior Court officials, trying to reduce widespread confusion with a skeleton crew, expected only about a third of the workers to participate in the strike after the two sides reached an impasse over pay increases.
The court scrambled to assign midlevel managers to clerical duties, but the effect of the first strike in 14 years was felt in all of the county’s 11 courthouses.
At the county’s only full-time traffic court on Homestead Road in Santa Clara, 28 out of the 32 clerks did not show up for work. So when Jessica Carranza, of San Jose, arrived, she was turned away by a sheriff’s deputy because of the strike.
Carranza, who had a Wednesday deadline to take care of her ticket, left worried. “I don’t want them to have a warrant for me, because I don’t have an extension,” she said.
In a statement late Wednesday, the court said anyone with a scheduled hearing should show up Thursday. If the hearing cannot be held because of staffing shortages, it will be postponed. Otherwise, the court said it is providing essential services, as required by law, such as arraigning defendants in custody within 48 hours.
Hundreds of striking workers picketed all day outside the Hall of Justice in downtown San Jose, while substitute clerks inside tried to cope with confused visitors. The workers have vowed to continue their walkout, so visitors may encounter more disruptions Thursday.
About 230 jurors and prospective jurors showed up Wednesday only to be sent home. In domestic violence court, Judge Julianne Sylva took on clerk’s duties while another judge handled hearings. In Judge Shelyna Brown’s court, lawyers waited two hours for a substitute clerk. And instead of lines at the records office, visitors were greeted with pink signs that read, “This counter is closed.”
Many lawyers left the courthouse shortly after arriving, because for the most part, only domestic violence cases, arraignments and other time-sensitive proceedings were going forward. Even some trials were suspended, ranging from a narcotics case to one involving a man accused of trying to ram a sheriff’s deputy with his car.
When defense lawyer Steve Clark showed up Wednesday morning to represent clients in three scheduled cases, he said he had no idea which courtrooms to head for. The court calendars, which are prepared by clerks, weren’t posted yet.
“You’re going to have a lot of confused people,” he said.
Defense attorney Dan Mayfield said an arraignment that normally takes just a few minutes took more than 30 minutes in a court staffed by a supervisor pinch-hitting for a clerk. “Half an hour of my time to say, ‘Not guilty’ ” he said, shaking his head.
Seven clerk’s offices were closed because of the strike: traffic court in Santa Clara; downtown San Jose’s Notre Dame, Guadalupe and Terraine courthouses; Morgan Hill, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale.
Carrying signs that read, “Justice for court workers,” “Chop from the top” and “More work, less pay, no way,” and chanting slogans such as, “Balance the scales or the court will fail,” striking workers set up red-and-white striped canopies outside the Hall of Justice for shade. Supporters, including probation officers, the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, prosecutors, public defenders and some judges, dropped off pizza and Togo’s sandwiches.
Supervisor Cindy Chavez and San Jose police union President Paul Kelly showed up briefly to support the workers, who have not had a raise in eight years. “Seventy-five percent of you are women. And you know what they say, ‘When mama’s not happy, nobody is happy,’ ” Chavez told them. “Keep it up. We’re here for you.”
Last year, the Superior Court Professional Employees Association turned down a net 4.5 percent wage increase over two years. This summer, the court sweetened the deal by adding an immediate 5 percent raise for the 88 percent of workers who have been with the courts for at least six years. In addition, the court offered last year and this summer to give the workers an extra 6 percent, which they would have to pay into the state retirement system. Although workers wouldn’t see that money, it would boost their gross pay and ultimately their retirement benefits.
But the association, citing the increased cost of living since 2008, is seeking an additional 3 percent wage hike during the second year of its two-year contract.
Experienced counter clerks make about $55,600 a year in a region with a notoriously high cost of living. The court already has lost about a third of its staff through attrition since the economy tanked in 2008, and the clerks say they cannot keep up with the overwhelming amount of data processing, filing, and phone calls and visits from the public.
However, the court is facing a $5 million deficit this year under a new state Judicial Council funding formula that seeks to divert resources to needier areas, such as San Bernardino County. The labor association contends the court still can afford to do better.
Clerk Leah Tyler said she works as a wine steward 16 hours a week on top of her court job to make ends meet. She recently moved 90 minutes away to the Central Valley after her rent in San Jose jumped to $1,680 a month.
“If we get the additional raise,” she said, “I could afford a day off.”
Contact Tracey Kaplan at 408-278-3482. Follow her at Twitter.com/tkaplanreport.