SF Court Strike! Unfair Labor Practice sparks walkout SEIU 1021 court workers set up picket lines around San Francisco’s three courthouses this morning at 6:30 am. They plan to shut them down for the day with an Unfair Labor Practice strike. The union has filed charges with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board alleging that the Court as employer has violated state labor law by bargaining in bad faith. The union says the Court illegally refused to bargain over mandatory issues, withheld information from the union it is required to give so the union can bargain properly and threatened the jobs of union members at the table. An Unfair Labor Practice strike is a remedy state labor law provides unions in when employers violate their obligations under the law. “Court management’s bad faith was on display not just in their actions at the bargaining table, but in their attitude. Their disrespect for their workers was matched only by their disdain for the legal collective bargaining process and for the citizens they are supposed to serve,” said Diane Williams, president of the San Francisco SEIU court chapter, a member of the union bargaining team and a clerk in the traffic department at the Hall of Justice. “They just spent $16 million in their reserve fund and not only didn’t give their employees a raise, they didn’t restore any of the many and essential justice services they cut in the last five years. Isn’t that their mission?” The San Francisco Court has endured years of budget cuts that have closed courtrooms and shortened hours of service to the public, leaving many City residents in the lurch. Court workers see the effects of those cuts every day—the domestic abuse victims put in harm’s way while awaiting restraining orders; families kept apart with delays in child custody battles; the right of the accused to a speedy trial; even chances to pay simple fines restricted as huge late fees pile up. “The courts are supposed to be the place people go to find justice, not have it delayed and denied. We are very disappointed that the San Francisco Superior Court, the institution we are devoting our careers to, the institution that should be the beacon of justice in our community, would show such disregard for the rights of citizens and workers,” said Gary Feliciano, the SEIU San Francisco court chapter’s chief shop steward, a member of the union bargaining team and a clerk at the Civic Center Courthouse. “The judiciary is not above the law. We are taking this strike action today to hold them accountable, and to publicize to everyone in the City this Court’s outlaw behavior.” Picket lines: set up by 7 am. Press conference: 9am Civic Center Courthouse Rally and press availability: noon at Civic Center Courthouse and the Hall of Justice Last press availability: 5 pm Civic Center Courthouse For more information contact: SEIU 1021 Communications Specialist Steve Stallone at 510-390-4748 or [email protected] or SEIU 1021 Communications Specialist Carlos Rivera at 415-260-7134 or [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 16:23:15 +0000
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