On May 23, dozens of SEIU 721 members joined court workers from across the state in Sacramento to urge California lawmakers to increase trial court funding. And we did it!
Keep Superior Courts Open
Court closures threaten public safety, families, businesses and other crucial public services. SEIU members are working together with other court employees to keep courthouses open during the economic crisis.
On May 23, dozens of SEIU 721 members joined court workers from across the state in Sacramento to urge California lawmakers to increase trial court funding. And we did it!
Community members and court workers rallied on May 9 to save the Kenyon Juvenile Justice Center, the only juvenile court in South LA. Judges are targeting Kenyon, along with seven additional LA County Courts, for closure in June.
All SEIU 721 members and friends are invited to attend a special rally in South Los Angeles to keep Kenyon Juvenile Justice Center open.
On March 14, hundreds of community members, lawyers and court workers rallied on the steps of LA's Stanley Mosk Courthouse to stop the planned closure of eight LA County Superior Courts.
A handful of judges want to permanently close eight LA County courts that serve our communities. Their plan will eliminate jobs and public services and hurt our families. Come to a mass rally and mock trial to Save Our Courts.
Bureaucracy. Outrageous and unnecessary construction costs. Duplicate and redundant services. Slush funds. Lavish spending on top managers' perks...all while courtrooms are being closed and services to the public are being slashed.
The state's central court agency, the AOC, has failed completely in its core purpose: serving the public. It's time for court workers and our allies to take back our courts, and repair the broken trust.
We'll be working tirelessly to take the purse strings away from the AOC, and support legislation that guarantees that ALL funding allocated by the Legislature for trial courts goes directly to the trial courts--NOT some central bureaucracy and its slush funds.
On July 22, despite urgent testimony from both SEIU trial court workers
and judges, the Judicial Council approved deep cuts to trial courts that
will drastically reduce the public's access to justice.
SEIU members spoke out strongly at the hearing, demanding that the Judicial Council
To get involved in our campaign to prioritize justice, contact: SEIU 721 Worksite Organizer Earl Thompson at 213-300-5529 or email earl.thompson@seiu721.org
- In San Francisco, 41% of San Francisco court employees will be laid off, and 40% of courtrooms will be closed. No new civil cases will be put on the calendar.
- In San Joaquin, small claims court will close.
- Across the state, other trial courts will face possible furloughs, cutbacks, and layoffs.
SEIU members spoke out strongly at the hearing, demanding that the Judicial Council
- Terminate the Deloitte contract for the costly IT boondoggle (CCMS) and end all further spending on the system.
- Bring construction and maintenance costs into line with other state building projects.
- Cut deeper into the costly, centralized bureaucracy, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).
To get involved in our campaign to prioritize justice, contact: SEIU 721 Worksite Organizer Earl Thompson at 213-300-5529 or email earl.thompson@seiu721.org
Next steps:
SEIU is planning a campaign to expose the AOC's misplaced priorities.
SEIU and our allies will push a court reform package to ensure that the AOC prioritizes access to justice and keeping courtrooms open over lavish buildings, gold-plated managerial pensions, and financial sinkholes like the $1.9 billion computer system upgrade that still isn't operational.
"Unfortunately, the legislature gave the AOC the leeway to decide how to cut. True to form, the AOC has put its own interests ahead of the public it's supposed to serve."
--Arnella Sims
Court Reporter
LA Superior Court
"Unfortunately, the legislature gave the AOC the leeway to decide how to cut. True to form, the AOC has put its own interests ahead of the public it's supposed to serve."
--Arnella Sims
Court Reporter
LA Superior Court
LA Superior Court has told SEIU 721 it plans to rehire 71 court staff laid off in March due to budget cuts.
On September 16, Ventura Court employees represented by SEIU 721 signed an agreement that protects court employees' rights and helps us move forward together to protect court services.
Ventura County Superior Court employees haven't been getting the full story.
$175 to empty an ashtray. $2,166 to fix five smoke detectors. $8,000 to scrape gum off four feet of sidewalk. Those are some of the maintenance charges from companies on contract with California's court system -- and all were approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts, which oversees court budgets.
Legislators exposed the inflated costs at a hearing about government accountability in Sacramento on August 11.
LA court reporter Rose Nava was there, and she said the committee took its watchdog role seriously.
"The maintenance companies have taken advantage of the rubber-stamping of the AOC," she said. "Nobody has been watching them."
"Hopefully now that they are being watched, we will either switch to new maintenance companies or they will stop super-inflating their costs."
LA Superior Court is back to full time status as the court announced an end to furloughs starting in August. July 21 is the last furlough day.
The monthly furloughs caused delays in document processing for child support and divorces and created long lines for the public.
"I'm extremely happy the furloughs are over and we're back assisting the public full-time. But we still have to restore the courts to full capacity," said Charlotte Ramos, CSA III at Stanley Mosk in downtown LA.
California court administrators have fired the whistleblower who last year exposed their poor oversight of multimillion dollar contracts with private vendors.
Michael Paul, a senior technical analyst in the Administrative Office of the Courts' information services department, said he was told Friday, July 9, that he was being fired for reporting a possible bidding irregularity in a courthouse construction project to the wrong colleague.
"Whistleblower protections allow employees to come forward to report mismanagement of funds, misuse of authority, and most of all lack of accountability," said Linda Mascorro, an LA Superior Court employee and member of the SEIU 721 executive board. "The AOC has gotten away with not being accountable or transparent. They need to be reminded that they do not have an open checkbook."
California court employees have also raised serious questions about misspending by the AOC, and they support AB 1749, which extends whistleblower protections to court employees. Click here to read more.
California's Administrative Office of the courts lavished money on unlicensed contractors who "grossly overcharged" for services, a lawsuit filed by an employee-whistleblower alleges.
The suit was brought on behalf of taxpayers by Michael Paul, a senior technical analyst in the Administrative Office of the Courts' information services department. The AOC is the administrative department responsible for overseeing California's court system.
California court employees have also raised serious questions about misspending by the AOC, and they support two bills in the Legislature to require fiscal accountability and give protections for whistleblowers. You can read more here.
Paul has blown the whistle on the AOC in the past, but his latest suit offers fresh details about alleged wasteful spending by the AOC, after it took over maintenance of courthouses from California's counties.
After a year of devastating layoffs and furloughs, solutions for California's beleaguered courts are being hammered out.
SEIU has been an active partner in negotiations with Assemblymember Feuer, the defense and plaintiffs bars, and judiciary officials to come up with an array of budget solutions.
The emerging plan would prevent further cuts and eliminate the need for furloughs through budget solutions totaling approximately $200 million, including:
However, the Governor is again proposing to replace court reporters with electronic recording.
"Our hard work to publicize the damage of court closures and layoffs changed the conversation in Sacramento. We still have a long fight ahead, but the emerging agreement is a positive start."
SEIU has been an active partner in negotiations with Assemblymember Feuer, the defense and plaintiffs bars, and judiciary officials to come up with an array of budget solutions.
The emerging plan would prevent further cuts and eliminate the need for furloughs through budget solutions totaling approximately $200 million, including:
- Adding an additional fee for first paper filings
- Setting a standard fee for telephone appearances
- Transferring construction funds and other available AOC funds to trial court operations
However, the Governor is again proposing to replace court reporters with electronic recording.
"Our hard work to publicize the damage of court closures and layoffs changed the conversation in Sacramento. We still have a long fight ahead, but the emerging agreement is a positive start."Arnella Sims
Superior Court Reporter
SEIU 721 Executive Board Member
Superior Court Reporter
SEIU 721 Executive Board Member
Page