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SAN JOSE -- Normal court operations will resume Monday after employees Sunday voted to end Santa Clara County's first court strike in 14 years by approving the administration's latest contract offer.
The walkout by more than 300 clerks, janitors, mediators and researchers lasted for eight work days, disrupting court operations and closing clerks' offices since it began Aug. 3.
Members of the Superior Court Professional Employees Association voted overwhelmingly Sunday afternoon to approve the contract at the auditorium at the Sheriff's Office off North First Street in San Jose. As is customary, the union did not release the tally.
Court employees said they were relieved to be going back to work.
The labor association that represents striking Superior Court workers in Santa Clara County holds a demonstration at the new and as-yet-unopened courthouse called the Family Justice Center in downtown San Jose, Calif., Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. ( Patrick Tehan )
"Everybody is happy about the strike being over," said Arnulfo Landeros, a 44-year-old court janitor after voting Sunday in favor of the contract.
Similarly, Joseph Macaluso, a spokesman for the Superior Court, said: "The court is eager to move forward together and welcomes the returning of employees tomorrow and the resuming of our regular operations."
Landeros, who brought along his 11-year-old son, Cesar, while he cast his ballot, supported the strike, saying he walked the picket line in front of various courthouses every day, all day. But he said he remains worried about losing eight days' worth of pay and doesn't know whether he will be able to recoup the loss.
"I depend on that to pay the bills," he said.
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Labor association leaders have said they plan to distribute their gofundme.com account, "Help the SCPEA clerks fund," which collected more than $43,000 during the walkout from 330 donors, including hundreds of local lawyers.
The walkout brought normal operations at all 11 courthouses to a near standstill, as paperwork problems mounted and all but essential hearings were postponed.
When employees return to work Monday, it will coincidentally be the same day the court's new $208 million courthouse on First Street is set to open. Clerks' offices, including at busy traffic court in Santa Clara, will reopen. However, it's expected to take several days for returning workers to clear the backlog of work.
The sticking point between the two sides had been a wage increase that the labor association was seeking in the second fiscal year of a two-year contract. The court, which is facing a $5 million deficit, had offered a net 4.5 percent wage increase and a net 5 percent raise for the 88 percent of workers who have been with the court for more than two years, but nothing in the second year.
The labor association, noting that its members have not had a raise in eight years and that many are among the lowest paid and most overworked employees, sought a 3 percent wage hike in the second year of the contract.
In the end, they got the closest thing possible from the cash-strapped court, association leaders said.
First, the court agreed to pay most of the previously negotiated raises immediately, with the rest by November -- four months earlier than originally proposed. That effectively puts an extra half-percent raise in workers' pockets.
Second, the court will give workers another 2.5 percent bump in the second year if, as expected, the state Legislature and the governor approve a cost-of-living increase by June 30, 2017.
If the state doesn't approve the increase, the tentative agreement includes a backup plan. Under a new "me-too" clause, the court would have to match any increase given to its other employee unions, which will start negotiations for new contracts before the clerks agreement expires. Also, the court agreed to shorten the Superior Court Professional Employees Association's contract from two years to 18 months, allowing workers to go back to the table sooner.
Even though the 3 percent wage hike is not guaranteed, union leaders said the strike had a positive result: The court now has more respect for the crucial role workers play in keeping the legal system working despite budget cuts that have reduced staff by more than a third.
But the workers will not receive back pay for the days they were on strike as they had hoped, a net loss of about 2 percent of their annual pay. Some employees, however, may be able to make up the difference either through the gofundme.com account or by working extra hours to catch up with the paperwork if the court approves the overtime.
Nora Dippert, a Hall of Justice clerk for almost 10 years, voted in favor of the contract Sunday afternoon. Hard as it was for her colleagues to forgo their pay during the strike, Dippert said, the clerks had felt increasingly overwhelmed as the staff shrunk because of the budget cutbacks and the workload burgeoned.
"There are piles of work, and you started to lose hope that you could ever catch up," Dippert said.
In fact, the San Jose resident has been gone from work for more than a month while recovering from recent shoulder surgery for an injury she said was brought on by continually lifting heavy cartons of files.
Even so, she said, she went out regularly to help her colleagues on the picket line.
The announcement that a tentative deal had been reached came Friday after both sides met Thursday with a mediator from Southern California who failed to settle the dispute over wages. However, back-channel negotiations involving a group of judges continued through the night and into the early morning hours Friday.
Ingrid Stewart, president of the employees association, and other leaders had recommended that workers approve the settlement.
The court is facing the $5 million deficit this year under a new Judicial Council of California funding formula that seeks to divert resources to needier areas, such as San Bernardino County.
The last court strike, in 2002, lasted three days. At that time, the court agreed to raises ranging from 1 percent to 7 percent, depending on the job.
Contact Tracey Kaplan at 408-278-3482. Follow her at Twitter.com/tkaplanreport.
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