Santa Clara County Court Workers To Continue Strike

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A strike by a union representing hundreds of Santa Clara County Superior Court employees demanding pay raises they say are long overdue will continue Thursday.

The Santa Clara County Superior Court Professional Employees Association will pick up their strike at 7:30 a.m. Thursday outside the Hall of Justice in San Jose, union officials said.

More than 400 Santa Clara County court workers were walking the picket line on Wednesday, the first day of the strike.

Criminal attorney Steven Clark said he had three cases scheduled for Wednesday that were thrown into limbo by the strike.

"It's a very chaotic morning," said Clark. "I think all of the judges are trying to funnel the cases into one or two courtrooms, but you're talking about hundreds of cases, so obviously there's going to be a lot of delays this morning."

Court workers like Anna Sapp say they had no choice but to strike.  They say they deserve more pay after going eight years without a raise.

"I dedicated my life to this place. I've been here almost 20 years," said Sapp. "I sublease two of the rooms in my home and I live in my garage. That's really embarrassing and it's sad. There's almost 400 of us that have to go through that."

Court workers rejected what the county describes as its "best and final offer" -- a five percent raise now and another five percent in six months.

During the eight years since their last pay boost, court workers say everything else -- from housing to food to transportation -- has gotten more expensive.

"If I have an emergency, if I need something, I really have to go to a family for help, you know?" said court employee Gabriel Jauregui.

Managers say the court is operating with a $5 million deficit.

As the workers walked the picket line, potential juror Rose Tattersall joined the crowd lined up at the door, not knowing what to expect inside.

"I wish they would just come out and tell us," said Tattersall. "The judge yesterday told us that we would most likely be in the courtroom today, but after looking at this, I'm not quite sure now."

Clark believes if the strike continues, it could have a catastrophic impact, including the possibility of suspects in jail being released until they can get in front of judge.

"It's really an unprecedented situation, where you have a criminal justice system really not being able to move forward from a very, very large county and hundreds of cases," said Clark.

The union president told the media that the strike could go on for days, setting the nine Santa Clara County courthouses affected up for a sizable backlog of cases.