You remember CCMS, the computer system that has cost $500 million so far and is expected to cost $1.5 billion to install. The computer system that has been developed at great cost while courts have been closed, while court workers have been laid off, while the public has had to wait years for justice.
Thanks to the hard work of the court workers of SEIU 521 and the other SEIU locals, the brakes have been put on CCMS.
An Assembly budget subcommittee voted unanimously to block the expansion of CCMS. This is a huge victory for the court workers who have worked tirelessly to convince the Legislature to put service over software.
This vote comes after the Assembly passed a bill requiring that taxpayer money designated for the courts actually makes it to the courts. The chief justice is outraged that she, like any other public official, is being accountable for how money is spent.
“Never let it be said workers don’t have any power. We’ve been saying for years that spending on CCMS while closing courtrooms is a bad idea, and we never changed our message to fit the politics of the day. We focused on preserving court services for the public and fighting for jobs versus management bureaucracy. And clearly, we are making a difference.”
— Joanne Hutton, courtroom clerk, Kern County Superior Court
How do we do this? With our time and with our money.
That’s why courts workers must be involved, and why we contribute to COPE – SEIU’s Committee on Political Education that supports legislation and candidates who support us.
(You must be an SEIU 521 member to be able to contribute to COPE.)
Sign up now for COPE. (PDF)
Please return the filled out card to your union organizer, your steward or your local SEIU 521 office.
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