County Court Workers Say NO to Closing Court Days
May 28 - SEIU county court workers from throughout the state marched in front of the State Building in San Francisco Thursday to protest plans to shut down courts one day each month.
A group of representatives from the crowd of 200-plus was invited inside for a meeting with the Administrative Office of the Courts. Linda Sepulveda, a Santa Cruz Court worker and Local 521 Chapter Chair, was among the few who spoke inside, warning of real-life consequences to real-life people.
[The AOC] think they can just close the courts but the work never goes away. It back logs and then it's all downhill from there,
Sepulveda said. In a speech to the crowd, she talked about people taking days off work to pay fines and see court dates, only to either wait for several hours or be turned away completely.
Keeping the courts open not only helps workers keep their jobs, Sepulveda said, but also prevents a public panic over missed court dates and unpaid fines.
Employees need to keep their jobs and the public needs secure services. That's why we're here, she said.
The protest drew Superior Court workers from Santa Cruz, Kern and other counties with SEIU members.
Carrying signs that said, Keep Courts Open, and chanting, Children can't wait, one more day might be too late, the workers informed the media outlets gathered that the AOC has set aside $1.9 billion for a new computer system to manage court cases.
They've earmarked money, but for what? asked Sepulveda. They want to save money when the public needs it now.
In the news:
COURT WORKERS THROW DOWN A CHALLENGE AT A.O.C.
A lively crowd of 300 SEIU court workers from at least 6 counties met in San Francisco to shine a light on the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) plan to close courts – even while spending $1.9 billion on a massive IT upgrade. Workers were joined by SF's City Attorney and Public Defender. Check out the coverage:
www.kcbs.com/Court-Employees-Protest-Work-Furloughs/4490699
cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=COURT-CLOSURE-PROTEST-baglm
Anger and disbelief at Governor's proposed cuts
Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes to eliminate welfare-to-work program known as CalWORKS; healthcare for low-income children; financial aid for college students, and more.
This is not my California,
said Assembly Budget Chair Noreen Evans.
Read more and take action: Send a message to Gov. Schwarzenegger now!