Court and Unions Reach Labor Agreements

Oakland, Calif. – June 24, 2025 – The Superior Court of Alameda County and three unions representing most employees agreed to labor contracts that responsibly balance increased employee compensation with the Court’s shifting yearly revenues.

The agreements primarily focus on salaries, keeping intact much of the language of previous contracts regarding work rules, training and staffing.

Among the new benefits provided to many employees is a 3% salary increase and a one-time stipend in support of employee retention of $2,500 plus 1% of an employee’s yearly salary. The contracts also allow for 0.5% salary increase in each of the next two fiscal years for every $1 million in additional unrestricted funding the Court may receive from the state.

Salary increases were made possible after Governor Gavin Newsom proposed, and the State Legislature approved, a state budget that restored much of the $97 million cut from State Courts last year. If Gov. Newsom signs the budget as expected, the Superior Court of Alameda County would have about 65% of its budget restored from last year’s $4.4 million cut.

“We’ve always maintained that our goal was to provide salary increases to our employees. After enduring the budget cuts of last year, that did not seem possible,” Presiding Judge Thomas Nixon said. “Every member of the Court staff is critical to our mission of providing equal justice to all and their work is worthy of proper respect and compensation. We are extremely grateful that the Governor and Legislature restored some of last year’s cuts allowing for these deserved salary increases.”

The agreements, ratified by union membership last week, ended about 10 months of contentious negotiations, which included a two-day work stoppage in February. The contracts differ in length with the shortest agreement expiring in June 2026 and the longest expiring in June 2027.

Employees represented by two of the unions and unrepresented employees will all receive the same ongoing salary increases but other provisions differ, including the lengths of the contracts. Court reporters, represented by the Alameda County Official Court Reporters Association (ACOCRA), are compensated, in part, through a different fund created by the state to help increase recruitment and are therefore not included in salary increases. Court reporters have a separate salary increase schedule.

The contract with SEIU 1021, the largest of the three unions at the Court, will expire in December 2026. It includes one additional personal holiday to be used before the end of this year, increased Court contribution to a vision insurance plan to cover an employee’s premium and a lower service threshold for legal processing assistants to receive increased pay for covering a courtroom clerk position.

The Alameda County Management Employees Association (ACMEA) contract expires in June 2027. Additional provisions in its agreement, which was an extension of their current contract, includes a provision that increases the conversion rate when an employee converts sick time to vacation time. Employees can convert sick time to vacation time when they accrue 150 days of sick time, the maximum amount. The new conversion rate allows members of ACMEA to convert five sick days into two vacation days.

The contract with Alameda County Official Court Reporters Association (ACOCRA) expires in June 2026. Additional provisions include two additional personal holidays to be used by June 15, 2026, and a guarantee that no court reporter will be laid off during the length of the contract.

All three contracts begin July 1, 2025.

Contact:
Paul T. Rosynsky
Public Information Officer
prosynsky@alameda.courts.ca.gov
510-627-4770

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