Court executives obstruct funding advocacy in Sacramento
As you are all aware, OCEA has been incredibly active this year advocating for additional Superior Court funding in Sacramento. Since January OCEA members and staff have been to the Capitol four times, our Sacramento political consultants have been in constant contact with legislators, and we have even secured a letter signed by every Orange County Assembly member in support of $110,000,000 in additional Court funding.
While we have worked diligently in Sacramento, we have simultaneously reached out to local Court executives in an attempt to coordinate our efforts. Despite past promises to collaborate, the Court has refused to follow through. Our repeated requests to develop a joint strategy to secure additional funding for Orange County Superior Court have been largely ignored.
The Court's indifference came to a head this weekend. Today (March 25) OCEA leaders are AGAIN traveling to Sacramento to advocate for additional Court funding before the Assembly budget sub-committee. OCEA was to be represented by two staff (Tim Steed and Bridgette Washington) and two members, Lezlee Neebe and Aimee Skochko. On Friday, Court HR informed Aimee that her time off request to attend the hearing would not be approved. This was shocking. The Court knew that Aimee was not requesting time off for herself, she wanted to take time off (her own time!) to advocate for funding that would benefit the entire Court and her fellow Court workers.
Over the weekend OCEA General Manager Charles Barfield escalated this matter directly to the Court CEO, Presiding Judge and the Assistant Presiding Judge. Their response? Crickets.
The Court's intransigence is not just a denial of one member's time off request, it constitutes deliberate and unnecessary interference with OCEA's ability to advocate effectively for our members and their families. Denying time off for one worker so she could advocate for more local Court funding is an act of open hostility by the Court.
TODAY (March 25), keep an eye out for your Stewards and OCEA staff. We will be at every Justice Center at the end of the day handing out additional details about the Court's inexcusable actions. Come talk to us to find out how Court executives are jeopardizing the goal of obtaining more Court funding and the economic stability of you, your co-workers, and your families.
It is time we stand up, stand together, and stand for economic fairness for Orange County Superior Court workers.
Publication Date: March 25, 2019
