Superior Court Tentative Agreement: No Takeaways, Hard-Fought Gains
Dear OCEA Superior Court member,
After months of intense negotiations, your Superior Court negotiations team has reached a tentative agreement with the Court. First and foremost: NO TAKEAWAYS. Your negotiations team fought to protect every benefit you currently have while securing a three-year contract with significant new improvements.
Wages
- Year 1: 2% wage increase
- Year 2: 2% wage increase
- Year 3: $500 lump sum payment
As you likely know, the Court is facing severe budget deficits—operating in the red this year, with bleaker projections ahead. State funding cuts left little room for sizeable wage increases. While we understand this isn't the wage agreement our members hoped for, your bargaining team is confident it represents every dollar available in this extraordinarily difficult economic time.
Despite real and significant fiscal constraints, your team secured multiple meaningful contract improvements, including:
Time & Flexibility
- Annual Personal Day, is an additional day off each year in the pay period in which your date of birth falls
- Sick leave increases from 9 to 10 days (1-3 years of service) and 12 to 15 days (after 3 years of service)
- Sick Leave Conversion increases from 32 to 40 hours annually
- Personal Sick Leave (SP) may be used specifically to care for a mental health condition or for personal wellbeing.
- Sick Other Leave (SO) allowance increased from 24 to 32 hours
- Vacation accrual and usage begins on hire date (not after one year)
- Vacation Cashout increases from 40 to 60 hours annually with no cash out restrictions
- Spring Comp Hours increased from 4 to 6 hours for full-time members and 2 to 3 hours for part-time members
Increases to and Preservation of Premium Pays
- Bilingual pay eligibility expanded from “daily use” to “multiple times per week
- Court Reporter Lump Sum Payment of $500 for receiving each of two (2) additional certificates: Verbatim Reporter and Certificate of Merit
- Court Reporter Incentives related to longevity, referrals, and recruitment continued through October 26, 2028.
Classification & Workload
- Labor Management Subcommittee established to study both the post-COVID changes in assigned duties for impacted classifications and specifically the LPS Classification
Thank you to everyone who participated in surveys and attended meetings. A special thank you should be extended to your negotiations team – in this challenging economic environment, your co-workers remained deeply committed throughout and fought for what they believe is the very best outcome achievable for you and your families.
Voting is open NOW through 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28 at this link. Scroll to the bottom of the page to vote.
YOUR NEGOTIATIONS TEAM UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A “YES” VOTE TO RATIFY THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT
Questions? Contact Alisha Greene at agreene@ocea.org.
In Solidarity,
OCEA
Publication Date: October 23, 2025