Protesting what they say are “unbearable conditions,” employees of the jury division of the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse downtown are planning a lunchtime walkout for today, union officials told The Examiner.
Nine employees of the jury division, along with 60 other workers on the courthouse staff, are expected to walk off their jobs at noon and hold a rally on the steps of the courthouse. Union officials said new procedures implemented nearly a year ago have made working conditions impossible.
“We want to call attention to the poor treatment of jury division employees,” said Frank Janzcak, secretary of the AFSCME local 3674, the union that represents that division.
Nine out of the 10 employees in the department have asked to be transferred, Janzcak said.
Pat Kelly, president of the local union , said changes in departmental procedures governing potential jurors who fail to appear have substantially increased the department?s workload. Previously, potential jurors had to notify the court in writing to be excused from jury duty. The new policy allows them to call, overwhelming an already thin staff.
“That procedure has generated an additional 400 to 500 phone calls to the jury division with no increase in staffing. It had a domino effect ? they were required to answer the phones on the second ring,” Kelly said. “The regular work began to back up.”
Other employee complaints, Kelly said, include badgering, being forced to stand at a computer terminal for hours at a time and stress-related health problems.
“One of the women had to leave work after being yelled at and go straight to the hospital,” she said.
Kelly said the walkout had the support of other staffers at the courthouse, as well as the AFL-CIO.
Frank Conaway, clerk of the court, said employees of the jury division have filed complaints.
“I have received grievances from employees of the jury division,” said Conaway, who oversees a staff of 260. “But I can?t discuss them at this point.”
