Union calls for audit of San Mateo County court finances
250 unionized employees at the San Mateo Superior Court chanted and marched at a rally organized by the Service Employees International Union Local 521 Tuesday. The employees were calling for an independent audit of the courts finances, currently under investigation by state court officials. It was recently revealed by Court Executive Officer John Fitton that accounting errors had masked a $3.9 million budget shortfall that may force over 60 of the SEIU court workers out of their jobs. Fitton says that he will wait for results from the state inquiry into the errors before calling for an independent auditor. Since the state took over all the Superior Courts in 1998, oversight checks and double-checks have been few and far between. The union feels that the money 'couldn't have just disappeared.'
See "Union calls for audit of San Mateo County court finances", Shaun Bishop, San Jose Mercury News, August 25, 2009