SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Some 250 Sacramento County government attorneys went on strike Monday, arguing they need fair wages to stop losing talented lawyers.
The move by the Sacramento County Attorneys Association comes after over a year of arbitration with the county and two years of now contract between the county and the attorneys.
“We have taken every step, short of a strike, in order to get fair wages,” the group’s president, Matt Chisholm, told Courthouse News on Monday.
With no binding arbitration agreement by Monday, however, the union ultimately opted to strike. The group formally started its strike Monday morning on the steps of the Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse in downtown Sacramento.
The county’s district attorney and public defender’s offices face the same problem — experienced attorneys leaving their government jobs for better pay. The group says that has led to good, but inexperienced, attorneys facing legal proceedings they otherwise wouldn’t have.
Chisholm said that, years ago, a deputy district attorney needed to try 20 misdemeanor cases before they advanced to a felony trial. Now they need only two misdemeanor trials.
Currently, lawyers with 11 to 15 years of service comprise 7% of the office. Those with under five years’ experience are 38%.
The county has said that some members of Chisholm’s union questioned the qualifications of new colleagues at a Board of Supervisors’ meeting. County officials said they strongly disagreed with the take and is focused on building staff that will play large roles in the future.
The union called that divisive and misleading. The new attorneys are good, but are being rushed through the process, the group says, attributing the inability of the district attorney and public defender’s offices to attract experienced attorneys from other counties or keep their own experienced attorneys to the low salaries.
“We are having trouble hiring and retaining qualified attorneys,” said union member Sonia Martinez Satchell. “It is becoming a factor of public safety at this point.”
Janna Haynes, public information manager with Sacramento County, said in a Monday statement to Courthouse News that top-step salaries for the attorneys are above market average. Principal attorneys are at $247,000, followed by $225,000 for Level 5 attorneys and $204,000 for Level 4.
The attorneys’ group in an earlier statement said those salaries are correct, but only for those with 10 years of county service. Additionally, they don’t meet the average public attorney wage when compared to 15 other jurisdictions.
The county in a statement earlier this month said both parties reached an agreement through June 2025. It included 14% to 15% compensation increases, along with increases to deferred compensation.
“A 19.5-20.5% compensation increase, as opposed to the 14-15% provided as part of the current extension, for one of the county’s highest-paid staff, who also have the lowest vacancy rate, appears counterintuitive given that market data does not support such a raise,” Haynes said.
Haynes also said that a limited number of attorneys will continue working during the strike, enabling the county to meet legal obligations. She noted that it’s the attorneys’ burden to meet their ethical duties and public safety commitments.
Attorneys will continue to be in court this week for ongoing trials and hearings facing a deadline. Chisholm said defendants wouldn’t end up being released because of the strike. However, hearings that face no deadline or proceedings that haven’t yet started will get pushed back.
“Everything is going to compact even worse,” Chisholm said.
He hopes the strike moves the county to work with his organization, and that it ends before Thursday when a vote is scheduled on whether to extend the strike.
“We’re hoping that today shakes things loose,” he added.