Staff interpreters for Alameda County Superior Court held a half-day strike Wednesday at the René C. Davidson and Wiley W. Manuel courthouses in Oakland, the second walkout by their union this month, KQED reported.
The union, the California Alliance of Legal Interpreters, counts 91 staff interpreters working in languages such as Spanish, Cantonese and Hindi in courts along the Northern California coast. Alameda County employs close to two dozen of them, and some were expected to join Wednesday's walkout. San Francisco court interpreters struck on Oct. 16.
The pay gap
Staff interpreters at local courts earn about $86,000 to $105,000 a year before benefits, according to a 2025 Judicial Council of California report cited by KQED. The union wants the range raised gradually to $128,000 to $150,000, which it says would come close to federal court pay and help fill dozens of open jobs around the Bay Area.
Mary Lou Aranguren, the union's bargaining spokesperson and a Spanish interpreter in Alameda County for 30 years, said administrators spend freely on private contractors while telling employees there is no money for raises. "That just doesn't make sense," she said. The union has accused court management of unfair labor practices for favoring higher-paid contractors.
The courts' response
Alicia Vojnik, administrative chair for the region's courts and chief operating officer of Santa Clara County Superior Court, said the courts remain committed to a fair agreement.
She said contract rates "cannot be compared directly" with staff salaries unless employee benefits and the frequency of contract assignments are factored in, and that the courts have proposed mediation to close the gap between the two sides' wage offers.
