Solano County Public Defenders Continue Strike into Third Week
March 11, 2026
For Immediate Release
March 11, 2026
Solano County Public Defenders Continue Strike into Third Week
County Continues Bargaining in Bad Faith after Contract Expired Last October.
(FAIRFIELD, CALIF.) This week, Public Defenders in Solano County represented by Teamsters Local 150, continued their strike and picket line after the County has repeatedly failed to bargain in good faith since their contract expired last October. Public Defenders in Unit 1 are asking for a necessary equity increase to ensure experienced, highly skilled Public Defenders and District Attorneys can stay in the County and provide critical services for the public.
“Enough is enough, the County needs to come to the bargaining table. Four months without a contract for our Public Defenders and District Attorneys threatens residents’ public safety,” said Dale Wentz, Teamsters Local 150 Secretary-Treasurer. “Every Attorney in Unit 1 took an oath to serve our County and ensure that we have a justice system that works for everyone. It is time for the County to step up and do the right thing; we need a fair contract now.”
The County’s bad faith bargaining tactics and weak proposals they have brought to the bargaining table would set the County even further back from neighboring jurisdictions threatening public safety and potentially putting the offices in disarray. Currently, Solano County is 20 percent behind all eight other Bay Area County’s average wages for Public Defenders and District Attorneys, and at least 14 percent behind the neighboring counties of Marin, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Napa and Alameda. Solano County has brought proposals to the bargaining table that would only widen that gap, creating a greater crisis for the justice system in the County.
Mardin Malik, a 14-year Solano County Public Defender and Bargaining Team Member, said, “We do this because we have all taken up the charge to defend the people who are powerless, who are most vulnerable. That is what we do, and that is who we fight for. The time is now; we will continue to stand up for ourselves and for the community. We have sacrificed relationships, friendships, and health to do what is right for our community and our clients, and it’s because of that sacrifice that we refuse to accept an arbitrary sub-par contract that jeopardizes our ability to support our community. We have one message for the County: We won’t go back.”
The 100 Attorneys in Unit 1 are not new to the fight and will continue to hold the line until they receive a fair contract. In 2022, after decades of unfair, disrespectful contracts delivered by the County, the Public Defenders and District Attorneys won a strong contract that put the unit in a position to prevent the unit from further falling behind on wages and benefits.
Before 2022, Attorneys in the unit had mile-high caseloads, morale was low and the offices were in disarray as they lost talented Public Defenders and District Attorneys by the dozens; some new to the field and others who had been fighting for justice for decades, to nearby jurisdictions that had better wages and benefits for the same job.
Striking Public Defenders will continue their strike as long as it is needed. Since the strike vote, Public Defenders have not taken on new cases but will continue to be counsel on current active cases until the case has been closed.
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Teamsters Local 150 represents approximately 9,000 members across Northern California primarily in Sacramento. Our members include public service employees, warehouse workers, UPS drivers, grocery warehouse employees, pharmaceutical warehousemen, construction workers, healthcare workers, bakery workersand many more.
