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Friday, August 13th, 2010 Region 1 Update – LACERA, LMC

LACERA Buy Back

In 2007 the Union’s attorneys began looking into the possibility of achieving LACERA buy back time for interpreters for the years they worked as independent contractors. After much research the Union petitioned LACERA to grant the buy back. On May 25 of this year the LACERA Board issued a decision denying the Union’s petition.

Though the Union’s petition was denied, our attorneys informed the interpreters who participated in the initial petition process that they should seek out an attorney as individuals if they wished to pursue this issue further.

Several interpreters have begun the process of seeking out an attorney and gathering names of interpreters who might be interested in further pursuing this issue.

Please check your email as you will be receiving more detailed information on this issue very soon.

You and Your MOU

As part of our updates CFI will be including a section on the various articles in the MOU. This time we will be covering:

ARTICLE 42 JOINT LABOR /MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Section 1
It is the intention of the parties to establish a Region-wide Joint Labor/Management Committee on court interpreter issues to provide a forum for Labor and Management to jointly discuss issues of concern to the Court and employees in the unit. These issues shall be limited to matters within the scope of representation.
Section 2
The Joint Labor/Management Committee on court interpreter issues shall consist of three management representatives designated by the Region Chair(s) and three labor representatives (employees or professional representatives) designated by CFI.
Section 3
During the term of this Agreement, the Joint Labor/Management Committee on interpreting issues shall meet at least twice annually, upon written request by either party (such request shall include a proposed agenda). Upon mutual agreement, the parties may meet more often than twice per year.

This committee presents an opportunity to begin a dialogue that will allow for the union and management to discuss issues and solutions in a forum that is separate and apart from the bargaining process. This is an informal committee that will not deal with bargaining issues but rather, “quality of life” issues that employees face on a regular basis but which are not specifically addressed in the MOU. We are looking for interpreters who would be interested in participating in this committee. If you are interested please contact Silvia Barden at silviabarden@aol.com.

Sacramento

As some of you may have seen on the news, on Wednesday, August 11, the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review held a hearing in Sacramento for the second time in ten months to inquire into the Administrative Office of the Court’s spending. Among the items in question were the cost of Court Case Management System (CCMS), and what appeared to be unreasonably high maintenance costs for courthouses across the state. There was much criticism of this kind of spending while at the same time courts were forced to close one day per month and some courts (outside of Region 1), continue to furlough employees.

Our lobbyist, Ignacio Hernandez, continues to monitor the developments in Sacramento and to advocate on behalf of interpreters, educating members of the legislature on the importance of the services we provide to the court system.

We Hear From Interpreters

In recent visits to courthouses Union reps and stewards have been hearing from interpreters what is turning out to be a familiar refrain:

· No team interpreting in many cases
· Staffing levels are too low in many courts for interpreters to meaningfully serve the public and/or take adequate breaks
· Court staff become angry or frustrated with interpreters when they cannot adequately cover all the courtrooms assigned to them
· Administration is docking interpreters for being late without first confirming that the information on which the docking is based is accurate
· Interpreter floaters are not being assigned according to seniority and geographic preference but rather are being offered a “take it or leave it” county-wide standby option only
· Need Sennheiser Equipment-some courthouses have no equipment, don’t have enough, or the equipment is not functioning properly
· Family Leave and Medical Act is not being explained or applied appropriately in some cases
· F status interpreters want to know how to cross-assign to other counties
· Interpreters want to know if they are entitled to have a Union rep present at an investigatory meeting. (The answer is YES. In other words, if you believe that a meeting called by a supervisor may result in discipline you absolutely have a right to a union representative. Always ask for a union rep.)
· Unit Work – we continue to hear that sometimes cases are done 977, done with family members or in the case of domestic violence cases, that sometimes interviews are done by victim/witness advocates as opposed to our unit members. This is our work and this means jobs.

If you have experienced any of the above situations please contact us at cfi@mediaworkers.org or call Silvia Barden at 714 357-2980. In order to evaluate these complaints we have made several Requests for Information to the Court. These requests are currently pending but they cannot replace the firsthand information we receive from interpreters. If you are interested in working with Union reps or stewards to address these very valid concerns we welcome your participation.

Courthouse Visits

In the last several months CFI representatives have met with interpreters from over a dozen courthouses throughout the Region in order to hear firsthand from interpreters what their concerns are. As you can see from the list above the concerns are many but there is a lot we can do to better some situations by just communicating with each other. We appreciate hearing from you, even if it is something you are frustrated with us about. Working through issues together is how we build our union.

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