Region 4 Bargaining Update

October 10, 2018 San Diego

Region 4 Bargaining Update

September 24-25, 2018 San Bernardino Courthouse

1. The Bargaining Team will expect that every issue we present will be addressed with respectful consideration 
2. This day and age, past beliefs and practices which relegated CFI personal to that of third class laborers is not acceptable and will not under any circumstances be tolerated. 
3. We expect wage improvements to reflect a true and realistic compensation for the professional work that all CFI employees proudly perform. 

Obit: Filipino languages interpreter Marcelino Ines

Marcelino Ines, Jr., a beloved Tagalog and Ilocano interpreter in Los Angeles who was a fixture at CFI Conferences and tireless community advocate, passed away on Aug. 20 at his home in Carson surrounded by family. He had suffered a heart attack the previous month. Marcelino was 87.

 Affectionately called “the Mayor of Manila” by his some of his colleagues, he was born in Stockton, Calif., where his father was farm foreman. He and his family returned to the Philippines during the Great Depression. 

 Years later, Marcelino returned to the U.S. and enlisted in the Navy, serving for 5 years, said his wife Maria Luisa, known as Liling. They married in 1954 having first met as children in the Philippines. 

 “He liked saying ‘I’ve been married for 64 years, to the same lady’,” his wife said.

Marcelino began working as an interpreter in the late 1970s after a friend urged him to help with the growing caseload. He had worked for the Los Angeles Superior Court for about 15 years, his wife said. 

At work, Marcelino shared the plumerias grown in his garden with his colleagues. 

“Every time he came to the office he would brighten everyone’s day,” said his colleague Flavio Posse. “He was a very loved person.”

He was a regular at the CFI Continuing Education Conferences, where he always took to the dance floor with his coworkers. An avid photographer, he photographed much of the 2016 conference, and mentioned that if he wasn’t an interpreter he would be a photographer. 

He also enjoyed singing and was a member of the church choir and a choral group, said Liling Ines. Marcelino also served on various city commissions, including senior advisory, citywide advisory and parks and recreation. He was a member of the Lions Club member and instrumental in founding the Carson Sister Cities Association and the Sinaitenians of California.

Marcelino is survived by his wife; their three children Leilani, Eric and Phillip; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. 

Viewing and visitation is scheduled for Aug. 31 at Greenhill Memorial Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes with a service starting at 5 p.m.; funeral mass is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., Sept. 1 at St. Philomena Catholic Church in Carson. Details available at: https://greenhillsmemorial.com/find-a-service/

Membership Meeting will be held for all members in good standing of CFI Local 39000:

Saturday July 21^st– 10am to 12noon

12215 N. Telegraph Road Suite 210
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670

KEY POINTS IN THE REGION ONE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING NEGOTIATED BY CFI AND REGION 1 COURTS

ACHIEVED:

A 7.5% salary increase over the three-year term of the contract distributed in the following manner: a 2.75% base salary adjustment effective the first pay period after ratification; a base pay increase of 2.50% effective the first pay period 12 months after the first increase; 12 months following the second pay increase mentioned there will be a final base pay adjustment of 2.25%.

A one-time, non-base bonus payment of 2% to all regular status employees in paid status as of June 30, 2018 effective the first pay period after ratification; this payment will be prorated for part-time employees, and all intermittent part-time and as-needed interpreters will receive a one-time payment of $500.00.

Example Full-time employee annual salary $77,005.20 x 2%= 1,540.10 bonus

Twelve months after ratification, full-time interpreters in service as of July 15, 2019 will receive the following one-time, non-pensionable, non-base payment based on length of service: 1% for 5-9 years of continuous service; 2% for 10-14 years; 3% for 15 or more years of continuous service.

Example Annual salary $79,227.20 x 1%= $792.27;  2%= $1,584.54;  3% $2,376.82

Interpreter employees who are certified or registered to interpret in two or more language pairs will receive a 1% salary enhancement for all hours paid for each additional language pair.

The Court will make reasonable efforts to make up to 15 hours of CIMCE-qualifying continuing education and training available to each regular status bargaining unit employee at no cost to the employee; this is an increase from 6 hours offered in the previous MOU.

The Court has agreed to reimburse all full-time and regular status part-time interpreters the cost of their annual certification/registration fees required by the Judicial Council of CA for each language pair in which the employee is certified or registered.

A side letter regarding a reopener on Article 18 (Interpreter Assignments) is included in the MOU which states that the Court will notify CFI prior to making any changes to the interpreter assignment process and will make Court representatives available to meet and confer regarding said changes.  Until the parties exhaust the meet and confer process, the Court will continue to abide by the provisions of Article 18, which respects interpreter seniority. 

NOT ACHIEVED:

Other than the one-time, non-pensionable, non-base payment mentioned in the third paragraph above, the Court was unwilling to offer any other kind of salary increase based on length of service (steps) and to negotiate any further on their offer.

We were unable to get binding arbitration language included in Article 9 (Grievance Procedure) or Article 11 (Expedited Arbitration).

The Region rejected CFI’s proposed changes to Sections 37.2 and 37.3 of Article 37 (Stewards) and proposed the status quo; their proposal was incorporated herein by reference in their final Comprehensive Package Proposal. They were unwilling to pay for caucus time for the bargaining team in preparation for negotiations (which has been the past practice), and they did not grant travel time for any bargaining member traveling from the Central Coast.

We were unable to get the creation of a new classification status for retired court interpreters allowing them to be rehired under California Government Code Section 7522.56.  This would have been included in Article 16 (Employment Status).

We were unable to get into the contract language which addresses the issue of the docking of “F” status interpreters if they arrive late to an assignment given to them on the same day.  Said language was hoped to be included in Article 18 (Interpreter Assignments).

The bargaining team feels that there are some important issues that need to be resolved, most significantly recognition of our years of service to the Courts by means of “steps” or a “longevity increase”.  We do not feel that a one-time non-pensionable, non-base payment as mentioned in the third paragraph of this letter reflects true appreciation of our services by the Court, besides which it does not help those interpreters who are near retirement in terms of their pension pay-out.  As a matter of fact, as our attorney Caren Sencer pointed out to the Region, it holds those employees hostage for a year if they want to take advantage of that one-time bonus. As a result, we are not recommending ratification of this contract. However, because the Region made it clear that their offer would expire that same day, June 27, 2018 at 4:30 p.m., the team felt that that the members deserved the opportunity to let their voices be heard.  We believe we have done as much as we can at the bargaining table.  In order to achieve more, the members have to be willing to mobilize and carry out concerted work actions. Before casting your vote, please carefully read the proposed contract and consider what you are willing to do to improve it.

If the members vote to reject the proposed contract, the Committee will notify the court and we will go back to the bargaining table in an effort to improve the offer. We are not at an impasse and we were not told this was the “last, best and final offer”.

Signed:

Members of the Region 1 CFI Bargaining Committee

Region 1 MOU Draft Document