Call for Nominations for CFI Local 39000

Interim Elections for Region 2 Board Representative and Bargaining Team

As there was an appeal filed concerning the Region 2 nominations and elections for the region’s Board Representative, and the Elections Committee ruled in favor of the appeal, the Executive Board convenes new elections for both the Region 2 Board Representative and five Bargaining Team members. The remedy instructions from the Elections Committee specify to completely redo the election for Region 2 Board Representative, from nominations period onward. So …
 
Nominations are now open for the following Executive Committee position:
Region 2 Board Representative

Also, nominations are now open for the following:

5 Members of the Bargaining Team for Region 2 

For the Region 2 Representative the term of office will begin upon election and completion of officer training and run through December 31, 2021. 

The Bargaining Team’s term of office will be until the end of the new contract that is negotiated; the elected team members, together with the Executive Board, also attend to meet and confers that may arise during their tenure.
 
Candidates for both the Region 2 Board Representative and Bargaining Team members may be nominated by any bargaining unit CFI Local 39000 member from that region.

Nominations formally open on August 21^st, 2020 and the Candidates must accept their nomination no later than August 28^th, 2020, before 5:00 PM. Additionally, it is suggested that the candidate include a statement with their email accepting the nomination.  Please send emails with your nominations clearly indicated to:  [email protected].

Candidates for Region 2 Board Representative must be members in good standing, accept the nomination in writing, and agree to participate in training to be scheduled by the CWA within 3 months of taking office.
 
In the event of a contested race for any position, a secret ballot election will be conducted. Regarding the Bargaining Committee, if there are more than 5 distinct candidates nominated, a secret ballot election will be conducted. 

Presently, the date slated for the Ballot Count is September 19^th, 2020. 

In solidarity,

CFI Local 39000 Executive Board

Nomination Extension for Vacant Executive Board Positions

Dear Members:

As there was a holiday during the nominations period, as well as the general difficulties encountered in the COVID crisis, the Local has received numerous requests to extend the nominations period for the Interim Board Elections to fill vacant positions. The vacant positions are Freelance Unit Chair, Region 1 Representative and Region 2 Representative.
 
In the spirit of fairness, and at the request of the members, the nominations period will be extended until July 14^th, 2020. This has been cleared with the Elections Committee and would not interfere with the rest of the timeline for the voting to take place.
 
To nominate and to run for office one must be a member in good standing with the Local. It’s always a good idea to speak with the person one wishes to nominate before actually sending their name in for consideration. It is also suggested that anyone accepting a nomination for office begin preparing any statement they wish published in support of their candidacy. 
 
In solidarity,

Regulations on wearing face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic. All states are listed; we suggest finding California for a statewide recap, and a county-by-county listing of the rules and regulations concerning face coverings.

Nominations Open Tomorrow for Vacant Executive Board Positions

Region 1 Board Representative, Region 2 Board Representative, Freelance Chair

The CFI Local 39000 Bylaws are clear that any position that becomes vacant must be filled if there are more than six months left in the term. The present Board’s term expires in December of 2021; therefore it is incumbent upon the Local to run Nominations and Elections to fill the positions. (Bylaws Article 8, Section 5)

The date set for officially receiving nominations will be July 1, 2020; officially closing by 5:00 pm on July 7, 2020. 

Please send nominations by email to [email protected]; in the subject line be sure to write “Nomination – Interim Elections.” 

Usually for the Executive Board elections members are allowed up to four nominations: the three officers – President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer – and the regional board representative for your region. Members of our Freelance/IGA unit only nominate the Freelance Chair. As the only open positions are regional board representatives and the Freelance Chair, there will be a limit of one nomination per member.
 
The terms of office will begin upon election and completion of officer training and run through December 31, 2021.
 
Candidates must be members in good standing, accept the nomination in writing, and agree to participate in training.  
 
In the event of a contested race for the open regional board representative positions, a secret ballot election will be conducted. Should there be a need for secret ballot, the date for ballot returns would be July 30, 2020 and the count would take place on August 1, 2020 at the Local under the direction of the Local’s Election Committee.

JUDICIAL COUNCIL SET TO LAUNCH NEW ONLINE DATA

REPORTING SYSTEM FOR INTERPRETERS

YOUR UNION HAS CONCERNS

June 25, 2020

Hello Colleagues, 

Just a heads-up to let you know that tomorrow, Friday, June 26th, you should be receiving an email from the Judicial Council of California with information about a new online access portal they are implementing for interpreters to have a direct online link to the Judicial Council.

While this portal will allow interpreters the convenience of online certification renewal, uploading CIMCE compliance, and contact information updating, it is also designed for interpreters to directly report the daily case information that, up to now, we have reported on Daily Activity Logs (DAL’s) to our individual Courts. DAL’s handed in by our members to their corresponding Courts have aided the Judicial Council comply with its responsibility to meet the reporting and study mandate found in California Government Code §68563[1]. The Union has always maintained that this practice has never been our unit work, but in the spirit of cooperation, interpreters have done it as a courtesy to the Court.                                                                                                      

The Union has met and conferred with Los Angeles Superior Court regarding impacts of this change that adds data entry to our duties, and learned that the decision to make this change in practice came from the Judicial Council, not the Court. Douglas Denton of the Judicial Council confirmed this in a conversation with Local President Mike Ferreira yesterday. In addition, Mr. Denton indicated that various Courts are handling this change regarding the reporting duty in a variety of ways. 

Los Angeles Superior Court (LASC) considers this reporting duty to be something between the interpreters and the Judicial Council; LASC has indicated that they will not be tracking or overseeing the process of data entry/reporting in any way. LASC has made it clear that they do not consider any issue related to this process to be subject to discipline or dismissal. 

Los Angeles Superior Court will be leaving the data entry/reporting responsibility completely in the hands of the individual interpreter; however, the Union expects that Courts in other counties throughout California may require varying, as yet undefined levels of accountability to Court management in the data entry/reporting process. 

Your Union’s concern is that the decision to add this data entry responsibility which is not part of our unit work nor mentioned in our MOU’s, comes not from the Courts, but from the Judicial Council, an entity which we have no contractual labor relationship. Normally, and legally, any change in our unit work or duties is subject to Regional bargaining during contract negotiations.

Your Union and the Judicial Council are arranging a meeting in the near future with their Labor Relations Division regarding this matter. We have sent out letters requesting to meet and confer with the Courts at a Regional level as well.

Please stay tuned for updates.