PG&E’s Efforts for Preventing Fires

November 5, 2019

Dear Region 3 Members,

PG&E’s efforts of preventing fires by imposing rolling blackouts has opened the discussion of whether employees will be paid if the court is affected by the blackouts. Some courts have been informing their employees that in case of a court closure due to a blackout, the court will NOT pay for wages and at the employee’s request, the employee may use their vacation accruals in lieu of no compensation. However, please know that interpreters also have the option to cross-assign. 

After consulting with our attorney, we were informed that since in Region 3 these power outages are announced at least a day or more in advance, the interpreter employee should be given the option to cross-assign to a court, or even another Region, that is not experiencing outages on the announced dates. 

In summary, interpreter employees should have the choice to:

1. To cross-assign. Please note: Employees have priority and preference over independent contractors and non-certified or non-registered interpreters when cross-assigning. 
2. Take the day off without pay
3. Take the day off and use accrual time.

This applies to any pre-planned court closures.

Notify your union steward or representative as soon as possible if your court is not giving you the option to cross-assign in a pre-planned court closure. 

In Solidarity,

Important Update to R4 Members:

Dear Region 4,

We know you’ve been waiting to hear from us, and we’re here to tell you that we’ve also been waiting to hear from the Region just as long, and that we are still painfully waiting.

Where’s   The   Fairness

As you know, we went into mediation in good faith to reach closure twice, on September 4 in Orange County and on September 30 in San Diego, but unfortunately found that the mediation process was not successful. We regret that we cannot share details regarding the mediation process since we are precluded from doing so due to a confidentiality agreement that we were required to sign.  At the same time that we advised the Courts that we wanted to cease mediation, we also asked to return to the table to complete bargaining.  That was on October 3^rd.  We asked to meet within 10 days from that date.  Since then we have repeatedly requested to return to the table and have offered creative approaches to reaching closure – such as submitting our position and the Court’s position on remaining issues to binding mediation.  The Region has failed and refused to respond to our request for bargaining or to our suggested alternative avenues for resolving the narrow remaining issues. We believe that the Region is acting in bad faith in violation of the law, and that the Region’s misconduct appears to be part of a state-wide practice since Region 3 management has similarly refused to provide bargaining dates since August, 2019, resulting in the filing of a ULP yesterday.

Where’s the fairness?  Ask your manager or supervisor if you have a chance. Shoot them an email. Send them a postcard. Ask your steward to place this announcement on the CFI board in your building. We will not give up.

In Unity,

Your bargaining committee,

LouLou Tovar
Maria Benitez
Jackie Ruiz 
Ana Fuller
Silvia San Martín
Ed Venegas – Spokesperson
Laurie Burgess – Lead Spokesperson

Longevity Bonus Update

Dear Region 1 Members,

Steward Training in Northern California

Dear CFI Members, 
 
Your local is sending out the clarion’s call for people who are interested in becoming stewards! In accordance with Article III, Section 9 of our Bylaws, we are asking for nominations for stewards to serve at your work site, or within your home court’s jurisdiction; yes, that means that even if you’re not sure if you personally wish to become a steward, you can nominate someone you believe would be a good candidate, and we will ask then to join our northern California training.

It’s worth mentioning that if you are unsure whether you want to commit to becoming a steward, you are still invited to find out what the “front line” of the labor movement looks like. 
 
The training is mandatory for anyone who wishes to be added to the steward lists for their Region/County. Some of the topics to be covered are:
 
-      Union structure, guiding documents, and protocols.
 
-      Role, Rights, and Responsibilities of a union steward.
 
-      How to memorialize, share communications, and collaborate on representation issues.
 
-      Grievances and their processing; arbitrations and their preparations; unfair labor practice filings (Public Employee Relations Board).
 
-      Open discussion about any issue of interest or concern..
 
The projected target for a weekend training date is sometime at the end of November, beginning of December; those who respond will be updated as to the time and place. The morning session will be primarily geared towards new stewards, and the afternoon will have some more specific foci for experienced stewards; we are arranging for our legal counsel, to give a presentation on labor issues to be aware of, as a steward. 

Please send your name and contact info to [email protected] with the subject line of Northern California Steward Training 2019. We look forward to seeing you there!
 
All my best, in solidarity

There are still opportunities for interpreters to give back to their communities in offering pro bono interpreting to help those in need of access to asylum. This round of efforts is focused mainly on verifying compliance with the Flores decision; it’s about children and adolescent minors being cared for properly while in custody … it’s for basic human rights, and that’s what unions are about. I encourage members to see if they can spare a day and help.

In solidarity … with humanity …

Please log in or sign up at reunify.org to register to volunteer for an upcoming detention site inspection. Those wishing to participate in site visits must upload, unless they have already done so for previous visits, the following documentation: