N.J. Per Diems Seek a Fair Deal
Reprinted Courtesy of NAJIT

Editor's note: In New Jersey independent contractors are referred to as per diems, whereas in California per diems are generally employees.

For the per diem interpreters of New Jersey, Carla Katz, president of Communications Workers of America, Local 1034, is going to be a very important person. Since the spring of 2000, efforts have been underway to have New Jersey's Administrative Office of the Courts recognize CWA-1034 as the collective bargaining representative of the per diem interpreters. If we are successful, CWA will be able to help negotiate better pay, better benefits and fair working conditions.

Per diem interpreters' fees for the state courts of New Jersey have remained stagnant for six years. Per diems receive no benefits. In contrast, staff interpreters have received significant raises over the past five years and enjoy an array of benefits. The difference: staff interpreters negotiate fees and working conditions as a group, and command attention, and bargaining power; per diem interpreters go it alone. Among per diems, there has been a growing consensus that we are being taken advantage of because we lack bargaining clout. A majority of per diem interpreters think that people doing the same job with the same demands, stresses and same skills should be compensated in the same way.

The 15-member organizing committee of the United Translators and Interpreters of New Jersey has found that many per diems want to know more about what can be expected from CWA representation. This interview with Carla Katz was conducted by committee member Francisco Olivvero, Pilar Defrutos-Ojea and Jim Farrell.

INTERVIEW

Carla Katz, President of Local 1034, the Communication Workers of America.

OC: How long have you been the president of Local 1034 and what are your responsibilities?

CK: I've been president for the last eighteen months but I've been with CWA as an officer, staff person and organizer since 1981. I am primarily an advocate for the people who are a part of CWA-1-34. It's a big group now: 13,000. Some of the biggest contracts that we hold are for state employees in both the executive branch and in the state judiciary.

OC: The per diem interpreters are involved in an organizing campaign with CWA-1034. What's in it for the interpreters?

CK: We're expert and experienced representatives and negotiators. What we do is
take a lot of different voices and combine them into one loud voice that the Administrative Office of the New Jersey Courts (AOC) will listen to. Another very big part of what we do is represent you in contract and guideline negotiations. Indeed, we even have experience representing interpreters so we have a good understanding of the issues. For example, right now per diem interpreters are bound by guidelines that are set unilaterally by the judiciary. That is a one-way contract. You are, in essence, at-will employees, meaning there are no rules that the judiciary has to respect. There is also no system for you to make an official complaint
heard by a neutral party. If, for example, you believe that you should have been made a master interpreter and you were not, or that you should have been called from the list in a fair and impartial manner and were not, then, under current conditions, there's no way for you to effectively seek redress.

OC: What's in it for CWA?

CK: It's important to remember that CWA is not a profit-making business; we represent our members. And we think that having the per diem interpreters on board will be good for the labor movement in general because it's good to have more people represented. For example, we already represent the full-time interpreters. You do the same work but on a per diem basis. You should all be treated with an equally high level of respect. This is one of the most basic principles that CWA exists to protect. It's in the long term interests of everyone involved.

OC: What, specifically, does this mean for us?

CK: Once you win the battle for representation, then, all per diem interpreters will elect a bargaining committee that will negotiate your first contract. This committee will represent your interests at the bargaining table. One of the most important, and valuable, services you get from us is our expert advice and planning for the contract negotiations, and then actually negotiating. After you have the first collective bargaining contract signed and ratified by members of this unit, CWA-1034 will then assist you in making sure that your contract is enforced, not ignored. This is the second most important service we can offer. We'll also help in any grievance procedures that take place and make sure that your interests are always taken into consideration. We'll take all your voices and make them into one loud voice. There are other services, but the most important one that CWA offers, as a democratically run organization, is the opportunity for you to participate in influencing the decisions that are made about your work.

OC: The AOC recently sent a letter to the interpreters in which they state that they are considering making it mandatory for those who want to work (at all) for the courts to be available for telephone interpreting?

CK: That's an example that illustrates how per diem interpreters have no voice and no recourse when the AOC makes a pronouncement like this, they don't have to consult you or negotiate or even ask your advice. If you already had a collective bargaining agreement, then phone interpreting would be negotiable. Everything in your work becomes negotiable, from how much you get paid to what type of work you have to do.

OC: Who pays CWA?

CK: Our operating money comes from the members.

OC: How much are the dues?

CK: 1.15% of wages. That's the minimum level set by the national. I am very proud that, although local 1034 has the ability to make them higher, we don't.

OC: What can the per diem interpreters do to get a new contract?

CK: Since the per diems know the work best, they have to develop their own voice. It is for that reason that you will elect your own representatives and your own bargaining committee. Right now the most important thing that the interpreters can do is show their support by signing an authorization card if they haven't already signed one. The more cards we have the more powerful we are in the negotiations. Second, when the election takes place, they have to vote. The AOC will know the results of the election. If the bargaining committee sits down at the table in a negotiation where only 51% percent of the per diem interpreters voted, we'll be in a much weaker position than if we went to the bargaining table with 90% of the per diem interpreters backing them up. We are having a letter-writing campaign directed at the AOC. The campaign has two goals. First, we want to convey to the judiciary some of the key issues that are important to the per diem interpreters. Second, it is also a way for us to demonstrate that people are committed, excited and interested. This makes us stronger at the bargaining table. You're not going to get better pay, better benefits, more respect, and a bigger voice if the AOC only receives ten letters out of a total of three hundred.

OC: What if they ignore our letters, or refuse to recognize CWA 1034 as the collective bargaining representative ?

CK: In my experience, most employers have not granted recognition without an election. They like to see the employees actually have a vote. So we'll need to step up the pressure. For example, we'll start building the per diem interpreters' profile up in the press. We'll start getting people to pay attention. We'll also work to build a sense of community among the per diem interpreters. You don't have three hundred people working in one building, or even living in one state, so this is a harder group to get in touch with than most. So, instead of having meetings in person, we'll work to build community and power, by phone, by fax, by email and by regular mail.

OC: Can the AOC retaliate against people who are uniting to gain CWA representation ?

CK: No. There are protections built into the law. More importantly, if we present an organized group with a sense of power to the AOC, that tends to make them accept the idea more easily. If anyone started creating problems for any of the interpreters because they signed a card or wrote a letter, that would be illegal, and we would take action against that as an unfair labor practice and we would win.

OC: We are going to have hearings at the Public Employment Relations Commissions (PERC). What are we going to accomplish there?

CK: We already had what is called a representation hearing. This first meeting was held to verify the validity of the cards that the per diem interpreters have signed. The AOC representatives stated that per diem interpreters are independent contractors. That's just wrong. There are a lot of reasons why you are actually employees. This is important because independent contractors are not entitled to organize. Only employees can bargain collectively. The AOC decides where and when you show up to work; sets the conditions under which you work; sets the hours that you work; controls the working environment; has the ability to discipline you by removing you from the list; decides how you are tested and how you are paid, etc. Given those circumstances, it's pretty clear that per diem interpreters are indeed employees.

OC: Why did we file at PERC as an independent unit separate from the staff interpreters?

CK: Because per diem interpreters have a few specific needs that are not shared by the staff interpreters.

OC: You've talked about how important it is for members to get involved. Could you give us examples that have produced exceptional results?

CK: There was a group in Hunterdon County that merged into our local. They were dissatisfied with their contract because it didn't reflect how much the cost of living had gone up in Hunterdon County. Their members got very active. We had meetings, did leafleting and phone banking, wrote an in- house newsletter - all to increase the level of excitement and raise the profile of these members. When we went to the bargaining table last year, we were very united. We ended up with 13.5% wage increases per year. Prior to that they were getting 3 to 4%.

OC: Is it possible that they would have gotten the raise anyway?

CK: No. It was the power that the negotiator brought to the table thanks to active unity of those members. The employer knew that they weren't dealing with a discouraged, apathetic group but with a group that was thirsty for just and fair treatment. That's why they succeeded.

OC: What can we do to try to get results like that?

CK: It's most important to show that you are engaged and energetic right at the beginning. So the most important thing is to participate by joining the organizing committee, sending the letters that we suggested and participating in meetings. But most useful will be to just plain keep informed about what's happening and let your voice be heard.

OC: What advice would you give to court interpreters in other states who want to organize to get better treatment? Should they just go ahead and do it by themselves?

CK: People who self-organize are the most committed. They can contact CWA and ask for assistance in organizing. But the energy and passion has to come from the people who want better treatment in the workplace.

OC: Let's say that five interpreters are having lunch and say "I'm sick and tired of not having had a raise in ten years" What should their first step be?

CK: The first step is to talk to co-workers. If they find that they share a common dissatisfaction, then they can contact CWA.

OC: Why contact CWA?

CK Because it's a good fit. CWA is the leading organizer of interpreters around the country. Interpreters are experts at communication and CWA is already the representative and advocate of all types of communications professionals: from journalists to college professors, from attorneys to technical writers.