Court administration is arguing that there is no money in their budget for a fair salary increase and vacation time commensurate with time of service. But think about this:

• State court interpreters in Los Angeles have not had a raise in 7 years.
• State court interpreters in Los Angeles have NEVER HAD A COST OF LIVING INCREASE, EVER!
• The Judicial Council has repeatedly promised pay parity with federal interpreters. Federal court staff interpreters earn up to $124,000 annual salary with a yearly cost of living adjustment. This is 45% more than Region I court interpreters.
• Last year Los Angeles Courts claimed that there was no money in the budget for raises. This year they revealed there was actually a 2 million dollar surplus in the interpreter budget.
• Statewide, growth in interpreter expenditures has slowed due to efficient use of staff interpreters.
• We are not new employees. The majority of our members have given more than 10 years of service to the courts, yet we get the same amount of vacation time as a day-one employee.
• Pending legislation would mandate court-provided interpreters in civil cases, dramatically increasing our work load. Sacramento has approved 10 million dollars in next year’s budget to cover civil proceedings alone.
• There is a shortage of certified interpreters. There has been a 36% drop in the number of certified interpreters available to the state trial courts in the past 7 years.
• Yet, the Judicial Council has declined to make interpreter funding a budget priority. This does not add up! The courts are SAVING money at OUR expense!

The Courts need to make us a fair and reasonable offer.

June 8, 2006

Perfidious Pettifoggery

In an effort to come to an agreement as quickly as possible, the Region I bargaining committee made a reasonable counter-offer on salary, increased vacation time and assignment policies. Our committee countered to management’s original offer of 2% with a package totaling a 6% increase, including salaries and vacation. Yet, in an echo of sessions past, the administration once again trotted out the poor-man’s tin cup, claiming there was just no money for raises other than a paltry 2.25% salary increase and refused to accelerate the vacation accrual rate. The courts also rejected our proposal to restore the two half-day payment rate for C & F status interpreters, in spite of the fact that they are still paying it to independent contractors!

Needless to say, your bargaining committee is vastly disappointed. To put the entire situation in context, please refer to the fact sheet on the reverse of this page. CFI representatives will soon be coming to a courthouse near you to get your opinion.

Now we want to hear from YOU. Are you as outraged about this as we are?

Your Bargaining Committee