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Senator Romero Meets with Chief Justice Ronald George

A Senate Hearing regarding language access issues in the L.A. Court during the strike was held on October 15, 2007. At that hearing, Senator Gloria Romero made a commitment to remain actively involved in issues involving court interpreters, not only in Los Angeles, but throughout the state. In keeping with this commitment, on October 30 the Senator had a preliminary meeting with Chief Justice Ronald George and other representatives from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Senator Romero personally called CFI President, Silvia Barden, with an update of the meeting. In addition to Chief Justice Ronald George, Senator Ellen Corbett, Head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bill Vickrey, Chief Administrative Officer of the AOC, and Ron Overholt, Assistant Administrative Officer, attended the meeting which lasted about an hour.

Senator Romero described the dialogue as open and productive. She indicated that Chief Justice George expressed his disappointment at what had happened in the Los Angeles Superior Court. He also expressed concern about the lack of diversity on the bench. The Chief Justice indicated that he wanted to work together with Senators Romero and Corbett and recognized the need to address the interpreter shortage, the need to professionalize court interpreting and creating a career path for court interpreters. The Courts' budget was a topic of discussion and representatives of the AOC stated that they welcomed having the legislature look at the Courts' budget since they believe it will show the need for additional funding, including funds to build additional courthouses. Romero pointed out that if more courthouses were built, the additional need for interpreters could not be ignored. The AOC agreed. Senator Romero introduced the issues of state bargaining and the good cause clause. While the challenge of passing legislation was acknowledged, no conclusion was reached with the Judicial Council on these issues. Romero has assigned staff from her office to explore with CFI, and our lobbyist, the options for introducing legislation in the upcoming legislative session. Additionally, Senator Romero will call for a second set of hearings to be held in Sacramento possibly in early spring. She stated her desire to keep a close eye on the budget process and intends to highlight interpreter issues in both the legislative and budget processes.

Senator Romero also praised her colleague, Senator Corbett, who at the meeting reiterated the fact that the court interpreter issue is a statewide issue that must be addressed. Furthermore, Senator Corbett stated that she and Senator Romero "are not going away from this issue". In her phone call to Barden, Senator Romero once again expressed her appreciation for interpreters and restated her commitment to working with us on finding ways to improve the respectability that our profession receives while improving access to non-English speaking communities. We will continue to update interpreters as the legislative process moves forward and as the Senator continues to dialogue with Chief Justice George. In the meantime, please remember that this is a long process. Long term progress is not achieved quickly and will require the focus of the leadership, the patience of the membership and a continuing effort by all to stay informed and united.

Ongoing Community and Political Outreach

As most of you know by now all four regions will be bargaining new contracts in 2008. At this time it is very important to take further action to establish and strengthen existing relationships with community groups, political leaders and other unions early on to help us build support well before we enter negotiations.

Our efforts during the strike have already had an impact on raising our profile. In the past month alone several community organizations and political leaders contacted CFI to invite us to attend and/or speak at various events. The following is a list of functions we attended and/or at which we made presentations.

The Monterey Park Democratic Club – Assembly Representative Mike Eng made this connection possible. This group has pledged their support in whatever endeavors CFI decides to pursue.

The Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women – The Commission on the Status of Women, a nonpartisan agency, works in a culturally inclusive manner to promote equality and justice for all women and girls by advocating on their behalf locally and with the Governor, the Legislature and other public policymakers. After hearing a presentation by CFI, the commission expressed an interest in working with CFI on developing legislation that impacts our members and in collaborating with us on addressing women's issues.

Judy Chu – Member of the Board of Equalization has personally reached out to the CFI leadership on several occasions and she continues to be an ardent advocate for equal access and language issues. She has a strong history of supporting interpreters and is continuing to help us network with other important leaders.

L.A. Labor Federation – Was instrumental in helping us make other unions aware of our strike which resulted in successfully turning back all the union workers who refused to cross our picket line. The Labor Federation has a strong interest and desire in helping us continue to build on relationships with other unions and community organizations.

Mexican American Bar Association (MABA) – Representatives of CFI attended a recent dinner at which Senator Gloria Romero was honored. We are continuing our outreach to this group which has many interests in common with interpreters.

California Hospital Interpreters Association (CHIA) – CFI made a presentation at a CHIA meeting recently and they have invited us to their Christmas function on December 1. We share a common goal of providing ongoing learning opportunities for our members. Their support of interpreters during the strike was important in reducing the number of interpreters who were willing to scab.

We Need Volunteers

We have had some interpreters help by attending some of these functions but we need a solid core of interpreters who will:

• Volunteer their time to interpret or translate for community agencies that also need our support.
• Help form a Political Action Committee that will carry out support work for legislative outreach.
• Attend community and political functions.

Bargaining Starts Again in May

2008 – CFI will hold elections for bargaining committees in all four regions. Our goal is to begin the process for these elections in early February. CWA will be providing training for the new bargaining committees as well as for additional stewards and refresher courses for existing stewards.

Union Prevails in Two Discipline Cases – Court Withdraws ULP

As many interpreters know by now, the Court took action against three striker interpreters and placed them on paid administrative leave. The administration was seeking to substantiate charges that these strikers had harassed or assaulted interpreters that had crossed our picket lines. Investigatory meetings were held for two of the three accused interpreters. Present at these hearings on behalf of the Court were the head of the Labor Relations Department and Court Counsel. The Union represented the interpreters and within days, the Court informed us that they had decided not to impose discipline due to the fact that the Court "could not substantiate the charges". Juan Rojo and Cecile Menjivar have been cleared to go back to work with no further action pending against them. The Court also withdrew the ULP they filed against the Union which charged striking interpreters with harassing those who had crossed our picket lines. In their withdrawal of the ULP the Court stated that their decision as based on "the interest of focusing on constructive endeavors with the California Federation of Interpreters..."

Save The Date – December 15 Holiday Gathering And Premiere Of The Senate Hearing "The Movie"

We have had numerous requests to view the recording of the Senate Hearings held on October 15 and we have also had a large number of requests to have a holiday gathering, so we will accommodate both requests on Saturday December 15 at the Santa Fe Springs office.

Please check your email for an announcement with additional details. There will be food (organized by the now famous Alicia and Claudia), camaraderie and an opportunity to view the movie! Come, party with us and enjoy each other's company as we head into the New Year.

We have a lot to look forward to in 2008.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.

In Unity,
Silvia Barden