About Us

CFI’s mission is to bring together interpreters of all languages to speak with one voice: the voice of unity.

CFI Local 39000 TNG-CWA is a labor union advocating for the interests of the legal interpreting profession. CFI membership is open to certified and registered court interpreters working in the California trial courts as employees and independent contractors.

CFI engages in advocacy on a broad range of issues including professional best practices, training programs, and certification standards.

CFI’s professional division provides educational activities for professional interpreters, students, and the bench and bar. CFI’s annual conference and other seminars offer required continuing education credits and networking opportunities to professional and aspiring court interpreters.

CFI provides collective bargaining, representation and other advocacy services to union members as the exclusive representative of more than 900 interpreters employed in the state trial courts in four regional bargaining units. As a union, CFI Local 39000 affiliation receives political, financial and legal support from The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America, an international labor union with more than 750,000 members nationally.

CFI became an organizing local in 2014 and in 2015 became CFI Local 39000, an autonomous local run by interpreters for interpreters.

Read the Bylaws of CFI Local 39000.