NORTH COUNTY —— Superior Court interpreters embroiled in a labor dispute with the court will not report for work today in San Diego, Riverside and some other Southern California counties, officials from the interpreters union said Monday.

Instead, members of the California Federation of Interpreters say they will rally in San Diego and vote on whether to authorize a strike.

A North County court official said the court has hired non-union interpreters to fill in during the one-day work stoppage and does not anticipate delaying any cases at the Vista courthouse.

The decision to call off work for one day in San Diego, Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino and other counties comes two weeks after a similar action for interpreters in a Northern California region of the state, where the interpreters already have authorized a strike if necessary, said Silvia Barden, president of the California Federation of Interpreters, a unit of the Communications Workers of America.

A state law that took effect two years ago provided a process for court interpreters, who had been considered independent contractors, to become court employees and to join labor organizations to negotiate with the courts. The law divided the courts statewide into four regions for negotiations. Region 4 includes San Diego, Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Barden said court negotiators for Region 4 have not made any proposals regarding benefits or pay for the interpreters, who made a proposal to the court about nine months ago.

"The way to avoid a strike is to come to the table, for the region to come to the table with real proposals," Barden said.

San Diego Superior Court Presiding Judge John Einhorn, Assistant Presiding Judge Janis Sammartino and Judge Joan Weber, supervising judge of the North County courts, were unavailable Wednesday for comment.

The Superior Court's executive office in San Diego referred questions to Yvonne Pritchard, chairwoman of the Superior Court committee that is negotiating for Region 4. Pritchard could not be reached for comment.

Pritchard said in a January telephone interview that she thought "good negotiating" had been taking place and that interpreters "are essential to our courts."

Interpreters who are certified or registered by the state translate civil and criminal court proceedings for witnesses or defendants who understand little or no English. Interpreters can take tests to become certified in 13 languages, including Vietnamese, Tagalog and Spanish, or registered in other languages for which certification exams are not available, according to the Web site of the state Administrative Office of the Courts.

Some interpreters and union officials said in January that interpreters were viewed for years as independent contractors who were paid for the days they worked but received no benefits such as paid holidays, vacation and sick time, or health insurance.

Two years ago, a state law took effect that allowed court interpreters to become state employees.

Barden said about 50 interpreters work as court employees in San Diego County.

Barden said interpreters have been patient, but that there is a lot of anger and frustration among them now. The interpreters union has filed unfair labor practices charges against the court with the Public Employment Relations Board, Barden said.

David Yamasaki, the Superior Court assistant executive officer who oversees the court's North County branch in Vista, referred questions about the labor negotiations to Pritchard, but said the North County courts do not expect problems today. The North County court has arranged to have non-union interpreters work, Yamasaki said.

"We anticipate we'll be able to meet our interpreter needs," Yamasaki said.

Deputy District Attorney David Greenberg, who supervises the district attorney's North County office, said the only inconvenience he could see resulting from the interpreters' one-day work stoppage was the possibility that some cases might have to be delayed one day.

Although the law provides defendants with the right to have preliminary hearings occur within 10 days of an arraignment, those hearings usually are scheduled for the ninth day to provide an extra day for any unforeseen problems, Greenberg said.

Defendants have the right to a trial within 60 days of a second arraignment that follows a preliminary hearing, but they usually are scheduled on the 50th day, leaving extra days to work with, Greenberg said.

"We'll make do," he said.

Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or smarshall@nctimes.com.