As an IC I let the MTSO where I work

• Independent Contractors and Schedules - Irritated
  • Recourse as an IC...sm - flybye
  • A contractor is a contractor - is a contractor
  • Am independent, taking off day and - SallySue
    • This industry is insane... they treat you like garbage and ... - Rachel Rethinking the MT career
      • The profile does not fit me - SallySue
    • They can't do that. - NM
  • They cannot tell you when, but they are - KT
    • ICs being told when they can and cannot work - justanotherMT
      • As an IC I let the MTSO where I work - JC
        • By any chance - MTmtMT

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I will share this about the MTSO I work for.  I called her late last Wednesday night after Church and told her I was compelled to help out with Hurricaine Katrina in some way and an opportunity arose for a small group from my Church to go to Louisianna this coming week.  Would she be able to cover my work.  She told me no problem without any hesitation and even donated money for the trip. 

And I am sure there are plenty of good companies out there to work for.  To compare us to migrant workers is just not right.

It is quite noble for you to work outside your service so that others in your company can have work -- I applaud you for your selflessness and consideration to those depending on you -- but ultimately, all of us, no matter how much we care about others, we have to take care of ourselves.  Unless you live in some place that has an incredibly low cost of living, and I cannot imagine where that would even be anymore, I cannot think that such a low wage would provide enough for you. 

I guess a lot of us ARE angry -- why wouldn't we be?  Wages have gone down to a pittance.  Companies advertise they want the best MTs with scads of experience, then offer us a wage that even a newbie should turn down.   And perhaps we are all a bit cynical/hardened about the posts on here, because there HAVE been scams with management/leads double posting, misleading, etc.  In 1983, I made 10 cents per GROSS line ... now here we are.  I think mostly I am scared.  I am 50 years old ... where will I be 10 or even 5 years from now?  I read an article online where dumpster diving was becoming quite the vogue, but I shudder to think that is what is next.

Here are some observations

Helpful suggestions:

1.         Ensure there will be sufficient work available. If an MTSO does not enough work you will not make enough income.

2.         Ensure the MTSO offers IC/1099, IC/W2 and Employee/W2 wage options.

3.         Make sure you are trained and allowed to work on multiple accounts.

4.         Make sure your scheduling and shifts are properly established.

5.         During the interview and test period find out details about the platforms. Do not accept a position if you believe the platforms is

difficult avoid excepting the position.

6.         Production count should be simple AAMT 65 character lines including spaces and control characters. All other methods will

reduce your earnings.

Avoid the following:

1.         Experience of others may not apply to you. Negative posts on forums about any MTSO represents less than 5% MTSO staff. This means 95% of others are happily working. Make your own decision.

2.         Do not evaluate an MTSO if they off shore. As long as you have sufficient work off shoring should not matter to you.

3.         Do not go for MTSO who may offer bonus or benefits or other goodies if the work load is less than consistent, you will not earn enough.

Hope you find this post useful

that small MTSO that they sometimes use to help them out offshores and that is why we MT's at Transtech suddenly have an abundance of work this week -- asking for extra help this week -- quite a new thing with TT.  With the India cables being cut, putting those India MT's out of work, it makes me wonder if that service that TT sometimes uses to do our work maybe offshores.

Just thinking.  Keep those India cables DOWN/CUT !!!!!  We U.S. MT's need the work kept here in the U.S.

hard for my lines.  Took a second job part-time with hospital, same platform (EXText), same font size, etc. and did the same amount of lines in half the time.  Decided to look closer at the MTSO and found out they weren't counting spaces.  I confronted them and all of sudden.  Got lots of apologies and will add to your next paycheck.  Long story short, never happened and I never had any work after that. 

There are a lot of unscrupulous MTSOs out there.  They lie, cheat, and steal!

Feeling just like you.  Look at the ones who complain about working weekends - how many medical professionals do you know that don't have to work weekends?  Why are they in this field if they don't want to work weekends?  It's a pity trip.  How about working in retail or restaurants?? You want a 9-5 job, go get it, away from home of course.

Would like to talk privately but I don't spend much time on this board and don't really know how to do so.  Let me know if you do!

I'm torn on this issue.  My company has just strictly forbidden us to use normals unless they were created by the client, since apparently some MT's have left text in the document in error by not editing correctly.  I can see how this causes a serious QA issue, but I can also see that my pay just got cut seriously yet again by not being able to use them.

So, what' s the answer here?  How does your MTSO handle normals/standards, and what happens if you make an error with one?

MTs!! Its your responsibility to divide up the work, and sorry, but most MTSOs I have dealt with have asked me to commit to XX amount of work. They know full well that is all I can handle due to MY other commitments, yet the MTSOs are more than happy to have me at my commitment of XX. That is OUR agreement. I am an IC and on my own. So it is not my problem if Sally has an earache or Dr. Jones has extra work. That is YOUR problem. MTSOs should ASK if we can handle more due to the above situation, but when MTs get dumped on with 2 or 3 times the amount of the agreement, it is WRONG, and very frustrating for the MTs. Thus why most quit and move on to a MTSO who will keep the agreement. Its only common sense, really. Which seems to be a lot to ask for in this day and age.

You should have a payroll account.  Any business person knows that you must have an account to pay out subcontractors.  My brother pays his subs (painting contractor) every week.  He doesn't see his payments for work done until sometimes 90 days, but why then should his subs wait? 

If you want to run a business, you must have a payroll account and not rely on what the client pays to you and when. 

If you do not have the capital, then quit using subcontractors thinking you are making a buck.  Do your own work! 

Just yet another view. 

your posts, management, supervisors, etc., etc., BUT anyone who Googles your name or anything associated with your post.  I have even gotten onto boards that are subscription only by Googling words and posts showed up on their boards.  True, I may not have been able to post on that board, but I sure could read whatever was associated with my search results.