I think our chance to unionize has come and gone,
Posted By: but - I think we need to fight -S/M on 2009-10-03
In Reply to: obama and unions - .
the current perks big companies get for offshoring American jobs. No, offshoring can't be stopped (unfortunately), but instead of being rewarded, companies should have to PAY for it as a privilege, not a right. That way, companies who truly NEED offshore workers could do so, for a price. But it should be more cost-effective for MTSOs to use American MT labor, even with the pay we deserve, rather than what we're currently getting, than to use foreign labor. Right now, they're having their cake and eating it too, at America's expense.
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PS, and to all the MTs who think we ought to unionize
since all we ever seem to do is attack and fight with each other, how well do you think that will work?
Unionize
It is time for all MT's to Unionize! Why not the nurses did it!
Those wanting to unionize should probably
Friday, July 18, 2008
When management becomes unreasonable, when benefits shrink and get more expensive at the same time, and when the average salary increase is way
less than the inflation rate, here’s something you can do: Form a union.
And on Long Island, you wouldn’t be alone. Just don’t let management know what you’re up to – it could get you in trouble.
There are already 650,000 construction workers, teachers and grocery and health care workers in unions on Long Island today, and as economic conditions
worsen, some employees are hoping to take cover by turning to organized labor.
John Durso, president of Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW and the Long Island Federation of Labor, said frustrated employees generally meet off-site to air their
grievances without fear of retribution.
“Sometimes they just want to get things off their chest, want somebody to listen,” Durso said.
Sometimes, however, it’s a lot more than that. If one-third of the employees sign on to join the union, an election is held and a petition is filed with the
National Labor Relations Board.
And that often leads to a fight.
It shouldn’t, Durso said. He said in the best circumstances, unions and employers work as partners to make a company better.
“It doesn’t make any sense for a union to make it so unworkable that an employer cannot grow or expand,” Durso said. “If you have the right attitude, the
right work environment, there’s no reason why an employer and a union cannot work together.”
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Companies faced with negotiating contracts with unions could stall, because if a deal isn’t reached within a year,
the union needs to be recertified.
“Nothing in law requires them to reach a contract. They are just required to negotiate in good faith,” said Bruce Millman, an attorney with Melville employment
law firm Littler Mendelson, representing employers.
To fight the stalling, unions are pushing federal lawmakers to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to form a union. It would also
force binding arbitration in case of an impasse, thus eliminating stall tactics.
But Bob Archer, managing partner of Melville’s Archer, Byington, Glennon and Levine, which represents labor and employee benefits clients in the building
trades, entertainment and service industries, said he doesn’t expect the Employee Free Choice Act to pass under a Republican president.
Not all contracts stall, however, and once a first contract is reached, the union is official. Then members need only to pay a set amount of dues each year.
In 2004, the latest year with complete data, dues nationwide averaged $377 per month.
Another interesting note: Long Island’s unions are becoming more white collar.
For instance, adjunct professors at Stony Brook University and New York University recently became union employees, said Tom Conoscenti, chief
economist for the Long Island Contractors Association and the Long Island Builders Institute.
He said the adjuncts formed a union to receive amenities such as offices, a pension plan and health benefits.
Joining a union has hardly led to the elimination of “the struggle.” Traditional blue-collar industries, such as construction and plumbing, are feeling the
pressure of undocumented workers taking what had been union jobs, Archer said.
“That is an X factor that we have not seen in the past,” Archer said. “It’s more of an issue of competing against employers that use unregulated workers.”
Those employers are seeking cheaper labor, especially when prices for land, and subsequent property taxes, on Long Island are among the highest in the
nation.
The politics of labor has stretched from the Suffolk County Legislature to Albany.
For example, Hauppauge-based Bactolac Pharmaceuticals recently battled the unions and the Legislature over building a new headquarters at the
Hauppauge Industrial Park. The unions and supportive legislators wanted the company to hire contractors who paid a prevailing, or union, wage in exchange
for $6 million in state Empire Zone benefits.
Although the company originally balked, it eventually gave in, holding numerous meetings with union officials and promising to offer each contractor a fair
shake.
Also, the teachers union has played a large role in fighting a plan to create a 4 percent property tax cap, Conoscenti said.
The Commission for Property Tax Relief originally pitched the tax-cap proposal in May. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi headed that group. The
proposal was endorsed by Gov. Paterson, but faced strident opposition from other New York leaders, including Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon
Silver of Manhattan.
It is time to unionize before it's too late
After reading a post about how greedy MTs are to expect more than $0.05 per line, to expect a gesture of appreciation at Christmas, I must post this.
====================================
It is JUST THAT TYPE OF ATTITUDE, and total acceptance of VR, EMR, and pitifully low pay that have caused MTs to be kicked into the respectless extinction we now face. It is because of MT's like the GRATEFUL poster with the THANK YOU FOR MY PAYCHECK, KIND SIR sweatshop attitude, that we find ourselves with salaries/hourly/line pay having been cut by 60%, and we are looked upon as mere clerical workers instead of the medical language and computer specialists that we actually are.
Some of us work from home so we can be there for our children or grandchildren, some want to transcribe without having to deal with the politics of an in-house staff, there are others who are physically handicapped and work from home as it is the least painful and most sensible option.
But a small faction of MTs spout ridiculous self-depricating platitudes that we should all be grateful for receiving even a pittance of a paycheck, and a late paycheck, at that, and not expect to be rewarded for dedication and excellence, disregarding the fact that many of us work 10-12 hours per day now to earn what we were able to earn in 4 hours 5 years ago. The MTSO's and hospital HIM administrators never stood up for us; they sold us out to VR and EMR, yet the GRATEFUL faction would have us believe that we do not DESERVE anything more, and that expecting to be recognized for dedication and job excellence is nothing more than shameful greed. THEY COULD NOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH, and the members of the GRATEFULS are slowly ruining this profession with our silent blessing, because we are allowing them to. The members of this faction, as well as the MTSO owners and hospital members that did not come to our defense, but instead embraced VR and EMR to make the last of their money as our trade was being made extinct, those are the folks that have contributed to the extinction of our trade. Do any of you know lobbyists who fought to keep medical records in the US? Most likely not, and the members of the GRATEFUL faction may be jaded and void of self-respect, willing to work for 60% less pay and grateful to receive a pittance for their services, but I am not, and neither should you be. We work hard for what little we receive, and we need to gather our forces and strengths and stand together against the extinction of our careers.
Unless extinction of our trade is the goal, Medical Language Specialists and CMT's cannot continue to allow medical facilities and MTSO's to manipulate by fear. MTs must be allowed to speak out without fear of losing jobs. If we do not unionize, or at least organize and agree on boundaries very soon, our industry will never recover. VR/EMR will replace us totally IF WE LET IT. These facilities and MTSO's CANNOT outsource/offshore or jump from full transcription to VR without transition, and THEY CANNOT TRANSITION WITHOUT MTS TO EDIT.
We are the ones who edit the VR reports and I don't know how many of you know this, but in doing so, we are actually TRAINING THE VR SYSTEMS TO RECOGNIZE ALL OF THE WORDS THAT IT DIDN'T CATCH THE FIRST TIME AROUND WHEN NEXT THE DOCTOR MUMBLED THEM INTO THE MICROPHONE, AND THIS ALLOWS THEM TO MOVE FORWARD AT A HEADY PACE TO TOTAL VR WITH NO EDITORS. We laugh about the hilarious mistakes perpetrated by VR, but we are actually help perfect it by editing. Soon there will be no editing to be done.
The GRATEFUL FOR A PITIFUL PAYCHECK faction have made us all look like groveling idiots, willing to silently accept AND BE GRATEFUL FOR, a $0.05 per line pittance to edit VR. We must set boundaries, stand up for ourselves, put guidelines in place and STICK TO THEM, refusing to work for MTSO's or facilities for $0.05 a line for VR editing, without fear as we really have very little to lose at this point, but it is not too late to turn this death of a trade into a rebirth.
We MUST stand up for ourselves, our voices louder than the GRATEFUL FOR ANY KIND OF PAYCHECK faction, as they are actually cutting off their own noses to spite the rest of us, and the days of AAMT are over. ADHI will not help us, as they support not only offshore but VR/EMR, as well. ADHI’s views are counterproductive to US MTs now, as they clearly embrace off-shore, VR, and EMR in totality, and are of absolutely no use or help to Jane Doe, CMT.
In Michigan and Indiana the union is almost in place; final legalities are being settled quietly, and I advise the rest of you, if you want to continue transcribing for a living, to continue to make a decent salary doing what you chose as a career, if you want to be paid what you deserve, if you want to see your daughters take up this trade before it is extinct, you need to unite. Facilities and MTSO's are counting on continuance of MT silence, acceptance and complacency, along with PAYCHECK GRATEFULNESS to keep us in line, at their beck and call, on their terms, cutting our pay and benefits, running remote sweatshops and reaping the benefits as they quickly invest in other businesses because they see the end of the trail for transcription. They count on the fact that we will continue gather in places like this, arguing amongst ourselves, whining about low pay and no benefits, while doing absolutely nothing to reverse our plight.
Unite while we still have the power to command better salary and stop the eradication of our trade, because the scales are slowly tipping against us.
Don't be grateful for the pig swill they're tossing our way. We are intelligent, talented, skilled tradespeople and we deserve much better than what we receive.
There are clerical workers with less skills than MTs, and they’ve unionized and have won mediations and settlements. It is possible. We can save this industry for ourselves.
If you have had enough, if you have even a a modicum of self-respect left, have not been dehumanized to the point of no return, and have a sense of the injustice over what we’ve endured for the past 6 to 8 years, please visit the soon-to-be opened web site of USMLSU (United States Medical Language Specialists Union Initiative). You can email them at contact.us at usmlsu.org for information.
The following states have local chapters: Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. If you are in a state not mentioned here, please choose someone from your state to represent you by emailing the USMLSU.
I hope to start seeing many of you at meetings, and organizing your own. The time is now.
I don't think it'd work just to unionize here. Timing's wrong. SM
Actually, the phrase Pissing into the wind, comes to mind. Once the folks offshore competing for the same work unionize, then maybe. (Did you notice that successful unions are for lines of work that can't be sent offshore? Inability to replace workers is key.) And once EMRs come into widespread use here in the States and a new workforce has transitioned around them, maybe. Being an optimist, I also like to think that countries with new growing middle classes will start producing, not only more demand for middle class wages, but plenty of local work too generated from people who will also get to benefit from this amazing medical revolution we're all part of. In the meantime, identifying and training for a position in the medical information field or another that will/should have decent-paying work in the future would be a good idea for any of us. Anyway, that's what I think.
sorry - chance - the end got cut off..nm
Not a chance. nm. been there, ya da da
nm
By any chance...
Was this company called Proficient Transcription? If so, you need to look at the posts on the New MT board. She has been ripping off newbies for a while now.
DON'T TAKE A CHANCE
Pay is consistently late--and comes with a boat load of excuses. Not worth it. I am still waiting for payments.
Were you an IC by any chance? sm
I'm in the mid $20 per hour range myself but have long experience on 2-3 of my accounts. Good benefits make up for any loss in line rate you may see.
by any chance
was the wife's name Faye?
Any chance of getting a new sup and
I was the one who was so excited about the company I called it Axolotl, a Bright light in a dim universe. Some people even applied because I was so excited. Then, I was so disappointed about my experience. I still mourn over leaving but living life that way is not acceptable, micromanaged by a person who is so controlling was not my idea of a great work experience. So wish we could all go back and do it over again with just a bit better experience!
I did get a chance to do that once sm
My son's dermatologist happened to be a doctor I was typing at the time. He was in a large clinic system and when I saw him name come up I wasn't a big fan. He talked way too fast and never spelled any doctors names at all. We got to talking and I mentioned that I sometimes got his work and he asked if he was good. I told him he was okay but if he could slow down and maybe spell the occasional referring physician's name that would be great. I never get his work anymore so I don't really know if he ever improved or not but it sure was nice to tell him about it!
By any chance
Could/would you share the name of this company? Sounds IDEAL.
TIA.
Do you by any chance
work on VR and if so, which system do you use?
did you mean by chance Indian
.
Is this company by chance DSG? nm
nm
Fred,, are you in GA by any chance? nm
x
They will cut you off at the knees if given the chance sm
When you start they treat you like a queen. They then disappear and at any moment could e-mail to tell you its not working out. I left their on my own, but this happened to several others. They also tried not to pay one person for her wor just because she put in her notice.
In Texas by any chance?
nm
Yes, I say give them a chance... SM
Because overall they ARE a good company. I cannot say that they are the very best, and will fit every single person, because they're not and will not. The QA dept really isn't too bad either, but they are very... sensitive I guess. You may never ever have a problem with any of them, and I know that most of them below the manager and a particular team lead are perfecly competent and nice. So don't even let that worry you. :) I wish you luck with your new position!
Lisha
any chance all DRCers could get to know one another?
Really wish I knew who you all are who are on this board. It would be nice to be able to correspond a little less publicly about all this new info we got today. If anyone is interested, I would be the first to give my name and the account I work on. I'm willing to give Acusis a chance, but it just hurts so much that this has all been going on behind the scenes for months and months and months and I just kept blythely typing along, thinking everything was secure. My biggest worry is what happens after the 100 days? Words are just words and the fact that he says he has no desire to shuffle things while perhaps meant to assay our fears, truly just made me more nervous. My loyalty was always to DRC but I'm not so sure anymore that their loyalty was to their employees. I have to chew on that for a while.
Only have dial-up, no chance
of ever getting high-speed internet access where I live... my only other option is satellite, haven't wanted to shell out the bucks for that up to now, but may have to. Can anyone tell me what companies still use dial-up or allow satellite connections? I hate to apply at companies, etc only to find out that they won't allow dial-up or satellite. Thanks so much for any suggestion about where to begin.
Oh, I would jump at that chance if available!!
nm
Give em a chance
I have been with Transcend for over 2 years now and I love it. They will assign more accounts for you as needed when you are out of work. There are more options than just jumping ship. They are a very good company to work for. 
Is there a chance of me getting 9 cpl at Medscribe?
I am with Medquist currently and after three days of no work coming over, I am ready to head 'em up and move 'em out...I know a lot of companies pay very low, even for MTs with lots of experience, and I would like to avoid those companies. How well does Medscribe pay? I have no idea, and they won't say. By the way, I do mostly ER reports...Any negatives on the company? Thanks!
Do u work for SS by any chance??? sm
Had a lovely email from mgmt with misspellings and incorrect grammar tonight -- so was just curious!
I would give her a chance...but
I would give her a chance to sing her song, but she does not sound like someone who would recognize a loyal employee whether she found one or not. She demonstrates many of the symptoms of an employer/client who regards an MT as part of the equipment, and I consider myself an expert at attracting those types.
DD is immediate; there is a better chance of that going through than a check. sm
If a bank were to go belly-up, the direct deposits that are already sent are paid because they are paid the second they leave the bank. However, outstanding checks would be worthless.
This does not make any sense. If they changed banks and had a waiting period before being able to provide direct deposit, that would be understandable, although I do not know of any banks that do that for more than 30 days.
If there is a banking crisis and their bank is on the watch list, they would change banks. When you get your check, look at the bank. Look it up on the FDIC Bank Watch List. If it is there, maybe they are just panicking. If it is not, they are lying to you about something. Maybe they do not have the money to pay, maybe they have other issues. I do know, because my DH is still in banking, that many banks have tightened lending and have lowered corporate lines of credit for small companies. Most banks consider companies with less than $10 million in annual revenues to be small. Not sure where MDI-MD falls, but if they are under $10 million a year, they might have lost their line of credit through no fault of their own, and that could cause tight cash crunches.
Give them a chance
I agree with Hope. There are those of us who have not had 20+ years experience. We have taken minimal paying positions in order to get experience and for once, we would like to be given the opportunity to make some money and just given a chance to show we can do the work. As most recent graduates will agree, it can be very fustrating when every resume sent out is replied with contact us after you have experience.
I would expect QA to bring to my attention my weaknesses and where I needed to put more effort. Sometimes I read this forum and think how ungrateful some people are and maybe they are just burnt out with the industry and should find a new career. There are those who are new and hopeful we can eventually earn a reasonable income working at home doing something we like doing. Otherwise, we would never have taken the time out of our busy lives to return to school. Try being more positive and do not scare the new job seekers.
I have recently been hired by Focus and I know what is expected of me. Not many jobs pay top dollar for a person to sit at home in their pajamas. The least we can do is do the work without bitching.
Are you management by any chance?
nm
Oh yes. I believe I'd jump at the chance.
I really have to say that. Although I have dedicated my life to this job, that fact is easily lost with the smallest infraction by people who scream at me in CAPS. I want to enjoy doing the work I do with such care.
by any chance - is this a company in Maine
xx
Is Chuck Spitxer by any chance
the recruiter for this company?
Is this by any chance a company that starts with "M"??? nm
x
Any chance they're hiring? (nm)
?
Same type of experience here. Was this by chance,
7-8 months ago?
Christian MT board, by chance?
I had a link to a site of this nature from a very long time ago. Since I'm looking around I decided to check it out, thinking it's an MTSO, or a listing of several who are faith-based, etc. I signed up for the thing and got a reply asking me if I'm a Christian, if I have experience or not, that type of thing. That's when I realized they must not be an MTSO, but signed up anyway, in hopes of looking for other sources for jobs.
While I approve of their no bashing policy, a couple of my closest friends are Jewish, so I have a great deal of respect for their religion (and of course the fact that Israel is a huge ally of the US).
It didn't dawn on me until I read the post about no Jews here (for that site, not this one). That's not cool. My friends aren't militant, and would just roll their eyes over it. Regardless, I have no idea why they'd do this.
Is this the site discussed here? Maybe there are more of them. ??
I would go to the boss before the HIM manager gets a chance to
and make sure you tell them that the work will be done in India. Spread the word to everyone you know, patients included, that their private health information will be in a place like India. You have to do what you have to do. If I had had a clue when our jobs were outsourced, I would have raised a big ruckus. I mean what would they have done, fire me?
Is it Chronicle Transcripts by chance?
x
That is chance, not change, excuse...
…NM
Give Transcend a chance
First of all, hello to all of you from MDI-MD.
I certainly know where you are all coming from. In January of 2005, Sue and I decided to sell MDI-FL to Transcend. We worried and prayed over it. We had over 500 employees and hoped that they all would understand and stay on with us, as I felt they were the best MTs in the world. I spoke to each and every one of our MTs and explained the situation, telling them that as far as I knew nothing would change; that Transcend was a great company who cared about their customers and MTs, as well as quality, which I never wanted to jeopardize. After getting to know Larry Gerdes, the CEO of Transcend, we knew that this was going to be a great fit.
Our MTs were all a little afraid, but fortunately they believed what I told them and about 90% stayed with us and I am thrilled to say are still with us. (Thanks Deb, Sheila and Carmen for your very kind words).
I know what you are going through. Try not to be too hard on MDI-MD. I do not know anyone there, but I have heard they are an extremely nice group of people who think the world of all of their MTs and also are great to their customers. I know when we sold MDI-FL all of our MTs remained on the exact same accounts that they had been on, so I don't see why we would do anything differently now.
Yes, Transcend does send a very small percentage of our work to India - I believe 15%. This will never replace our hard-working US force of MTs.
I would just wish you all would not be so harsh on MDI-MD. In the past, I have seen many of you write such nice things about them. They didn't merge with Transcend to hurt you. After working for us for a while, you might even like it. We are very well known for our flexibility, flex-time, etc. You will see that Sue (who is now President and COO) and Larry (our CEO) both have an open door policy, the ROMs are great and the Team Leaders are also.
I hope I was of some help to you. If you would like to send me an e-mail, you may at Liz.McGrogan@trcr.com. Good luck to each and every one of you. I do hope you decide to give Transcend a chance!
Thanks again,
Liz McGrogan
Former Co-Owner of MDI-FL
Consultant, Transcend Services, Inc.
Yes, it is hard, but on the off chance the machine
was made offshore, purchasing the machine involved one purchase. I can make clothes into infinity with it so I have in essence stopped my need to buy clothes from Mexico or who knows where.
I gave mine a chance, but the changes that
poverty level substantially, so I'm not planning to stay. STILL, so far I've had no luck finding anything yet that isn't just more of the same, so I'm continuing to work for them, but just squeaking by with my bills.
No one has even given the new platform a chance yet. Sure it doesn't
sound good and maybe you won't be more productive, but what if you are and you jump ship without giving it a chance? I don't work for WMX currently, hated the company every day I worked there, left about a year ago. My concern with all the people complaining about no work and I know for a fact that WMX overhires, is if there is going to be enough work to be productive enough to increase your lines. Right now the job market stinks and there aren't that many jobs in this business available. I would at least give it a try before jumping the ship.
Goodluck - consistent work? not a chance. nm
nm
You didn't by chance transcribe TomKat's
p
I call 5 years a chance. Give me the
old MDI where I was not a number, I was a human. I am now a disposable piece of equipment, a robot that they flip the switch to on or off as they want. I do not have all those FABULOUS days, and wonderful weekends that I hear about. I used to call the office but after 5 years I do not think anyone there even remembers my name. This is big business at its worst. Money gets to some people and makes them feel they are better than us peons who make them that money. I deal with people that I have never heard of before and some that are not that nice.
My price of gas tripled and my pay checks have been cut in half.
Yes, no work situations which have been occurring lately have given us the chance
to TAKE DAYS OFF WITHOUT PAY ! Surprise times, they are, too. Not anything MT's can plan for !
Not a chance in the world. Why would I let the company get beat up again sm
when it has been quiet for the past few weeks?
I had a bad experience 4 years ago but gave them another chance after sm
a friend of mine was there for a while and was having a great experience. The problems were years ago and behind them. I was also there during the bounced checks, and I got a copy of the bank letter. They never lied to me though. Going back was the best thing I did, and they contacted me the same day with an offer. That was about 19 months ago and I am very happy. Direct deposit was a good move for them (or any company).
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