It would be all-consuming to get a union going from the ground up. Could you give
Posted By: up your time, family, and job to do it?? nm on 2007-10-28
In Reply to: Like becoming President? I don't follow your line of thinking. - Please elaborate. nm
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But if no union shop, no union representation
You can have a trade group represented by a union, as your husband is, but if he doesn't work in a union shop (company), the union can't represent him at his place of employment. Look at nurses, for example - there is a union for nurses, but the vast majority of nurses are not union members, because their places of employment are not unionized. So it's irrelevant to the majority of nurses that there is a union to represent them.
Hold your ground everybody
They should only be able to get newbies or Indians for that rate. It seems like a lot of companies are hopping on the bandwagon to try to get away with offering lower and lower rates. I have noticed some companies later on bringing their rates back up a bit though - probably because they can't get any good MTs at that rate - so HOLD YOUR GROUND!!! I think it's doing some good already. I also recently read that some doctors and hospitals are requesting that they work be transcribed in the US only - which is good news!
Stand your ground and tell them you would like to
If they don't tell you then move on to the next company. For the posting below re: depending on how you test determines your salary. I would never work for a company that did that. It is not fair. Many of us are great transcriptionist, but test horribly. If a company makes you angy or they don't answer your question, then keep on truckin', there are plenty of them out there! Good Luck
that's right, time consuming but the only way nm
nm
Middle ground
I know how you feel. Many of us are taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. I'll bet our collective plight has done wonders for the pharmaceutical industry's profit margin. I can't tell you what to do, but it won't hurt you to look around and you likely can find a better employee situation with better benefits. Taking action is a good antidepressant as well. Try not to be in a slump. Stay active and proactive. I know it's easier said than done.
Extext is time consuming..
I know it's a pretty good program compared to most, but after working for MDI-MD, I can tell you that it takes way too much time! I work on MDI's Bayscribe and it's so simple! You just go to the website, type the text into the box and click submit. Done! It tells you how many lines right after you type it. You can immediately start on your next report. No delays. I feel so spoiled by the Bayscribe system, it would be really hard to change companies!
That sounds very time consuming. nm
cc
It is not time consuming, at least on the account I was on. sm
Was there for 2 years. The info in header is filled in by what the doctor gives, there are no lists to look up, etc. It was a very efficient system. You receive the files through DVI, and type in Word or WPI. Everything was batched, most of the ADT pulled in from the DVI. You just pulled up a Word document, pulled in each header, filled in a few placed and typed. Not a problem. Of course, I can't speak for every account. The QA is very strict. They expect you to follow the account specs very closely. I found it to be a great place to work, although not easy. People were wonderful to work with. They dumped the work on me at a given time (my choice) and I had 6-8 hours to return it. It worked out very well.
This is ridiculously time consuming ...
Then when you aren't able to make your lines in a given pay period they have the temerity to feign a lack of understanding why.
Yes, IT IS time, I think, for you to move on and find something better. I don't know how you are compensated, but if they want to pay someone HOURLY to sit there and wade through that kind of confusion, then good on them; if not, and you're paid on production, then it's not at all worth it.
Every day work annoyances are one thing, but this kind of nonsense is quite another.
Escription time consuming
Is anyone else having an issue with the amount of time we must spend on technical issues with escription/editscript? It seems that just being highly trained in MT is not good enough anymore Now we must be format technicians and spend most of our time doing that and not getting paid.
I agree wholeheartedly! I stand my ground. USA only. sm
I have had clients threaten to look elsewhere for a lower price and I tell them, please do so. I have to agree with you here, they always come back willing to pay the rate and happy to have the quality and service I provide.
I have never lost a client forever to offshore, will never offshore, and sooner or later all MT work will be back on US soil again. Believe me, it will happen eventually.
Then they need to stand their ground, grow a spine,
.
MD IT recruiting methods are time consuming sm
I took a test that took an hour. A recruiter contacted me to interview on the phone. Another 35 minutes. Then I was told that I would take another specialty test. Then after that the people at a specific MD IT location would like to talk to me. I spent one hour and 35 minutes. I cannot see spending more time than that without being able to ask some dang questions like what the pay is... recruiter did not know, only that it was by the audio hour!!!??? No info about scheduling.
Are we so desperate that we will give a company 2 hours of our time without knowing what is in it for the slave?
This is crap!
Keep your options open, keep your ears to the ground
X
They won't. It is common for a company to be bashed into the ground once it seems people are hap
I knew it was going to happen once I saw the positive posts about Keystrokes. Some people obviously get sick thrills from stirring the pot.
I hope they're happy now. I am sure Keystrokes will miss out on some great MTs because they won't apply due to the posts that have been put the last few days.
Can't anyone accept that there really is a good company out there?
I think that it is a cop-out. The companies that stand their ground will prevail in the long run.
nm
absolutely true! mama's boy trying to run the buisness into the ground.....so very sad!
nm
You're welcome! I find being on the ground floor of an account has its advantages, don't you?
There definitely is a difference and if you want to spend countless minutes searching for docs, countless spellings, then you are not making sense, constantly learning ESLs, then your are in training and not making the mortgage. I post here about inequities I have found and hope they help. Surely, no Transcriptionist is going to go my opinion alone, but if I am not making money and someone asks and I have been there I will try to give them something to ponder. Being on the ground floor of a company or account has its advantages and surely you know that. Thank you for reading my post.
Take into consideration that the schooling will be the most difficult and time-consuming part...
especially when you get to the clinicals...it is full-time...
I didn't care for Ascend's platform...very time consuming
and no paid training
Futurenet require extensive, time consuming testing? I hate those you can't use foot pedal for.
x
"warned" by someone who won't give facts or sign her name. Give me a break! nm
x
Nationals give at least a week to learn program. Give
xx
They used to give out $25 Amex cheques -- give them time. :-) nm
we CAN get a union
It takes hard work and yes, they will launch an all-out war against us *malcontents who probably are louse MTs anyway* but it has been done before against greater odds and CAN BE DONE AGAIN. It just takes a few people of like minds and determination.
Union for MTs
MTs may join the National Writers Union. This union could help us if more MTs would join. It is a good deal for ICs because one can get health insurance through it. http://www.nwu.org/
MT Union
MTs may join the National Writers Union http://www.nwu.org/nwu/. I am a member and have spoken to them about MT. They say they would very much like to help us, but very few MTs are members. Membership has another benefit as well. I have picked up various typing/editing jobs unrelated to MT from time to time. They also offer medical benefits.
union
I would support it.
i am in a union..sm
our union ratifies our contract every 3 yrs.
Union
Is there a court reporter's union? I think we might fit better there. One thing is obvious. We would need a central site to air our grievances and organize. I'm not sure if this forum is willing to allow that. This is something we should have been discussing years ago.
What is the name of your union?
I'm sure we would all like to know.
Where's the union?
I feel the same as anyone on the India thing, as I have QA'd their reports for a certain company and it was horrendously bad.
My question though is... everyone keeps complaining, but I have yet to see anyone form a union, to which I and I am sure many many others would join.
Where's the action behind the anger and the talk?
Union
I worked in a hospital where the transcriptionists were unionized, for some reason we were part of the United Steel Workers union (don't aske me what that has to do with healthcare). It included all non-clinical employees of the hospital.
I am in a union...sm
At a local hospital. Our Union ratifies our contract every 3 years. In fact, it renews again this month.
union
JustMe. Because this is an anonymous board, many of us MTs don't know if we are chatting with MTSO sup or managers.
If you can get ONE union rep with a legitimate web page, I think we'd all being willing to go their and sign up with a disposable email address.
At least, that is a start to us coming togeter. We can have state leaders and go from their with one union rep.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I'm in a union...sm
And we have the same problem of losing our positions to outsourcing--maybe not as quickly, but we are the last hospital in my state who have in-house remote employees who work at home. We slipped through last year, but it's a matter of time before they cut us.
Union
If there was a way to do it, I would. I am not a super hard nosed union type, but I know what the teacher's union here in our town has done for our teachers. Not only that, but I am also one of those who are disabled and need to work from home. If a union would protect that option as well as help promote MT as a solid work at home solution to many who can do this type of work from home instead of drawing disability, well, I am all for that.
Anne
RE: Union
I've seen the good and the bad a union can do. If we were to unionize, do you not think that we would be risking putting ourselves out of jobs? Some MTSOs cannot afford to pay 10 cpl. I know that most can, Medquist and the other biggies. But what about the smaller ones that don't have a ton of accounts? Some of us have jobs with them and are quite happy because while we're not making 10 cpl, we do have plenty of work, our boss is not over hiring and we are treated decently. If you start to force the companies to pay more, we're going to be out of work and back to either working in-house or somewhere else out of our field of expertise. I've also seen the unions 'fight' for the worker, meaning .25 cents more a pay period, while at the same time the insurance premiums per paycheck went up just enough to eat that raise, while giving less coverage. And while I may not be talking about unions for MTs, really it does not matter what industry you're talking about, the unions are fighting for themselves. It'd be great to be paid what we deserve. I personally know an MTSO that could pay more but chooses not to. She'd rather hire MTs at a disgraceful rate and give 1/4 cent raises when she remembers. Those MTSOs do need to stop screwing with us. In the same vein though, MTSOs like that don't keep quality MTs. They lose them to companies that are fair, or at least try to be. I really don't see anything changing for us. We're not really considered at all in the grand scheme of things except when the reports are late or wrong. Merry Christmas.
Not a union fan.
You have an interesting viewpoint, Union Now. At first I skimmed your post because I am not interested in a union and I tend to avoid the posts that proclaim that's what we need to do. Then I went and re-read it and my second reaction (first being boredom and amusement at a couple of typos) was could you be any more condescending?
I suppose you would consider me one of the GRATEFUL faction. I am grateful that I have steady income and it's an income that can be as big or as little as I choose to make it. Maybe that makes me naive in your eyes. I lost a very well paying job of 4 1/2 years duration last year with about 2 months' notice. My then-employer was a man who I had known for 30 years. I had watched his kids for him when they were little. This man used the phrase I'm throwing you all under rthe bus when he informed us that he was selling the agency and we may or may not be hired by the new administration. I was at the mercy of a 57-year-old man having a mid-life crisis. Now I make a decent wage that allows me to pay my mortgage and my bills and I have a very nice roof over my head. And I know I can always find a job somewhere doing this kind of work.
My rambling, probably boring point is that I am indeed grateful to have employment and to have a steady income. Is Voice Recognition the way of the future? Very probably. Is it going to put us out of work? I don't think so. Not unless they make those programs a whole lot better and not unless they magically make doctors and PAs slow down and enunciate. We all know THAT ain't gonna happen.
Why does it seem that so many people are entrenched in only one way of doing things? Why does it seem that the refrain that I hear a lot is but this is the way we've always done it? Just because that's the way something has always been done doesn't mean that it's the best way or the only way.
Personally, I think we sell ourselves short if we stay entrenched in the past and refuse to learn new technology and new technique. We only end up hurting ourselves that way. I don't think a union will do anything except force even more off shoring even faster. You think hospitals are going to go union and pay higher union wages and benefits when they have options in India and the Phillipines? Why do you think so much other American manufacturing and industry has gone overseas? Unions, my friend. Unions. They served their part in the past. They served a very good part in the past. I firmly believe their time has come and gone, though. The fact that information can be sent around the world in nanoseconds completely changes the game.
All a union would accomplish (in my admittedly limited viewpoint) is to ensure that bad MT's stay employed and good MT's don't get as far as they could on their own. In my mind unions tend to pander to the lowest common denominator. If you're good at what you do, I don't think you'll have any problems.
So yes, for those of you who have gotten this far and whose eyes haven't crossed yet, I am grateful to have a job. I actually have 2 jobs and I'm grateful for them both. I know I can pay my mortgage and keep the lights on and buy cat food. That last part is important - the little varmints outnumber me. I don't plan on rocking any of my financial boats in the near future with the global economy tanking like it is. If we knock over our boat, there are 100 other people here in the US and abroad who are happy to take over from us.
Union
Don't be so sure. As for Detroit, they were making more money than the collective bunch of us would see in 100 lifetimes. It was not the unions, but the big shots who controlled the $$$$. If it wasn't for unions, my dear, we would be working 12 hours a day 7 days a week with no BENEFITS. You forget what our forefathers fought for, but there are many of us who do not. I say that those of us who are interested, when we find a representative union, such as SEIU, should all agree to meet in D.C. or better yet where ever our headquarters is now.
We will at least give it a try. Do we really have anything else to lose? Count me in.
union
We are not talking the same sort of things that happened with the steel mills, etc., we are talking about being represented and treated fairly. Unless we do something, we won't be able to keep typing for the Q as the electric bill might not get paid, no electric, no type. There is not a one of us who are thinking in terms of driving cadillacs and going to Hawaii 3 or 4 times a year;no it is to make a decent wage, keep the decent wage, and not be subject to random wage cuts at the mere discretion of the company. Representation. Maybe there are some bad things along with the good, but if we keep going the way we are, well then.....you fill in the blanks. I was a union steward for 22 years. It is not easy to fight for what is right. It is not easy to go against those who are paying the meager wages, but sometimes the time comes to pull up the bootstraps and take care of us.
union
Ok, I will come back on this board in 1 year from now and I want to hear what you have to say then, after you have had your fill of the changes, the crap, the lousy money, etc. NObody is happy with the Q as it is. If you are, then there is something wrong with you. Oh, you are probably one who would be against unionizing for representation, bitch and moan about it, but accept whatever contract the members accepted.
And those of us who do not want a union?
If this movement to start an MT union goes forward and actually happens, then what happens to those of us who have seen the negative side of unions and decline to participate? Are we then treated like scabs, bullied and harrassed, unable to find work because we decide to not joint a club that takes our money and gives nothing in return? Are we going to be ostracized? What happens when this union organizes and immediately goes on strike because X company will not pay them X per line, plus hourly plus benefits?
Like someone posted below, what happens to those of us who are ICs? I am not able to work a set shift for various personal reasons, and so where would that leave me? I have to have IC status in order to work.
Also, what happens when all the US based companies decide to take ALL their business overseas because of the unionization of their workforce?
I agree there needs to be a standard for the industry other than the AHDI or whatever they are calling themselves these days, but a union is only going to benefit a few. What I have personally experienced with a union is that it drives the cost of operation for a company through the roof, and companies are in business to make money, not support people. Also, the good, hard workers (for the most part) carry a lazy, inefficient work pool who refuse to do hard jobs because they are union and you can't fire a union worker.
Basically, unions do not work for the honest folks who work their tails off to make a living. They do work for the ones who think they deserve ____(fill in whatever you would like) because they are special because they belong to a union.
Just saying my piece, and thank you for letting me vent.
Yes, of course I do. I'm pro-union.
x
union..
does have its benes. My union dues are only $40/m. I get paid $23/h plus incentive. I can take a total of 12 WEEKS per year of PTO. Full medical benes.
if this is about union -
and that survey in your post has rates anything near where it is headed - I'll do better without a union.
leave it alone is my vote. MTSOs charge what they can get by proposal and we are at a set rate lower than anything in my tenure?
Here's one - how about just setting a percentage of what the MTSO charges - whatever that may be? That just might get the MTSOs back to COMPETING FOR US AGAIN.
Here's another - stop the head butting and belly bucking and make us all SALARY. Lose nothing per overhire, low workflow, routing favorites, and cherry pickers etc., etc., etc.
sorry - venting
Name that union.
?
I think we need a union - nm
x
Re: Union
Some sort of organization would work. If MTs could ban together and demand FAIR wages, the companies would have to comply. They wouldn't have a choice and it wouldn't hurt them to do so.
In many companies, the main bottleneck in increasing wages is not the economy (especially in the medical field), but top management and the recruiters. Usually they are lacking any background in transcription or working in a production based environment. These armchair decision makers usually do not understand and appreciate the potential of and opportunities in raising productivity through higher wages; they fail to see it as the ultimate weapon in increasing competitiveness. And subcontractors? Well, these companies will not last very long.
What many of these low paying companies fail to consider is that any wage hike can be more than offset by increasing productivity. Offering higher wages should be taken positively as a challenge to improve efficiency and keep clients and MTs happy, rather than negatively. The cost they are paying for unhappy employees that don't produce and have a lack in skill is FAR greater than a secure able employee being productive. They can't keep their present employees happy, so they post over and over on the job boards trying to replace them. Yes, someone will take the lower wage, but just as I said about companies not lasting long, neither will the employee accepting peanuts.
So, what should the name of our organization be? 
then demand a union instead
otherwise shut up.
There is a Union for MTs to join
MTs have been able to join the National Writers Union http://www.nwu.org/nwu/ for several years, though very few have done so. Perhaps if more of us joined we might get somewhere. Worth a try anyhow, don't you think? We certainly don't have much more to lose.
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