Wonder if other companies plan layoffs?

• Wonder if other companies plan layoffs? - ex-Amphion (see msg)
  • does Amphion advertise that they now offshore? - or do they try to keep it hushed. NM
  • Reality Check - sd
    • Well, we can lie down and just take it, or we can - do something about it and fight for our jobs.
    • sd re: reality check - fatcat
    • The subject of having less MTs? - Kemmie
      • Less MTs - sd
        • You're kidding, right? - Unbelievable
          • Editing - Tammy
          • Please, let me clarify. - sd

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I didn't even get the invite to the conference call.  I was working one day and started getting an error message that my account number was inactive.  Through a series of emails and phone calls, I found out I had been laid off!  Thanks a lot!  I just found another job working as an IC.  I think I'll be much happier! 

First of all, I would like to say that I sympathsize wtih those that were laid off at Heartland, however, I believe that that there were probably indications that this was going to happen, I for one, remember seeing a LOT of job ads for Heartland and they suddenly stopped on the 2 major transcription job boards. For me, that was an indication that something was going down the tube.

I also do not agree wtih offshoring, but when I read the posts on this board, I see one theme over and over; that being laziness in general. I see posts where people gripe and complain about having to work weekends or nights or whatever and wanting to get paid decent money, but they want to only be able to work 8-5 Monday through Friday.  I have been in this field for over 20 years and I believe that I have always pulled my fair share.  I have seen it in the company that I work for now, and the work load goes up dramatically on the weekends, because NOBODY wants to work and as we all know, medical transcription, for the most part, is a profession that is 24/7.

Sadly to say, our society has become one, where we expect to have something for nothing. Meaning that we want the nice thinngs, but we don't have to break our necks for it.  I hear of friends who are giving their kids brand-new to almost brand-new cars in high school.  Heck, when I was growing up, if I wanted contacts, or a car, or clothes, I had to detassel corn or work in a fast food place to get the money to be able to have those things.  I don't see that happening now, and in essence, that is why so many of our jobs have been offshored.  Its not only a cheaper labor cost, but most of these people in general have a better work ethic.

My company takes pride in the fact that it doesn't offshore and it will be a cold day in a very warm place before they do.

My only advice to those that were laid off is to hang in there, send out the resumes and hopefully, you will be able to find a new company that will treat you like an employee and not a number.

Some people seem to be missing the point here -- I also do QA as well as medical transcription and I generally am working MANY hours a day and usually 6-7 days a week, because I know budget-wise what it takes for me to surviive. 

As a QA person, I see a quality of work that is totally unacceptable and it is from American medical transcriptionists.  I read about people saying they can do X number of lines in an hour, or that they type X number of words a minute and as a QA person, that is usually the persons report that has 10 or more blanks in it, because UNFORTUNATELY they are more concerned about production than they are quality. 

I sometimes wonder how many medical transcriptionists go back and re-listen to a report they have typed and then are able to figure out what the doctors are saying?

I have worked both inhouse and from home and I really have to agree that if someone TRULY wants to get started in this field, then they should work onsite first to truly get a grasp at what medical transcription entails.

There ARE people who are medcal transcriptionists who DO work long and hard hours and ARE getting shafted by the companies they work for, but quite frankly, I am tired of the ones who have toddlers and small children at home and whine about how they can do this work and take care of their kids too  -- just because you work at home, dosen't mean that your children can be underfoot all the time and it is also learning about priorities as well.  If you were working on the outside, you would NOT be allowed to take a huge amount of time off for kid activities or family activities, so the MTSOs do have legitimate gripes when it comes to employees not working when they say they will or keeping to a schedule, and this is where I am coming full circle when I talk about a work ethiic  -- it has slowly and steadily been disappearing over the years.

Where's everyone planning to go now that Cbay has laid off the rest of the editors?

While there are many employees in all areas who fit the poor work ethic you describe, it is by no means anything but a lame excuse for greedy corporations to do what they would have done anyway.  It goes along with the jobs Americans won't do we hear so much about these days.

I do think the handwriting has been on the wall about Heartland.....er...I mean HEARTLESS for some time.  I personally don't and never have worked for them but I've been hearing for a year or so that their ultimate goal was to do exactly what they just did.  Still one can hardly blame those who chose to stay and watch the ship go down, it isn't like HEARTLESS doesn't have lots of company these days.  I believe I actually read somewhere that companies are rewarded tax-wise for shipping jobs overseas.

Now is the time for all MTs to prepare for the future, although I have no clue as to what career or occupation would immunize employees from the exact same thing that just happened at HEARTLESS.  A casual observer can see the increase in the number of job postings for VR editors so the next step will be unless we are willing to spend all day every day transcribing impossible ESLs, mushmouths, Speedy Gonzales and all their kin, MT is going to be gone.

There is also something to be said for the way MTs in most, if not all, companies are treated.  Here we have QA people who search for MINUTE things or even WRONG things to correct so they can meet their quota or whatever they are evaluated on.  Why, I even had one QA person correct Tessalon Perles that I had transcribed to Tessalon Pearls.  Cold hard fact of life is the suits at the corporations care nothing about quality, they just make a show by saying they have QA people to ensure quality.  HA!  The hospitals care nothing about quality, only the bottom line.  The physicians (most) care nothing about quality, only their insurance reimbursement.  So there you have it, a grim future for all of us.

Lastly, anyone who falls into the jobs Americans won't do and offshoring is necessary because there aren't enough qualified Americans, is nothing short of a fool.  What they mean is Americans can't and won't work for less than it takes to maintain a decent standard of living and the cost of living in the good ole U.S. of A is not cheap.

I have nothing to offer the employees of HEARTLESS other than that my heart aches for them and their plight and I pray each and every one will be able to find a decent place to work in the short term and that they will be looking to see how they will survive in the long term.

GOD BLESS ALL YOU EMPLOYEES OF HEARTLESS, INC.

I would just love to know what people like about this new plan because the way I see it they are not paying for your internet service anymore which is essential to getting this job done and they are not offering any kind of weekend incentives which is when they are always begging people to work and also, the part that really is laughable is even if you are part time and say work 15 hours a week and want to work 20 instead one week you have to get that approved.  Now, they are always begging people to work so why do we have to get approval to work extra.  I can understand over 40 hours but if you are part time what is the big deal.  As long as you put your hours in that you are supposed to, why do we have to go through the trouble of calling our supervisors and asking to work an extra hour or so. 

I don't see much of any kind of incentives in this new plan.  I mean if you type over 1200 - you get a small increase.  Say you type 1500 well you would make an extra $1.50 that day.  What kind of incentive is that?

I just don't get it.  Maybe I am missing something and people can explain to me what they like about it.  I would LOVE to hear it. 

Thank you all for your comments...

I am still racking my brain (which is not helping my production by the way)...but I may have just brewed up a plan!!!

Since I was meeting double the LPH requirements, I am just going to slow way down and meet the required production - they require set hours...they are going to get it...they will still get quality work, but I am not going to stick my neck out anymore...

Instead, I am going to focus on the smaller company and pray it turns out good. I will take the extra time from the national and even out the line count I need with the smaller company..and hopefully, it will all fall into place and I will decide the smaller company is my answer...

In the meantime, I am keeping my foot in both doors and looking out for myself for once!!!  Staying more and more loyal to the one who actually appreciates me....yup, the smaller company

Thanks!!!

I like how you stated that the benefits SHOULD flow into our countries when companies are allowed to compete better.  Unfortunately SHOULD and ARE are two different things.  So far the only things happening is that the companies are getting huge, billion-dollar tax breaks that are benefitting other countries.  The profits that the companies are making are not benefitting the US workers, they are lining the pockets of shareholders and CEOs.  They're not creating jobs here and they're not benefitting this country. Whereas, look at India and China and all the news reports of how their economy is growing at an unprecedented rate.  This theory can only work if other countries cooperate and the American companies use profits to grow their businesses, instead of lining the pockets of their CEOs.

SE possible health insurance, or anything else that is being talked about by certain MQ MT's.

I have had the web-based email since "day 1", and did not need 800 DICTATE to set it up for me. It was simple!  Just not getting any of the emails that some are speaking of receiving. Get PLENTY from my supervisor. Guess having no problem receiving emails . . . so where are all these other emails I did not get???

I haven't gotten any information at all regarding a new pay plan. Was the first of this sent out to ME's only. It seems that only MQ ME's have mentioned anything about their pay.

I have a hard time believing that MQ HR would call EACH and EVERY MT. Do you know how many phone calls and how much time that would take to accomplish. They probably hired temporary employees again to do this calling, as they did when the new benefits package was rolling out to work on the benefits hotline!

If ANY of you receive any letter/packet/phone call about a new pay plan, PLEASE post for us. TIA

i have not rec'd the packet yet but going by what i am reading here

1) i do nothing but ER accts and make 10cpl, according to the tier system, would my pay be decreased or whatever rate you are at presently, it stays the same and if you were newly hired that is what you would start out at???

2) i do have the ability to do other work types but prefer ER, should my pay be based on that or just ER

3) my friend is a full time employee with benefits but works more that 40 hours a week, 40 hours is on the time sheet but she needs to type 18000 lines a pay period for her bills, she is the sole support of her family, does that mean that she can not type over 40 hours any more even though she is not putting in for OT

4) previoulsy PT MT's need 4000 or 6000 lines a pay period depending on what office you were in, are they still going with the fact that each pay period you would need to produce so many lines or is it giving a schedule and doing x amount of lines each day

5) it sounds like SE, which will no long exist, they have lost the ability for their bonus's ( over 10000 lines a pay period bonus) but is was mentioned that you could get a bonus on a daily basis, which brings me to my next question--what if there is no work--this is a very common factor of life in amherst--so how do they get the daily bonus, also if you do give a schedule, can you tupe outside of the scheduled hours to make up for lost time( anyone with kids you never know what is going to happen) or lack of work during your hours

will everyone be getting the same packet and if so why did we all need to be called if we were getting the same info??

I don't have the figures handy, but there are two incentives.

The first is getting a 0.25- 1.0 increase per line depending on how many lines you type in the two week period, again, I dont have the paper handy but I think the first incentive starts at 5001 per pay period.  Don't quote me on it.

The other one is a bonus given every four weeks if your line count is over a certain amount starting at $20 and going up, and I believe the first count you have to exceed is 10001 in a four week period

I work there and have no earthly idea what you are talking about.  Please explain.