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At my hospital, MTs were not part of the union,

Posted By: Backwards typist on 2008-11-25
In Reply to: Have you ever been part of a hospital strike sm - my experience

so maybe that may be the case at your hospital, too. I wouldn't know that. Our MTs had to cross the picket lines if they wanted to keep their jobs.

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Service Employees International Union (SEIU) - (SM)
- Have you ever been part of a hospital strike sm - my experience
  - At my hospital, MTs were not part of the union, - Backwards typist
    - I was an MT, we were in the union. nm - my experience
- Strike at this time is selfish - Just me
  - Selfish??? Only if... - XCMT
  - I agree .............. - NM
  - strike - mk
    - True that works should insist on fair SM - MissIndigo

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Sorry, my husband is part of a union
and it take YEARS for them to get any contract agreed upon because of the so called "union representatives" and then when they do we usually get nothing because what they give us in raises they take away in higher insurance costs, union dues etc.

I want no part of any union.

Can you go part-time at the hospital and
try PT with an online company to test the waters? I'm currently PT with a hosp because it's not in the budget to add staff at this time, so I researched and accepted a position with an online company. So far, it's working out well.

Have you ever been part of a hospital strike sm

I will tell you that I first-hand saw that out of a varied group of workers, the MTs were the FIRST and ONLY work group to cross the picket line to scab themselves for the money.

I didn't, but it was me and 2 other people out of 25 who stayed out. That is the reason unions and strikes do not work for transcriptionists. We have a majority who will sell everyone else down the river to put more money into their own pockets.

I worked part-time in a hospital sm
radiology department for a copule years and they did the floppy disk thing. They were huge compared to now. We didn't have a main frame at that time. Your format stuff was on the "system disk" you put in on the left nad then your disk with your work went into the right hand slot. It was this big huge monster of a "computer" thing.

Pasted info from their website. York Hospital is part of Wellspan.

York Hospital
	1001 South George Street P.O. Box 15198 York, PA 17405-7198
	Main number: (717) 851-2345 Registration/Admissions: (717) 851-2231 Billing Inquiry: (717) 851-2102 Care Line: (717) 851-2273

Depends on what kind of hospital? Large urban hospital or small community hospital? SM

Also, is it a large teaching hospital? If so you have to consider there will be A LOT of different residents dictating, usually a lot of ESLs at teaching hospitals, and the residents rotate out and new ones rotate in every summer. So you can't expect to get the same dictators and build up your macros because the dictators change all the time.

I would say 9 cpl would be a pretty good offer for a small to medium community hospital where you will be doing the same dictators on a daily basis. But for bigger, urban or teaching hospitals I would want at least 12 to 15 cpl.

The easy part is making the decision to leave, the hard part is
actually doing it. Been in your shoes and it took me a year and a half to leave after I had made the decision to do so. It was the best thing I have ever done for myself and my girls. I had family and friends and a counselor telling me what needed to be done and I knew what needed to be done but until I had the courage on my own to do it I stayed. One day, we had an argument and he spit in my face and that was the last straw for me. Even though it is something that I will NEVER forget, that day is also a day I will never forget because it is the day that I took my kids and left. I am a single mom of 2 and have been single and supporting us for 5 years now. I have been healing ever since and still am to this day. You can do this. I know that if I hadn't have left and I would have stayed one of us would be dead by now or both.

are you with a union?

Union -YES
NM

union
yes

union
YES!!!!!
Even the grocery baggers have a union

union for MT's
I'm in 1199 at my hospital - and this is a transcription position. (in NY).

What union? lol Please tell.
nm

Union
I wonder if it is possible for MTs to organize. This is a profession that requires a good amount of training, skill, and responsibility. We should be able to make a living at it. There is something really wrong here.

union..
very interesting concept, but one has to keep in mind, transcription is a very degrading job nowadays as there are alternatives for companies i.e. outsourching, voice recognition, etc...so, everyone needs to just face the fact as I have so degradingly done so....there is no respect or money in transcription anymore! Try being on your own and raising children on "transcription wages"...not gonna happen!

I'm not in a union now but used to be...
It depends on the union. We MTs need a union badly. I'd say go for it. I used to belong to the American Auto Workers Union (about 30 years ago). DH belongs to an electrical union.

Anyone union here?
I have been offered an MT job that requires me to be in a union. Anyone in a union? Pros, cons?

TIA

Union for MTs
I am sorry, but I do not agree with you about a union for MTs. I have been married for 25 years to a man whom I have seen fight for everything in his union, pay union dues and watch the lazy people get away with everything they possibly can either due to the fact that they were hired by a friend or just are not hard workers to begin with. My husband is a hard worker, goes to work every day, does not steal, sleep on the job, smoke dope on the job, and these are just a few of the illegal practices that go on. He is now the shop steward and he does not recommend a union as he does not see in 15 years that his union has done that much for raises, benefits, etc. It just seems that unions some how represent a lot of people who do not want to work and hide behind a union to get away with it. Of course, some people do get fired, because unions will not stand up for the law breakers, but the others use it as a crutch. Our government has to stop sending our work overseas, but as long as the companies can save a few million dollars by sending our work over, they will continue to do it because it is the dollar that rules. But, our government is at fault here. Unions can work sometimes but not all the time. But, this is my opinion, and I have been in the MT business for over 30 years. I have seen the quality of the work from overseas and so have doctors, and some are appalled, while others could care less, because they save money. It is just like China making toys or dog food with poison and lead poison, our country needs to stop having them make these things, but they won't because labor is cheap over there. All of this is truly sad that we have to pay a price to save a few dollars. What is wrong with this country?

MT Union
I am fully in agreement that we need an MT union, particularly to protect our profession and stop those who do not know our profession from taking over and making decisions that they know nothing about. Everytime I have worked for a hospital, all the decisions as to our equipment, typing platform, pay et cetera have been made by the board of directors of that institution who know nothing about what we do. The last hospital I worked for, the supervisor was told not to make any noise about sending our work offshore. We knew nothing about this until later, and lo and behold this failed miserably, and we could have told them it would. The quality of work was deplorable, yet we worked with horrible equipment and for low pay, but they thought they were saving money. How about putting the same money they would to offshore work into better equipment and better pay. Yes, I would fully support a union.

UNION
Now you're talkin'!! We deserva a union - we're being taken advantage of by all of these companies! How do we get started?

I was an MT, we were in the union. nm

We do need a union. We just need
to go back into the hospitals to work as medical transcriptionists. Then we would make a decent hourly wage, be paid for any overtime, receive benefits, etc. It used to be that way for many, many years. The outsourcing of work by the hospitals to MTSO's was our downfall, as well as the formation of AAMT.

I do know many of you want to work at home, and you probably only got into this industry because it was home-based work, but if we were in the hospital setting, we would be treated with more respect and earn a decent wage. I know, because that is how I started out in the early 1980s. I enjoy working at home too, but unfortunately it is difficult for many to earn a good salary transcribing at home and being paid by the line. Years ago we got hired in-house if we had knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, and then the real training began by the old-timers in the medical records department. This was the best way to learn medical transcription.

Some do go on and become successful at home after a formal MT training course, but unfortunately many never make it and many drop out of this line of work because of the low pay. It will only get worse in the future, and I do predict that unless we go back in-house, most of the MT work will be sent oveseas or become 100% VR-based.

What a union could then do is

What do we do then? I'm not an acute care transcriptionist. I have 20 years in this business. I work my own accounts and make decent money. I could do acute care no problem, but I don't want to. That's my choice.

My Dad was part of a Union and guess what? The steel mill sold to China anyway. So what did the Union really do for my Dad? Not a thing... Then my Mom had to go to work because my Dad was older by then and found it hard to find a job at his age (late 50s). I'm talking back in the 80s.

All of these companies have taken on the AAMT or whoever they are (I really don't care) as "word" and that's how they want things transcribed.

When you've been transcribing as long as some of us have, you tend to give up on a Union and what that takes to stay organized and also requirements and money it takes to keep a Union organized (dues).

I will never become certified because I won't make any more money than what I'm already making.

I transcribe for an online company that pays MTs that just graduated the same as I make. So, why bother?

Many years of experience is what makes you the money, not any school, or for that matter a Union.

I hate to be a downer, but really at this point, if there are MTs out there transcribing for 6 cpl, then we're done for. ASR is only as good as the Editor behind it and it is pricey as well.

What a union could then do is

All of these companies have taken on the AAMT or whoever they are (I really don't care) as "word" and that's how they want things transcribed.

I will never become certified because I won't make any more money than what I'm already making.

I transcribe for an online company that pays MTs that just graduated the same as I make. So, why bother?

Many years of experience is what makes you the money, not any school, or for that matter a Union.

I hate to be a downer, but really at this point, if there are MTs out there transcribing for 6 cpl, then we're done for. ASR is only as good as the Editor behind it and it is pricey as well.

What a union could then do is

All of these companies have taken on the AAMT or whoever they are (I really don't care) as "word" and that's how they want things transcribed.

I will never become certified because I won't make any more money than what I'm already making.

I transcribe for an online company that pays MTs that just graduated the same as I make. So, why bother?

Many years of experience is what makes you the money, not any school, or for that matter a Union.

I hate to be a downer, but really at this point, if there are MTs out there transcribing for 6 cpl, then we're done for. ASR is only as good as the Editor behind it and it is pricey as well.

Support union - YES!
nm

union -- teamsters out of LA said they'd take us
x

Yep, just like a union without saying the U word
and they jump right on in like the sleazy bottom-feeders they are.

See how fast they come to your aid when you need them too. You'll have to time them with a calendar instead of a stop watch.

Need labor union
After 20 years in this industry I can't wait to get out of it - early retirement here I come...They want to pay highly skilled translators (which is more what we do) at rate of a typist.

dream on if you think you are going to get 17 cpl with or without union
what's coming down the pike will knock that kind of pay right off the table, and no one will even look back.

how can they both be union and one pays so much more?
x

Please let me know the details of the union.
Yes we do need a union

If not the union, then what is the answer?
OK, so the union may not be the solution for MT and that's fine. But what is the solution? This profession has changed so drastically and the future is very unpredictable. Some posters on other boards have been in the business for 20-30 years and remember being paid .22-.25 cpl or more, and now have to settle for .10-.13 cpl or even less because the MTSO won't pay any more than that. We are paid on production, not salary, and every key stroke, every second that we spend working counts. The MTSO's are making it harder for us to make a decent living anymore in this profession, making us jump through hoops to just do our jobs to the best of our ability. We as MTs are not just glorified typists or secretaries. We are professionals who have put a lot of time and effort, and sometimes money, to have a career that is rewarding not only financially but spiritually and mentally as well. Many, many MTs are screaming mad right now, and rightly so. So many posters here complain about the MT business as a whole, but what can we do to change the situation so that WE can benefit, not just the suits? It is true that our government has a huge hand in sending work overseas. How do we fight government to get this stopped and bring back industry in the US? How do we as MTs fight the MTSOs to stop the International Labor Partners? How do we as MTs get the hospitals and doctors and MTSOs to look at MTing as something more than just saving $$ and try to bring back quality? We have to stand up and do SOMETHING other than complain. We have to look at the situation as a whole, get to the root of the problem, and come up with a solution to fix it so that all parties involved will benefit. I don't know what that solution is, maybe somebody else does. But complaining is not doing any good, just lowering morale all across the board. And low morale does not equal good $$ or quality product, it equals frustration.

I agree we need a union
to protect our best interests - to negotiate with teh big companites taht are scamming us with low pay and inundating us with various formats, etc. I am sick of it - I have 12 hospitals - and each one has a different format and specifics - this makes it virtually impossible to make any money - who can remember 12 different specifics - I do believe that transcription should be standard across the board - with all accounts using the same specifics - i don't know what the reason is for having anything else. I'm in and would work towards this union being formed - otherwise - we are all sunk

WE WANT A UNION FOR MTS AND MTSTARS, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Can you start a forum, or a petition, can you help us MTstars. We need help and you have the exposure we need. Please help us do more than complain. We need to keep our jobs, at a pay rate that is fair for Americans, not a third-world country's pay.

I am against a union. It is plain what they have done sm
On the upside, they are great for looking out for the interests of the worker. They are responsible for helping to pull this country out of poverty post WWII, and for helping to implement laws which protect the health and safety of the worker.

In more recent times, they are pushed companies offshore. Automobile workers...they build so many of them out of the country. The plants and companies that don't employee union workers are prospering! They are cars they make are more affordable and they are SELLING THEM while the Big Three are asking for our money in the form of a bale out!

Closer to home, the Kroger outlets in Colorado, where I lived for many years, is union. Safeway is about half and half and the rest are nonunion. The end result has been job cuts at Kroger in every single department and cutting of hours for everyone. They have closed stores too. Their largest competitors are those who are nonunion and Walmart where workers are paid less than a living wage. The union has helped to push Walmart into the grocery equation.

Because we don't have leverage, we have no way to unionize and I am not in favor of it. If you want to make a difference in this industry, let us mount a campaign with our representatives to make it illegal to shift the transcription of medical offshore, or at very least to tax the beejeebers out the practice. THAT would protect our jobs. Because, quite frankly, there are not enough qualified MTs in the US to the work available...wages will have to go up, as will benefits, as companies vie for the best MTs.

You have a union contract?
I wonder if any others have that? Your situation sounds like what transcription used to be inhouse, hourly salary plus incentive. I do not think most places offer even half incentive when people are put on VR. Maybe others can pitch in here but my take is the salary/incentive gone and VR usually goes at about 4 cents a line and that is it.

i see you never worked as a union member before lol
/

You're looking for a union. That's a different ballgame.
A union you would have a better chance at building and acting on behalf of the American MT. However, I don't see it would make much change/progress either way: Offshoring and technology have already beat us out.

Go to your bank or credit union and they can help
you set it up. What you claim depends on how you setup the account. You can claim $$ this year provided it is paid in by 4/15 and get taxed when you take out, or you can put in after taxes and not get taxed when taking out.

Union? ABSOLUTELY! And one more thing - (sm)
later in that same TV show about what workers were "worth", etc., someone said that contrary to what some people would say about paying workers making them lazy, or costing companies too much, they found that the exact OPPOSITE was true. When they paid the workers more, they not only had to struggle less to live, but they valued their own work more, when they realized that THEY were valued. Especially in the case of women, who tend to change jobs more frequently than men (due to the LOW PAY!), they found that as the rate of pay went up, the rate of employee loss went DOWN, and the quality of the work the better-paid workers performed improved dramatically - directly related to increased pay. In the long run, it often cost these companies LESS to pay their workers MORE.

I was raised in a union family.
I'm not anti-union at all. BUT, we don't have any leverage present for unionization. Between speech recognition and offshoring practices, there is no leverage for us.

I see it as a much bigger issue than just forcing MTSOs to pay more and keep work here in the US. We would have to drive down healthcare costs for hospitals and clinics and physicians all over. This is just one small piece of the pie.

As another poster down the page pointed out, unions usually start within a company. The workers of a company unionize and then grow from there.

Having been raised in a union environment and with my father having held positions in that union several years, I agree with his advice: A company will do anything to stop you from unionizing. They would fire every single one of you. They can. They have the backup to get the work done. It is not in your best interest to try to do this with your industry.

His advice when we talked about this was to just join current unions as individuals.

I agree with him.

Sounds like union tactics, dues and all.
.

My husband is a union president and says we should definitely organize.
But what would then stop them from further outsourcing?

shame on those greedy union workers sm
They just HAVE to eat every day now, don't they. Why the nerve of them...to think they want health care benefits and retirement pensions.

n the meantime,the poor CEOs and board members are going broke with no $$$ left to fuel their private jets so they can go beg for a tax payer bale out.

Wholeheartedly agree!!! this business screams UNION
How many people have the sheer determination and guts to carry it through?

Oooo, I'm curious. What is the union called? Do they have a website?
I'm a big believer in unions as they long as their sole purpose the protecting the rights and income of the workers and elevating the profession. I didn't know there was an MT union, but I think it's a great idea. I'd like to learn more. Email me or post the info for everyone.

She probably undercut your rate. Just like India MTs. Another reason for union.
dd

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Strike looms at Hastings hospital

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune
Last update: November 21, 2008 - 11:12 PM

About 230 employees at Regina Medical Center in Hastings are spending today making final preparations for a two-day strike they have called for next week.

Nurses aides, X-ray technicians, physical therapy aides, housekeepers, dietary workers, medical transcriptionists, operating room aides, patient care technicians who are part of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Minnesota are set to walk of the job at 6 a.m. Monday unless they can come to agreement on a new contract over the weekend, said Ryan Nagle, a union spokesman.

No new talks are scheduled paving the way for the two-day walkout on Monday and Tuesday. The union is not calling for an open-ended strike because "we want to limit any impact on patients" but still get its message out to the hospital and the community, Nagle said.

The workers have been without a contract since Oct. 31 and have rejected offers that would bring them higher costs for health insurance and a reduce retirement benefits. Pay is not a sticking point in the negotiations, Nagle said.

Union members and hospital officials have met several times in the past three weeks, but last met on Monday.

Nagle said union members will meet at 3:30 p.m. today at the Pleasant Hill Library to make picket signs and support each other.

Pakistani govt will take care of it. They just arrest union leaders
x

my boyfriend's union has helped him to be laid off 6 months this year already...
Sure Union's PROTECT the workers... okay that's fine. but they also do plenty of other stuff that is not cool with me. I like the idea of them getting paid a good amount for what they do, but then there are times when if something happens on a job, for example, two workers get in a fight, they may get fired from that particular job, but re-hired with another one that hires union workers. It makes no sense. Obviously I see the point of unions so workers are not taken advantage of... but like someone else posted, someone would sneak away to sleep during her job with the union. I mean, have you seen DOT workers? Cal Trans ? i dont think I EVER see them working and I'm gonna guess they are a union (although I can't be sure).

For sure transcription needs something, but I don't think a union is it. Although I don't think we will ever have anything to protect or help us... too little "higher up" people know the problem.