Unions protected workers from exploitation
Posted By: Coal miners, child labor, white lung on 2006-01-06
In Reply to: Unions - MT fighting super Wal-Mart
It seems me that had the unions had a watch dog group, abuse of that system would not have occurred. And there was abuse. A small percentage of people always seem to look for loop holes and then milk something good as long as they can until they ruin it for everybody.
But please, unions are good. If there were unions in Calif for the field workers, conditions would be improved and these unemployed workers across America who have lost their jobs to outsourcing could actually make a decent living at them without work that puts you into a chiropractors' office in ten years.
Of course, the price of food would have to go up or perhaps all of those filthy rich ranch owners would, instead, have to take a cut in income (now there is a possible answer).
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Unions may be good for workers short-term, but look what has happened to American car union workers.
They priced themselves out of the market while making an inferior product. Ford and GM are now junk bonds. I'm driving a Toyota. So if that's un-American just like shopping at a non-union store like Walmart, well you can talk to whoever is in charge of wages and taxes who have created this monster where even middle-class has very little extra money to support a union store where the employees are paid well and you pay the price in the product they sell. I can't afford it.
unions protect unions, not employees...sm
those days are gone. The unions got too big and too greedy. The concern of the union is the union, not the employee.
exploitation
I feel compassion for your situation.
Unfortunately, your desire to be with your child and the high cost of child care has led to your exploitation by these transcription companies.
I don't know how old you are but if you are 30 or under get out soon. Start making plans to find another source of income, another job skill, that can get you out of this as this may not be a viable career in the next five years or so.
Also it gets harder as you get older to start a new career so do it while you can. A lot of other kinds of employers besides transcription companies are hiring people to work at home and don't treat people like this industry.
They're just too much wrong with the transcription field. I've been through all of this for many years and have regrets that I didn't take the time to do something else.
Maury Povich and Jerry Springer tie for the ghetto trash exploitation award
Scum is not entertaining.
Your name is not protected information
At the hospital I work in we were told your address and name are not considered protected information. However your symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are. I am not so sure I agree with this but apparently the hospital here doesn't think this is a problem.
A few months ago I took my father to a larger hospital near us to have surgery. After waiting in the waiting room for 6 hours the nurses told us the surgery was over the the doctor would be out to see us soon. Assuming since there were several smaller rooms that we would be taken into one of those for the update, NOPE. Right in front of every patient and family members right in the middle of the waiting room. Thank god my dad didn't have a circumcision or something embarrassing. I found that quite strange coming from one of the best hospitals in the whole state of Missouri.
how do get rid of password protected -sm
computer. I had it so a password needed to be entered on my PC but would like to change that now. How do I do that? Thanks.
Computer is now password protected...sm
Thanks for the advice! I wish I could get a little better control of him - I have also told him computer = $$$. He just feels he has to fix everything for some reason - ARGH!!!!!! Oh well, the password should keep him off of my stuff - I wish it would be that easy for other things around the house! 
Password-protected FTP sites are . . .
HIPAA compliant. Are there any that do not require a password? I have never encountered one.
demographics are not the only info that is HIPAA protected
Any info that could compromise a patient's privacy is protected. that includes any diagnostic information, tests, diagnoses, etc., and basically anything in that record.
What diff does it make if it is one during the day or at night? Your computer should be protected
:+
HIPAA only addresses PHI (protected health information) would is defined as anything that SM
specifically identifies the patient, i.e. name, MRN, SSN, account numbers, etc. As long as all identifying information is removed from a report, it poses no HIPAA violation to keep it on file. Furthermore, as an employee of the hospital in the medical transcription department and charged with peforming QA, I have legitimate reasons to access a patient's chart. HIPAA says so.
Go back and read your HIPAA laws again.
Files are emailed with password protected zip file attachments done in Word...(sm)
So I could use OE and send this way and ask for a reciept. I love that idea....
Unions
And just WHY do you think they are now outsourcing everything out of the country, manufacturing, etc. Because the unions demanded so much and the companies basically said **** you-- we'll just take it somewhere else. So what did they gain? Now there AREN'T any jobs period unless you want to move to Mexico or India, etc., that it.
Unions
Yes!
Unions
If it would improve anything, I say yes. The status quo has never worked and never will except for the MTSOs.
Unions
 I guess a lot of this all depends on where in the country you live. In my area, most of the grocery stores are union and that is why they make the better wages. I like to support those stores, though, as I said above, but I think that perhaps in some regions of the country, this is not the case, so thanks for opening my eyes!
Unions
Never belonged to one myself but know hospitals don't like them.
To generalize a bit, it seems that everyone in American work force (those of us who still have jobs)feel unappreciated, under paid and with a vulnerability that we could easily be easily replaced no matter how good we are or even how bad we are at what we do or even how well-educated. It's just the nature of the beast these days and the outcome of and competition. It's very corrupt and defies the constitution of the United States. Until we have CHANGE in Washington, we will have more of the same.
against unions
I'm against unions because unions are greedy. Why do you think jobs have gone overseas...it started with manufacturing because unions wanted more and more for their members to the point it has become ridiculous-$72 an hour to put together a car that is mostly done with robotics. Yes, I saw that on a news report on the auto industry and a union member trying to justify making that much money per hour.
Unions
I totally agree with the fact that we should have a union. AAMT or AHDI as it is now called has been lobbying in Washington for us for years.
No to unions.
Why I am against unions
Unions had their time and place in this county, and IMHO, it is long gone. There are many reasons that I am against unions, a big one being that they protect mediocre and inept employees. Unions bring everyone down to the lowest common denominator. Also, it seems a common misconception that unions exist to protect the worker. This is NOT true - they exist to protect themselves and their own fat cat salaries. I recently heard a quote from an official of the teacher's union who said, when asked when they were going to take into consideration the needs of students when it came to terminating incompetent teachers (which they are against, of course), his reply was "When the students start paying union dues." That puts it in a nutshell. I want nothing to do with a union. I don't need anyone to negotiate for me, and I'm not going to spend my time whining about the state of the MT industry. It is what it is, and you either need to adapt with it or move on. By the way, I've done quite well as an MT and have continued to do so by moving and finding a better spot if I don't like the situation where I am. Things are never going to return to the "good old days." Change is here to stay.
Unions
I'm new to this forum, having just graduated from Career Step. However, I worked as management for 8 years at the Port of Los Angeles with one of the most powerful unions in the United States- the ILWU and I would like to submit some of my thoughts.
Firstly, I am a liberal Democrat who believes there is a place for unions. They DO provide protections for workers that MOST companies would never do on their own. They DO insure that their employees make a living wage and can be protected from most company driven forms of exploitation.
As an ex-manager, I can tell you that MOST companies are driven by THEIR bottom lines only, with little regard for the workers.
Secondly, I supervised up to 40 ILWU workers per day and my experience was that about 50% of the union employees were great workers who did not take advantage of their union status. The other 50%, however, worked as little as possible, were rigid and inflexible and made life h*ll for me and my fellow managers. The ILWU OCU (office/clerical unit) base pay was $43.50/hr in 2006- the year I finally quit as I couldn't take the US vs THEM mentality any longer. Those 50% were only out for themselves, without any regard for anyone else- including the company. I have to say that during their last contract negotiation, they attempted to have the company pay for PET INSURANCE.
Yet- the United Autoworkers have taken several wage/benefit cuts over the last decade in order to help their companies survive.
I believe that if a reasonable balance can be achieved between union workers and the companies they work for- then life can be good for all concerned. However, human nature being what it is, both sides need to be aware and on guard against the "SC**W the other side" mentality, because once it takes hold- no one wins and a war zone is not a nice place to work.
I found a website which has instructions on how to start a union. I also have some contacts within the ILWU who would be more than happy to help start an MT union if anyone is interested.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2050880_start-union-work.html
transcription unions
Has anyone ever heard of a medical transcription union and how do you get it started?
Unions are a way of the past
My ex was and is still in a union as a truck driver but they are slowly being phased out and it will be that way everywhere. That industry was hit prior to us with more or less outsourcing when the Fair Trade act or whatever it is called opened up with Mexico and Central America. You do not see many English speaking truckers anymore and their income went from 70 to 75K per year down to $35 to $40 and so we are not the only ones that hit by more or less outsourcing. And now the place where he works, has a union and non union company and at each terminal when the union contract comes up for renewal, the non union side bids lower and it goes that way. He is in the last terminal that is union and I doubt it will be that way when their contract expires in two years. So unions are on way out.
we need legislation, not unions.
IMO we need laws to keep our work from being off-shored, or at least make that option very unattractive (with penalty taxes?). On a parallel track, we need well-trained MTs that will not work for peanuts, who are willing to work some weekends, holidays, night hours, etc.
Yes, and Unions are killing GM and the like.
nm
To the people who are against unions...
My question is why are you against them? My husband is a union member and we have good family benefits plus he gets a very decent wage. Granted, he hasn't been a member very long, about 1 year plus, but so far everything seems good. Yes, unions are political, but so is everything else today. There are lobbyists for everything in Washington and as the saying goes "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". But at least unions are there to protect their workers, or so it goes in theory. US MTs have no protection whatsoever and our profession as we know it is on its way to becoming obsolete.
On this MT site alone, post after post is negative and it's mostly about MTSO's and the way they treat their workers who make them $ - US. I've been an at-home MT for about 3-1/2 years now and previous to that worked in-house. I work for a well known national and when I first started it was good - I was making really good $, more than I did in-house, had a great supervisor, good accounts, and they always gave us opportunities for bonuses that you could actually make some $ on. My sup even sent me a B-day card and a Xmas card by snail-mail and in her own handwriting no less! The good times lasted for about 1-1/2 years and it has all been downhill ever since. With the combination of ILP and ASR, the transcription industry is going down the tubes and FAST. The big fear in the past was hospitals outsourcing and in-house MTs losing their jobs. That fear became a reality as more and more hospitals realized they could save $ by outsourcing a portion, if not all, their work. Now today the fear is outsource companies outsourcing overseas (kind of funny when you think about it - outsourcing company outsourcing) and machines taking the place of humans, again MTs losing their jobs. When will it end? We can come on here and post our frustration and moan and groan, but what is that really going to accomplish. Some may think (and hope) that MTSOs read this board and our e-mails and suddenly one day the light will come shining down from the heavens and the angels will sing because the MTSOs will finally come to their senses as to how rotten they have been to us, their loyal worker bees, and will shower us with praise and gifts of gold and $. Well, to those MTs who think this way, WAKE UP. MTSOs do not care about us. They may say they do, but they know that right at this moment in time they still need us. ASR and ILP are not as efficient as they need to be to get the job done correctly at dirt cheap rates, but it is only a matter of time before they become dominant and transcription as we know it is in the archive books. MTSOs main objective is to make the most $ and pay out as little as they can get away with. They chip away little by little - sending more accounts overseas, cutting rates, reorganizing to fit their needs but not taking into consideration how it affects the MT. They are business people doing what business people do by trade and they are accomplishing what they are setting out to do - make the most $ and pay out the least. So what are MTs supposed to do to protect our professional trade? Voicing our opinions, whether it be here on this board or by e-mail or phone, isn't going to change a thing. Maybe it's time to get proactive and actually DO something rather than complain or just up and quit and then the MTSOs can say they HAVE to have ILPs and ASR because there aren't enough qualified US MTs. I for one would be interested in seeing a union or other organization be formed to protect the US MT industry from it's downfall, but I wouldn't know where to start. If nothing is done now, I'm afraid that in 10 years or less my job as I know it will be a part of history. If anyone has any other proactive ideas, please post them. I'm sure there are plenty of MTs who would be willing to join a group venture to protect our profession.
YES to unions! And the sooner the better!
practical unions
How exactly does anyone propose that a union come into this business? They would probably only find it worthwhile to unionize the large MTSOs. The little ones have too few employees for a union to look at. My guess is the big companies would then outsource more.
Why I'm FOR unions: They protect the WORKER.
.
Then the unions would be in bed with AHDI (AAMT) huh!! sm
Don't we already have that going on anyway?
Most unions have a training program with apprenticeships
MTSOs who participate would be allowed to have up to a certain percentage of their union workers be apprentices, who would make a percentage of the union scale (generally the percentage goes up annually until the person is considered fully trained and experienced...called a "journeyman" in some trades). This training/apprenticeship program is what makes union participation attractive to employers...they get properly trained workers at pay rates which correspond to the experience level.
Unions are increasingly a thing of a by-gone era. In this global economy,
x
Like most of the MQ workers lately.
One of my co-workers had a (sm)
similar situation, only it involved her entire family. She was adopted as an infant by these people and they never let her forget it. It finally got to the point that she told a dear friend that she was planning to cut off all contact because she couldn't see putting herself or her children through it anymore. That dear friend and his wife adopted her at the age of 40!!
Indian workers
I was obvious they were Indian workers from Indian..Every one of them that I talked to had an Indian accent..I have nothing wrong with American workers with accents..but I called at least eight people to get my internet account straightened out and all had Indian accents..Come on now, I cannot believe eight people are of Indian descent all working at the billing department of my internet account..If you are American of first descent and working IN America, more power to you..if the account is sent overseas, I have a major problem with that..and if you dont have a problem with that, contact me in a few years when our jobs are overseas.
MTs/factory workers
I'm sure many younger and maybe even older MTs might not agree with this, so if you do, I'll be pleasantly surprised. The "how many lines per hour can you do?" mentality so prevalent in medical transcription today is not a good thing for this profession. This belittles the professionalism of the job we do, a profession which requires immense medical knowledge and skill, a fact which, sadly, no one in hospital administration or other positions of management have a clue about and really don't want to know about, else they would have to monetarily compensate us for the professionals we really are. The sad fact is that like a frog being killed by slowly upping the temperature of the water in which he is immersed, without his being aware of the change in temperature, we have by an analagous method slowly but surely become no more than skilled factory workers. X-ray techs, nurses, physical therapists, and other professionals are not evaluated on the basis of the number of patients they take care of each day but on how well they take care of these patients, so why are we evaluated on the basis of how many lines of transcription we can do per hour or day rather than the quality and accuracy of the reports we transcribe? It used to be our responsibility as MTs to put the patient first, to give the appropriate time to research any questions we have regarding the physician's dictation on a particular patient and to make sure we get it right for the sake of the patient, but now it has become the focus of our profession to see many lines per hour we can transcribe. This mentality leads to just trying to produce lines rather than trying to transcribe accurate medical reports. It is my firm opinion that we should not be paid by the line but by the hour, and unfortuantely, AAMT has not been there to represent us in this very relevant issue. If we are so professional as they espouse, then why don't they try to get on track and reverse this trend? In my opinion, AAMT has failed us. They have been so focused on style issues, which are of far less significance than medical accuracy and have caused many of us to boil inside because of the attention given to these really mostly irrelevant issues, that the crux of our problems has escaped them. They have been in absentia and have not been focusing on the issue of getting health care facilities and transcription companies to recognize us for the professionals we are and elevating our pay scale to the level it should be. I have been an MT for over 20 years, so I've seen the negative changes as they've slowly but surely transpired through the years. Perhaps it's time for me to leave the profession altogether because I just can't deal with this "factory productivity" mentality.
MTs/factory workers
There are many ways of sifting the chaff from the wheat. It doesn't take long to figure out those who are goofing off versus the ones who are researching to transcribe accurate medical reports. There also other means of monitoring MTs at home if one feels the necessity to be monitored. Also, there are ways to clock in and out on a pay-per-hour basis. One is via dial-up method and entering one's ID number into a designated system.
As for being paid for the amount one does versus being paid hourly I would only ask, would you want someone rushing through your H&P, your child's H&P, or the H&P or other report of any loved one just to get a certain number of lines a day, possibly listing an allergy to the wrong medication or listing the wrong extremity or wrong eye designated for a surgical procedure? I have transcribed for many, many years and there have been innumerable times that I have had to correct mistakes by physicians who have dictated the wrong extremity, the wrong eye, the wrong medication, the wrong drug allergies, etc., etc. I for one wouldn't want someone transcribing that I'm allergic to Namenda when I'm really allergic to Augmentin, and it's easy to see how these two medications could be misunderstood if the physician dictating isn't articulate enough, if the quality of the dictation system is poor, or if one is in just too big a hurry to produce lines to care. I do pray if I am ever a patient in a hospital that the MT who does my report gets it right. With such emphasis on line counts, it's no wonder we have patients who have had their only "good eye" or "good extremity" removed surgically.
Not true. And they pay their workers well &
http://www.snopes.com/business/alliance/costco.asp
Workers Compensation
Have any of you who are employees of a national company ever had to file for WC due to hands that just won't work anymore? I need to get carpal tunnel surgery but can't afford to make zero dollars while I'm off. I don't want to start accumulating medical bills or alert my company until I've done my research.
Workers Compensation
I did workers' compensation claims in my pre MT life. If MD says it is work related, should be no problem being covered. Depending on what state you live in, there is probably a waiting period that you would not be paid for until you are off for a certain number of days. State laws dictates the % you are paid of your average weekly wage based on a minimum and maximum rate. Do not wait too long to get your CTS taken care of. You could cause more problems with your hands if you wait too long.
Workers' Compensation and the ER
I thought the correct order of things would be for him to be seen regardless of where or how it happened, and the Workers' Compensation part handled after the fact. What would they have done if he'd been hurt more severely? I thought they'd (WC) reimburse whatever out-of-pocket expenses you have once the insurance claim is settled. The boss was definitely trying to set him up, which is disgusting. The funny part is that he actually gave your husband ammunition for an even more complicated lawsuit, should it come to that.
problens with co-workers
Does anyone know of a good way to get my co-workers to be quiet? I swear there is this one who if something sets her off we hear about it for the next 4 hours (no kidding). Then others get involved and come into the office and try to say their piece. It is so hard to concentrate and get a decent line count. The quality of my work is suffering. I got a report back the other day with some embarrassing typos in it. I don't get paid hourly I get paid on production. I need to make more than 1003 lines a day to make it worth my trip up there. I was making 1300 lines a day when working from home but then they pulled me in house because they didn't like my internet connection. Complaining to the supervisor doesn't do any good as there was a girl that did that and it just made everyone mad and they talk ugly about her. help!
Workers' comp for IC? Where to get?
I am an IC and have just been told I need to have WC Insurance. Where do I get it? Thanks for your help. suzq
Any MTs out there w/Workers' Comp. (sm)
eval transcription experience in Ortho, Neurology and/or Neurosurgery? How many years' experience do you have, and for which state? I'm wondering if it's a hard transition for someone with non-Workers' Comp Rad experience to transition to Ortho, etc. in WC.
ILLEGAL WORKERS
Good for you, glad your experience worked out. Mine didn't. I got a bid for our lawn, which is huge, from a local landscaper, it (the bid) was huge. Unbeknownst to me, my dh had ordered sod and had a delivery date. Someone called from the landscaper with a revised bid ($400.00 cheaper) and I said okay, and took it because the sod was on its way the following day, no cancellations allowed (it was a whop-load, like four truck trailers). I cold not afford to lose all that money. I took the bid, not knowing what else to do and low and behold a mass of people showed up with the truck and guess who they were? Right! I was totally out of my element and just backed up out of the way as huge machine things sent the sod rolling off the trucks and these guys all grabbed some and started rolling it out. Four hours later, the foreman from the landscape company showed up and these evidently were "his men" who showed up (complete with children and dogs and yes, they did want beverages, etc). These kids ran rampant all over the place with little to no supervision. Seems the foreman was stabbing his employer in the back and did this frequently. He is a citizen, but his workers are not. Most ended up being his relatives. Never again! This is my one personal experience with this and I know that it goes on all the time from a neighbor who is a contractor. So, I still blame illegals and people who foster illegals. They need to go home and leave us to ours. I was railroaded that day and others are too. Be careful who you talk to at landcaping companies.
IC Workers Compensation
Having come from being a workers compensation claim represenatative in my prior life, unfortunately you do need to carry your own coverage as an IC. 
This is what happens to workers when companies
If we just sit on our rears and let them, they'll happily keep on doing it. If all U.S. MTs (AND the editors who fix the Indians' stuff) were to stop work for just ONE week, do you think the offshores alone, without us to do the hard stuff and clean up their messes, could cut it and keep the hospitals happy? I think not. Food for thought.
The construction workers are not all
People in the construction business do require certain licenses. They are not all uneducated making $30.00 an hour.
New MTs should be on this board so they can get a reality check. If you plan to stay in this field, just be cautioned that will not make more unless you transcribe more lines and put in more hours. That's the bottom line and I'm speaking from 20 years of experience and I'm in my late 30s still raising two children along with my husband.
It's not the foreign workers who are at fault sm
The fault lies with the big US corporations who are the greedy SOBs that have outsourced the jobs so they can save billions over what they would pay workers in the US.
So, to be rude to and cuss out these working people is not going to get us anywhere. What we should do is boycott the corporations who are sending the work overseas. Maybe if they lose enough business they will get smart to themselves and bring the jobs back to the US workers.
But how many female construction workers??
nm
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