Wholeheartedly agree!!! this business screams UNION
Posted By: kl on 2006-02-27
In Reply to: Need labor union - CJ
How many people have the sheer determination and guts to carry it through?
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I agree wholeheartedly.....
The hospital job is the Cadillac of MT jobs anymore. If you're lucky enough to live in a larger metro area that pays better than rural, the hospital job is the last good job situation that you can find. I'm homebased and local to my hospital job, regular employee, benefits up the wazoo, hourly pay PLUS incentive, all equipment supplied for free including my cable internet bill. I left the national scene 3 yrs ago and God willing my hospital never decides to go with a national service, I will be there forever. I'm making 35,000 working less than 40 hours a week. I'm in heaven.
I agree wholeheartedly with you...
... my hospital forbids its transcription service to send its work overseas, and the company must sign a document every year with regards to that promise. HOWEVER, catching them if they are doing it surruptitiously is another matter. But like you say, it's a huge trainwreck going somewhere to happen. I think it's important to educate the PATIENT that there is always the possibility their confidential records could be leaving the country. For some that could pose all sorts of problems. I for one try to remind my own doc, nurses, etc., that my info. had BETTER NOT get offshored, because if I find out about it, I will sue. And I think all patients should make that point perfectly clear with their healthcare providers. Like you say, sooner or later something really NASTY is going to happen to someone's medical records, and for the institution that was negligent enough to allow those records to end up offshore, there will most likely be hell to pay.
Agree wholeheartedly with you.....sm
Oh. but I DO know how GREAT it is to not live with this type of personality any longer (married 13 years, divorced him and now 15 years without him and I am SUPER HAPPY). Unfortunately, there are also passive-aggressive women out there in the world, equally as oppressive as the men who have this diagnosis.
By the way, my ex was never *formally diagnosed* - I diagnosed him myself.....and today I feel bad for his wife of nearly 5 years; however, I never deal with them, have never met her....I simply feel sorry for her from afar....because horses NEVER change colors.
So, yes, I not only lost the oaf, but a mere 5 years after the divorce, I dropped 50 pounds and KEPT IT OFF!!! *talk about big weights being lifted* 
Best of luck to ALL who are going through life dealing with a passive-aggressive personality on ANY level.
I agree wholeheartedly. sm
Unfortunately, they are the only ones that provide any sort of credentialing for this field, as sad as that is.
I agree wholeheartedly...sm
I recently had a neighbor move in with two small kids. It was a father with these obnoxious little hellions. He asked me on three different occasions if I would watch his kids while he was at work because *you're home all day*. I told him no three different times, trying to explain that I work from home and that I did not have time. He even told me he had to go on nights soon and would it be okay if I could run over to his house two or three times during the night to check on his kids, or perhaps spend the night. and I am supposed to do MY work, when??? not to mention getting any sleep of my own due to running over to his house? Again, I said no. I could not do that. Then suddenly he would start showing up at my door mid afternoon or so and say he had to go pick up one son from school..the other was sleeping on the couch and could I just run over every 15 minutes or so to check on the sleeping one? I did it once, because he put me on the spot. the second time I told him flat out no! They just don't GET IT!!!
Nothing to add except I agree wholeheartedly.
//
Ditto. Agree with you wholeheartedly.
nm
I agree with you wholeheartedly. There is no excuse.
I have learned to live by the basic rule of treating people as I would want to be treated. I'm sorry for your experience.
Agree wholeheartedly, 100% on this one (No Mess)
xx
BEST POST ON THIS TOPIC. I agree wholeheartedly. nm
x
I agree wholeheartedly. Your kids are only young once. nm
nm.
Agree wholeheartedly - have to learn to be responsible someday - hopefully already know
nm
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
I agree with you, but big business runs this country now,
Agree, sounds like a business deal gone bad...
In any case, I was just pointing out that it was stolen...and for all her go USA, no overseas yadda, yadda, yadda....here she had someone from overseas build the thing. I'm seeing people posting that new owner's taking advantage of it being known as US-based website, but I think previous owner took advantage as well...seeing as how she had it built that way.
I agree. In today's times, not just with this business,
nm
I second that wholeheartedly!
Couldn't agree more, I just watched it all again this morning. Loving it!
I wholeheartedly disagree
First, if someone does not like her acting style or anything else about her, they are certainly entitled to their opinion. I think through chance or intent I have seen every thing released to date that she has done - Hackers, Girl Interrupted, Gia, Beyond Borders to name a few. She steps up to every different role and continues to grow. She is 30 years old and has been speaking more intelligently in interviews for years than a lot of 40 and 50 year old actors and actresses. She is putting herself out there and putting herself in harm's way as does anyone who puts their face, famous or otherwise, on a cause.
Many of the humanitarian roles she has assumed now are ones she has been asked to do. Since practically birth, and particularly since her teen years, everything she has done has been under a microscope. Now, everything she does is under a different kind of microscope and I think she is doing an admirable job of walking the line. No question she has a wild spirit - didn't most of us have some wild at 20 and 30? She is now formally representing the US and I cannot begin to imagine how stressful it must be to have to say the right thing to everyone every time and still try to achieve the objective. She has looks, brains, money and could be doing anything including sitting around whining about any number of trivial pursuits. Is she an actress who wants to be a philanthropist, or a humanitarian at heart who wants to act? I don't know, but I for one enjoy the entertainment and only wish I had all her gifts so that I could go out and make that kind of a difference. For the record, in my mind there are no similarities between Princess Diana and Angelina, other than perhaps the eye of the world being on them at any given time. Diana's circumstances were forced and tragic and I believe her unbelievable heart and empathy were borne mostly of her pain. She did not strive professionally to be an actress. As a member of the royal family, she was both expected and required to be involved in some charitable works or humanitarian efforts. What she became is a reflection of her true heart, I think, and I admire her very much in that regard. If a single child does not die of thirst and hunger on a floor of dirt because of Angelina Jolie or Princess Diana, I think the world is already a better place.
I wholeheartedly disagree with you...
I do work as an IC for an online company that does not require a line quota and does not dictate my hours. They only require that the work I take is back with 24 hours. So, I think you've made a blanketed statement here. I certainly do believe that MTSOs do abuse IC status in more ways than one. I have a whole lot of experience in this field, and I can tell you that it is abuse. 
I wholeheartedly disagree. sm
If every company followed the BOS, then we would have standardized medical records. I've gotten copies of my records from various hospitals and clinics from around the country (I've moved a few times in my life) and most were a joke.
I concur wholeheartedly
with you, dnh. I also work for a great company at 8 cpl. We are required to commit to a certain amount of lines per day and our dictators are average to great. I work very hard to send in as few blanks as possible to QA and proofreading is a must, as far as I am concerned. I see so many disgruntled and dissatisfied MTs on this board. I wonder why they bother to continue in this profession if they are so miserable. All jobs come with pros and cons and you make the best of it or move on. In some cases, they may beg you stay. ;-)
I wholeheartedly disagree, I'm afraid....
AVG and many of the other free antivirus programs (I use Avira ... there's also Avast! and a number of others) do a fine job at protecting one's computer, usually as good -- if not better -- than the performance one gets from Norton or McAfee.
Actually, I usually recommend AGAINST using either McAfee or Norton, as they're system resource hogs, quite bloated, and generally slow down the user's system.
YMMV.
Unfortunately it is legal..so yes it is business and they will continue with bad business practices
x
I made my business your business by posting and...
I totally respect everyone's opinions. It is easier for others on the outside looking in. That's why I pushed the "post reply" button yesterday. I trust my fellow MTs and I know the more I read from you all, the more confident I am becoming. I just need that final push, not from him though. I also wanted to let you all know that the physical abuse while I was pregnant was documented by my doctor and the hospital. I only wish I had known then that it is a felony to abuse a pregnant woman. I also photographed my face from a couple of weeks ago and told several people in my circle. I had such high hopes for us. Now...not so much. I'm not saying that I won't try to get him to church, but I realize that God can only do so much for someone who isn't listening. j
Business is business. Internet forums are
.
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
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
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.
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.
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