unions protect unions, not employees...sm
Posted By: cj on 2008-12-09
In Reply to: THANK YOU. - not a wealthy business owner
those days are gone. The unions got too big and too greedy. The concern of the union is the union, not the employee.
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Why I'm FOR unions: They protect the WORKER.
.
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.
Then the unions would be in bed with AHDI (AAMT) huh!! sm
Don't we already have that going on anyway?
Unions protected workers from exploitation
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).
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
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.
Protect ears where you can
I recently bought a new blow dryer that is louder than my old one. I have started putting cotton in my ears while blow drying, and it muffles the high, painful whine. I suddenly have more patience with styling my hair, so I guess it may have been bothering me before this, too, and I didn't realize why I could hardly wait to finish.
You have done all you can to protect others, then. It's really horrible. I'm so sorry.
(nm)
password protect it so that they will have to ask
If they question why you have a password, say that you had to for compliance issues, which really is what you should do anyway. I have my computer set up so that after 20 minutes of being idle, I have to reenter my password. They really should ask before using it. I feel that my work computer is for my use only, so I don't feel guilty about not sharing it.
How to protect our jobs . . .
I learned that Focus Infomatics (transcription service) is an alliance of Nuance, the company who owns eScription and Dragon voice recognition programs. Apparently, Focus Infomatics sends a majority of their dictation to India, and the pay to MTs in the U.S. is below minimum wage. I think we should avoid working for Focus Informatics, as well as avoid attending or promoting the Career Step MT program. Career Step promotes and supports Focus Infomatics. This may be a small step in the right direction for MTs who deserve higher wages and to be treated with respect.
Well, I bet it's because CA has laws that protect
workers, so certain skeevy companies at least don't want to hire them because then they would (horrors) have to pay them when there is no work rather than pay them nothing while they sit waiting for work. That's just one of the protections we have here in CA. IMO
Password protect the files in word (sm)
tools>security options or general options>password
That's what I'd suggest.
certainly going back to college doesn't protect from outsourcing..
one of the first things that went to India was accounting...
A little 3in1 oil or WD40 might help, too. But protect the floor/carpet underneath until the oil has
s
maybe it's just a pure and simple invasion of privacy the poster feels they want to protect.
if you do your job, who cares if poster was released from prison. weren't companies hiring prisoners to do MT anyway and weren't they doing credit card customer service?
Wrong. That is why you have virus protectection and anti-spyware. To protect 100% of the time.
:P
Yes, they have a lot of employees
and no offense but all newbies because anyone with a brain and has a pulse runs, and runs fast.
So what does this mean for HIS employees and how do you know this? sm
How did you get this information? Is everything finalized and signed between Spheris and Heartland? What happens to those of us who work at Heartland? What's this mean to us?
What about all of the employees out there
who adhere to a regular committed work schedule only to find there is no work available for them?? Sandy--what about all of the people who are forced to work later and later (beyond their committed shift schedule) just to find work?? We ARE paid by production. It sounds like you are the princess in this scenario. You're speaking to a lot of experienced loyal MTs out there who KNOW that working from home is their only option because of all of the outsourcing over the last 10 years especially. It works both ways. I would think a Transcriptionist looking for work would find you a bit on the pristine side. All of us MTs want is just to work. I just left a national company because there was NO WORK for over a month. At least 30-40 other MTs left this company and went to a smaller company because of the work readily available to them. Take it down a notch, Sandy.
Only to employees
.
New employees on it?
I've only had that happen when new employees aren't following the account specs...and sometimes when it first does a new "upgrade" on the docs.
They don't have any employees, just ICs...sm
And I have been on that account longer than any other transcriptionists there. Usually they said what they do is take the jobs that come in on that account and divide them between the MTs. So I don't know. These docs have a bad habit of not dictating daily. Sometimes they will wait till they absolutely have to dictate and then BAM hit you with a load.
Statutory employees too?
Is the new pay plan for statutory/IC employees too? Cant you only switch to full time employee status twice a year, I think May and October or November.
statutory employees - MQ
When you have to take off, do you call in sick like you would a regular job? In the past, I have and they have been quite unreasonable if I needed to take a day off for sick or personal reasons. What upsets me is when there is no work, Im stuck, no work, oh well, but when I need to take off, I better be there, I better work or they have been quite nasty with me..What has been others response? What have others done when they needed to take off? Thanks for your response!
Do any Med-Quist employees
know whatever happened to Mark Forstein? He used to be the president of Transcriptions, Ltd. before it was bought out by MedQuist. He was Dave Cohen's cousin, I believe.
Go for it. HR needs to know if their employees are being "threatened". (sm)
They are having to offer huge bonuses to entice new employees, I don't think they would want their current employees walking because someone has no tact or ability to communicate with others.
Hope things are better today for you all.
How do you MQ employees manage
to get in your 1200 lines in only 8 hours? I am having a dickens of a time, lots of ESLs, new account, etc. Just how do you do it? I figure it will take me 12 hours! Do you ask them to approve OT or what? I'm new at this, need to know. Have to have that insurance.
Any other SS employees not received their..
paycheck? I am not looking to start anything, just wondering if I am the only one who hasn't gotten paid yet?
The prison's employees
Pardon my ignorance. I'm still confused. What does the prison system have to do with transcription? Why would the prison system hire transcriptionists to work in a facility as a transcriptionist??
For any Transcend employees (not ICs)..
Can you tell me if the hours are flexible at Transcend for full time employees? I think instead of being an IC (I don't want to worry about taxes, being audited, etc.) I would like to be a full time employee; however, I'm in school too and need flexible hours and can't commit to a strict schedule - I need to be able to have more flexibility as my hours are different every semester. Thanks for any help.
They have to be using overseas employees...sm
So remind her that while they claim HIPAA compliance, truth of the matter is that once the records leave the US soil there's really no protection.
I wonder if it applies to ICs or only employees?
I make a whole $9 -$14 an hour depending on the work, sometimes less of course when I get someone really bad.
They rotate employees so that no one
She should have reported those who were not doing very well.
The more times you use them, the lower their rates. I used to have MM come in 3 days a week and it was more than reasonable. Each time they came, one room received a deep cleaning. I loved them.
They are bonded, licensed, and insured. They provided ALL of their own cleaning supplies, didn't use mine. If they were injured in my home, they paid their own medical bills. If something was broken or stolen, MM reimbursed it.
Your friend's private keeper probably has none of that. If the keeper falls on a wet floor, etc., she will have to pay for her keeper's medical bills. If anything gets broken or stolen, she will have to file it on her homeowners.
Plus, with MM, you just write that check out and they pay all the taxes.
Your friend's private keeper probably isn't having any of the income appropriately reported and both the keeper and your friend could be in trouble.
LOL
Yes you can deduct it. Employees get
the same deductions many ICs do particularly since so many companies do not pay for large office space any longer, power, etc. If you have any question at all about how to do it, ask your accountant but Turbo Tax walked me through it last year and this year too. It used to be that they did not ask, but now they do and you can deduct your office based on the size of it and the mortgage etc.
What many offices used to have now belongs to us that work at home and yes, we get that benefit because the offices definitely cannot legally deduct for this. Some companies reimburse for your internet. Oh whoopie. Less are providing equipment. So now we do get to do a whole lot as employees because the costs of these necessities for work have been placed on us by cheap employers who try to get by with as little expense as possible.
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