A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Formation of a Union - HadEnough

Posted: Sep 11, 2012

Is anyone really interested? I have started doing some research, and starting a union is not as far-fetched as we think. We would need 30% of the employees to sign up for it. Check out Office and Professional Employees International Union. They might be able to help us. http://www.opeiu.org/

That's the last thing I need - me

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Is paying DUES to a union - they cannot get for you what a company is not willing to give. That is the bottom line. Just my own feeling.

OK, don't call it a union, but organize - HonkedOff

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If we want a living wage for people like us and to keep our tax dollars from being used by companies who offshore, we are never going to do it as individuals. Strength comes in numbers.

So how are you going to attack the whole planet - with this organize thing

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That is what really needs to be done. It is not just MT world at all. My husband has not had a raise since 2008. They took away the bonuses, raised the medical costs, took away paid lunch, and reduced PTO time from 5 weeks to 2 weeks (hubby has been there 25 years).

This is EVERY COMPANY, not just offshore!

The best way to attack is for a large number of us - to STOP or SLOW DOWN THE WORK. NM

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um... not! - everyone on the planet just stops?

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That is what would have to happen for corporations to need us.

We definitely need to reach across industries and across borders. - HonkedOff

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Or else they will keep running circles around us in a continual race to the bottom. How to organize? In 25 words or less, I don't know for sure, but I'm working on it.

I agree, a union would do nothing but get rich off - anon

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us like this company does. The only thing a union would do is hasten the work offshore. Big waste of time

Hmmm, do ya thing telephone operators had this same thought? Not every - job is viable forever. nm

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x

Transcription may not be viable forever, but I think - we"ve got them over a barrel with editing!

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u are clueless. Over a barrell??Sersly?? - they r offshoring as fast as they can

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any editing will be done by Punjibab and his sister Mawatna for 10 rupies and all the curry they can eat.

no union for me - MT

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First of all, I would never join a union. Why give some of my hard-earned pay to some big organization that will only use it to line their pockets?

Second, the scenario I see is that if a company is being forced to have a union, what's to keep them from sending all the work offshore? Then there will be even LESS jobs left for us.

The original idea behind unions was to keep companies from treating humans badly.... giving days off, limited hours each day, having safety protocols, etc. They were designed to protect the workers. But now we have laws that protect us. Also, the free market system protects us. If a company treats their employees like crap or pays lousy wages, the employee can go find another job. Eventually, that company will go out of business if they can't find good staff to do quality work.

My last job kept running out of work. I wasn't making any money. So I found another job where I have plenty of work, bosses that respect me, and a paycheck I can get excited about.

Some people think a union is going to keep our jobs from going away. The fact of the matter is that if this industry dies, it dies. We will find something else. Think about horse-drawn carriages, telephone operators, typewriters. All of those things were replaced with better technology and people adapted and found jobs in the new technology.

I love what I do and I love working from home. I hope my job lasts another 10 or 15 years until I retire. But if it doesn't, I'll find something else. I hate the idea of going back to an office, but you do what ya gotta do. We all have choices.

no union - mt

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This is a good post. I agree with all of it.

I wish we could get a good idea of how long the MT profession will last. A while back someone said 10 years.

YES union, for me!!! - Meerkat

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DITTO - No message

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x

I'll take unions over "free market" anyday - MModal Livestock

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While I agree with many that unions are usually corrupt, greedy, power hungry organizations whose leaders line their pockets with the worker's money, I also think they are one of the last of the checks and balances in our system against corporate greed. They are far from perfect, but with the system completely broken, we don't have a better option.

As for the argument that unions already won the war with the establishment of consumer and employee protection laws, those laws are being eroded daily by a government that is bought and paid for by lobbyists. Collectively we have the power to compete against that influence. Separately, we are nothing more than livestock to big business.

As for the free market. The free market is a fundamentally flawed concept created to give the consumer an illusion of freedom and protection. Yes, you are free to quit your job, if you don't mind watching your family starve. You can get a new job, if you can find one, are qualified to do it, it pays the same amount or more, and your new bosses choose to be kind to you. But what about in a situation where the vast majority of corporations have rotted from the inside out? I haven't lived long enough to know if it was always a lie, but there is no "free" market now.

It's fairly ironic that you cite "giving days off, limited hours each day, having safety protocols, etc," as employee protections under the law. Many people in this company are not allowed to use their PTO most of the time. They can be made to work as many mandatory OT hours as MModal sees fit. And there are no safety protocols, otherwise the audio software would include an upper end dampener for sudden, sharp sounds that could be damaging to the human ear. They could also encourage people to take small breaks from transcribing to prevent carpal tunnel and other sedentary conditions, rather than encourage them - through spying on their keystrokes no less - to decrease their downtime.

As for the possibility that the industry will cease to exist or sent completely offshore because of us taking a stand and forming a union, that is a risk. A risk I for one am willing to take. They are going to completely offshore this business eventually. Straight typing will go the way of the dinosaur. If we unionize, we might lose our jobs. If we don't unionize, we will lose our jobs. The only difference is whether we can say we stood up for ourselves or took it lying down.

Henry Ford said: "There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wage possible."

Forming a union might not fix all our problems, but it'll sure send a message.

Good post! - mt

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This is a great post. It shows another side. I'm the one who posted no union, but I now see another side. Still not sure what to think. Don't believe in work going overseas but still believe in the idea of free market. Not sure.

Thanks - MModal Livestock

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Yeah, it can be hard to decide. Like most things in life, unions are a mixed bag. And each union is different from the others. All I know is that with MModal's current policies towards me and all its other employees, I'm unhappy and want to try something new. Watch, I get my wish, we unionize and things only get worse. :)

I'm with you! The teachers in Chicago are sm - withyou

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doing it and ever since the unions were broken the pay has gone down! I would participate!

Teachers average pay in Chicago who are on strike? - 74,000 a year instead of minimum wage.

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I'm for this. I tried to start one before we were bought out by CBAY. Big mistake for not starting one then.

Hit a nerve - HadEnough

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I think I must have hit one of the suit's nerves. Sorry if I offended. Just trying to find a way to improve and protect pay so ours is not based on the pay rate of a 3rd world country.

what suit - whatcha talkin about willis

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??

A lot of people think just because - mtmt

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we disagree with them that we are suits. Just let them think what they want. We know the truth and have our opinion.

there are unions that dont "rape" the system - was in one in VA

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And Va is a right to work state...made a difference in pay and we had a lawyer to fight our battles..Im up for suggestions

Suit? - I am not a suit and I hate unions-nm

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xx

In case U didn't know, suits troll this board, - (poorly)-disguised as MTs.

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Like a suit cares enough to be here. I dont think so. We are so - not on their radar. nm

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s

Once in a company-wide conference (different co), - the Big Cheese Himself quoted -S/M

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verbatim from various posts that had been made about him and his company on this very board. That means SOMEONE other than MTs is visiting regularly. If not the Big Cheese Himself, then his flying monkeys are doing the snooping for him.

I doubt the suits come on here themselves, but... - MModal Livestock

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They keep a presence here nonetheless. I'm not saying that just because a person hates unions or loves MModal they are a suit. I liked working at MModal, kind of, a little bit, maybe not that much, just a few weeks ago. Then it was right back to the MedQuist I remember... *shutters in horror at the memories* I support unions in general and would love it if we did unionize, but I definitely understand a person not wanting to be part of that.

I have seen a few posts in the past which I think have a 90% chance of being an MModal representative. Posts that pretty much quote right off the latest propaganda memo and would never be written from the perspective of an MT, or a real human being for that matter.

It's actually pretty standard for corporations to spy on their employees via the internet. For instance, making sure no one brings up unions. You have to remember, there is a reason why companies went through a period of making their executives read Sun Tzu's the Art of War. Business is war. If you're a corporation, you face threats from your competitors and from your employees as they become increasingly upset over progressively deteriorating pay, benefits and respect.

Assuming the company would ignore any sufficiently large gathering of its employees, is to assume that the executives are blind to the financial danger of a worker revolt.

I know the CCMs do cause mine figured out we - were talking bout her. LOL

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too little too late,,,just saying

No Way - Losing independence with union

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Keep me out of it. I am not paying dues to an organization who will tell me to strike without pay, thank you.

Unions are horrible. They bankrupt companies because of ridiculous demands, which they often get. Like, remember General Motors? Like, pay someone $35 an hour to screw bolts into car doors for 8 hours, and $70 an hour on a weekend?

What sort of "independence" does any of us have - anymore, at a measly 4 cpl?

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The poorer we get, the smaller our lives get. My life has pretty much just become my dam___d desk. I can't afford to do anything but type anymore. And wait for work to come in.

No union for me also - bad idea. NM

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xx

What is so fabulous about your current MT job - that you think a union wage wouldnt improve?

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Just cause you cant make it work & are unhappy, doesnt - mean all are. I am happy/satified. nm

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x

union or no union? - kcmt

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I think the point that is being missed here is that the hospitals, etc are facing an economic crunch too (notice I said hospitals and not MTSO). If we form a union that demands we be paid let's say 12 cents a line (just a stab in the dark) for editing, we will be sure to be out of work quicker than we can all say garbled speech. The offshore employees are willing to work for 1-2 cents a line because in their economy that's probably a good wage. If the MTSO is able to keep getting the same payment from the hospitals and pay out only 1-2 cents per line, that's what they are going to do. If they are forced to pay the 12 cents per line for the domestic work, they will need to charge more to make their own profit. The hospitals will not be able to afford that and will take their business elsewhere.

Just my humble opinion....and economics.

Norma Rae, that you? Now, get off that table! - nm

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x

Formation of a Union - HadEnough

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Thanks for the input. Sorry if I ruffled feathers. Have a great "career" all.

A union, when a person cannot even - L&L

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post on this board w/o getting attacked by half the other people posting. Right. You couldn't get 2% of MTs to agree on anything.

I agree - HadEnough

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There seems to be a lot of miserable souls on here. Bad attitudes beget bad attitudes. To each his own.

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