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

a sweatshop story - anonymous

Posted: Dec 31, 2012

My grandmother used to tell a story about working in a dress factory in the 1950s. They started her out sewing pockets. It was piecemeal work. She had to meet quota to keep her job. If she went so much over quota, she made a bonus. When she started making bonuses on pockets, they moved her to setting zippers. When she started making bonuses on zippers, they moved her to a different station. And on it went. Work, work, work, produce, produce, produce until the whistle blew. Can't make your quota? Not doing it perfectly? Plenty of applicants willing to stand in line for your job, who can't wait to make those bonuses. I used to laugh at that story. Why would a company penalize the best workers? Why would they not reward hard work and skill? Why would they set the bar and then not want you to reach it? Well, Mum, my dear grandmother, God rest your soul. It will be 2013 here in a few hours, and I am no longer laughing at your story. To anyone who relates to this story, I wish you a better and brighter New Year.

It made me sad. - God bless your grandmum.

[ In Reply To ..]
there but for the grace of God go us.

What is even sadder, - folks like your granny

[ In Reply To ..]
were the ones who had the courage to stand up and say ENOUGH is ENOUGH! and didn't care if they went hungry or lost their jobs. We could sure use some of that spirit today.

"There but for the grace of God go us?" - That IS us. Time to jump ship. n/msg

[ In Reply To ..]

Wow...I can relate! sm - mb

[ In Reply To ..]
I can absolutely relate to your grandmother's story. I did the same type of work, only I set pockets on men's coats. I got the job a year after I graduated HS, in 1977. My husband had a job then that paid $5 an hour and my job paid me $2.35, which was minimum wage at the time. We thought we were rich! LOL. In my case, though, at work I did meet the quota and was rewarded with a brand-new sewing machine to use at work and a lot of unwanted attention from the male boss, who thought he was God's gift to women and would give the other girls rides in his sportscar at lunch. No sexual harassment laws back then, ladies. We just had to tough it out. And it was a sweatshop. No AC in the summer months, you were just lucky to be able to sit in front of a big fan. I can remember only a time or two that they sent us home because it was just too hot. In 1980, they held a meeting and said the whole company was moving to China and we all would be laid off. I'll never forget watching as one by one, as the work ran out, a lady or a girl would get up and leave. Some had worked there for 30 or more years. When it was my turn and I had sewn my last pocket, I got up and left too, saying goodbye to those up the line on the way out. I got unemployment and TRA benefits back then, but I lived in a small town so no training was available but I remember I did get $1000, which I used to buy me a better car. I was a divorced young mom when I moved to a bigger city a few years later and started going to college---to be a medical transcriptionist!!! I wish I knew then what was going to happen to this profession! I worked for Medquist/M*Modal for 8 years and finally quit last June because I couldn't live on the poor pay. What sucks is that M*Modal won't stand up for their employees and at least lay people off so they can get TRA/TAA benefits. What would help us immensely is just pennies from their pocket. I realize it's too late for me, but I certainly hope that someday soon the company will wise up and see just exactly what they are doing to their American workforce, but I'm not holding my breath.

Sweatshop work is real and now. Inside is a link to a riveting - article about working inside an on-line sales

[ In Reply To ..]
warehouse in our nation's "heartland," -- Ohio. The biggest scandal story of the year was in an Amazon warehouse, but this is one is much the same, reported compellingly by a young, in-shape female journalist who took one of the jobs and left much sooner than she planned to, aching and exhausted after running 15-mile days around a warehouse, climbing ladders, crawling on floors, constantly in fear of being fired, always pushed to be faster, faster, faster. Most her paltry break time taken up just getting to the break room and standing in lines for the toilets. So grateful that SHE at least could. Many of her coworkers are unemployed workers who are supporting themselves whatever it takes but never thought it could come to this. In the USA, too.

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