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

what you are worth - MollyCoddle

Posted: May 12, 2012

I'm curious. How many of you cheering on this lawsuit think that things will change in a way that you will be paid "what you are worth?" And what are you worth? I mean seriously? Is someone who does a lousy job as valuable as someone who does a stellar job? Is someone with a shoddy education as valuable as someone with a first-class education? How about those with no formal education at all?

What is it you all think you will really accomplish with a law suit? If you want to end your MT career, why not just end it? Why make it so those who are happy with their MT lives eventually suffer?

I agree that companies who are bending the rules should be held accountable, but I really fail to see what all the celebration is about. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot.

what are you worth - anon

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Thank you for this post! I totally agree. Maybe I am stupid, but who is paying for this? Attorneys don't work for nothing. I will just continue to do my job and let the rest do as they please.

please anon just continue on doing your job - if thats how you "TRULY" feel.

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:(

nm - Ihaveballs, do you?

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sorry, meant to dislike, not like and good luck with that!

Saw this coming(lol)..so u ask what are we worth? - stay tuned Molly.

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:(

"What are you worth" is NOT the legal issue - suethemall

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We're way past that stage. Hopefully this will get into the news media. I'm excited. Keep on with your work as you choose.

what you're worth - fedup

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Just wondered where the world would be if everyone had the attitude to keep their mouth shut and just take a beating. Think about it. What if our soldiers,not just now,but ages past, decided they just didn't want to fight because they MIGHT not win. What about all the laws that have been passed to benefit us. Those were passed because people were not afraid to stand up for what they believed in. I guess I was just raised different. I was told if there is something you really want and believe it, you have to stand up and do something about it, not just hide your head in the sand because you don't know what is going to happen, but a loser is a person who just doesn't TRY. Win or lose, at least you can hold your head up and say, "I gave it my best." The sad part is, if anything good does come out of these lawsuits, it's going to be an advantage to the people who aren't saying anything too, and that's sad.

hey fedup thanks for a G R E A T P O S T :) :) - words right out of my mouth

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nm

?? - I totally support these lawsuits - suethemall

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"What you are worth" is vague and not really a legal concept - I don't believe the Transcend lawsuit revolves around that - it's much more specific.

I TOTALLY SUPPORT THESE TYPES OF LAWSUITS - I merely point out to the naysayers and the doubters, or anyone who ridicules these lawsuits on the basis of something nebulous like "what are you worth" - that's NOT the legal issue. There are labor laws, and these companies MUST OBEY THE LAW. That's the issue. Not some debate about some vague hard-to-pin-down concept like "what are you worth" - irrelevant!

That's all. I'm 100% in favor of the lawsuits and hope to be a plaintiff myself soon.

Vote - curiouskat

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With attitudes like the OP and others, women would still lack the right to vote.

Or drive a car or attend school in some countries. - And the USA would be part of England.

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(LOL - which these days, would probably not be such a bad thing.)

What? - sm

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Not everyone is getting beat down. This post is ridiculous. Not everyone wants other MTs to make a stand for them - I certainly don't!!! You are comparing being an MT to a soldier? Are you serious? I have my own voice and don't need yours, so either stand on your own soap box or hit the road and find a job you're capable of doing because this one is not for you.

The OP was comparing rolling over/quitting vs standing up - Not an Mt to a soldier, geez.. C message

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The OP WAS NOT being ridiculous. The point was made that if you are not happy and feel you are being treated unfairly then stand up for your rights.

If you are TRULY OK with the way you are being treated then that is fine.The majority does not see it your way. We have now heard your voice, so you should not feel the need to keep trying to sell your philosophy of "flying under the radar" or any other "I do fine so why bother" attitude to all us. We are your fellow workers whom many are now hurting finacially in part because of "wrong doings" by a few MTSO's. Believe me I am most likely in a much higher pay bracket than you have ever been, I am at the top where I work and that is a fact. I still will fully support this (legal action) movement out of shear feelings for others and because soon I will most likely be in the same position as they are in.

Hopefully since you do not agree you will just keep working, enjoy your treatment and stay AWAY from the majority of us who want to make a difference. ....just saying enough is enough!

Good grief! - sm

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Go find another job already. A bunch of uneducated people trying to act smart - This should be a reality show.

Uneducated people? We're MTs! - suethemall

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We're knowledge workers, we're constantly being educated on the job, besides whatever educational accomplishments we have separate from our jobs.

They have the smarts to know when they're being - RIPPED OFF, unlike some of us....

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who think there is some kind of martyrdom in stoically taking whatever these scumbag MTSOs dish out at us: Pay cuts for no other reason than to raise their own profits; Cheatware installed on our PCs that messes with our TRUE line counts, and somehow always manages to lower them; Almost-daily Email edicts that state we'll be penalized for going to the bathroom, eating, or taking our hands off the keyboard for more than 15 seconds at a time; Telling us we MUST stay current on job specifications, AHDI-cr*p, company "training" etc., and then not paying us for doing so; Telling us we must flag blanks and send them to QA, and then docking our pay for doing so. The list is endless. What other industry than MT pays only for fingers-applied-directly-to-keyboard, and not one iota else?

If you were a receptionist, would you want to be paid only for incoming phone calls, but not outgoing ones? Or not to be paid at all when the phone doesn't ring? If you were a dog groomer, how would you like only getting paid for scissors-to-hair time? But not for bathing, toenail clipping, or the time walking to the kennel to get the dog and bring it to the grooming stand? If you were a bus driver, with an assigned route (similar to our assigned accounts), and a specific time schedule during which to make your stops (similar to our shifts, and our TAT expectations), and you didn't get paid anytime you drove the bus between stops and no one got on? Yet you were still required to adhere to the schedule, and stop at each stop at roughly the prescribed time? Are you stepping on the brake and the gas any less whether you have passengers or not? Is your knowledge of traffic laws any less if your bus is empty instead of full? Are you working any less diligently/smartly/quickly/carefully, and are you somehow worth nothing if your bus is empty?

I DON'T THINK SO.

Seriously? Because breaking the law is okay? - mtmom

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I make damn good money at what I do (transcription), but with another company now. Regardless of skill set, minimum wage is the LAW! That's what this comes down to. If you had a family member assaulted or murdered, if everyone thought your family member was a jerk, would that make his assault or murder okay because the majority felt he deserved it? I don't think so. It's about minimum wage and the fact it is supposed to be paid. That's it. Not what we are worth. Obviously some of us deserve to be paid more than others, but the LAW says that ALL should be paid at least minimum wage.

Instead of belittling them for standing up for us, - - maybe you should hit the road, yourself.

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If you have your own voice, use it, then. Don't put down people who have the guts to stand up for a cause.

I AGREE - sm

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This is just an excuse for the ones who can't cut it. I'm fine with the job. I don't understand why people want to sue because they can't handle the position they agreed to in the first place. We live in a entitlement society and these people believe they are entitled to something they can't work hard enough to achieve on thier own! The "13" women aren't even a drop in the bucket with the over 2000 MTs they have - I say who cares and have fun with that nonsense. I'll keep working while the rest of you are running around making picket signs -

We cut it, we're smart, that's how we know... - suethemall

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...these companies are not following the law. It isn't about cutting it or not cutting it - it's about the companies NOT FOLLOWING THE LAW.

It's a legal case - doesn't matter if it's a "drop in the bucket" or a "deluge."

You don't have a clue what you're talking about. - There are probably several different - sm

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reasons for the cluelessness, but that's neither here nor there. I'm sure other readers have their own opinions as to why someone who is supposedly an MT, employed by one of these crooked nationals, would be so vehemently against standing up for honest pay for honest work.

Be that as it may, I think it's wonderful that you're so "fine with the job". More power to you. In the MT field, however, you are definitely in the minority, and not just some, but MOST are not having the same feel-good experience working for these companies as you are.

There is nothing "entitlement" about requesting that a company stand by its claims made upon hiring. If they say I'm going to be making 10 cpl, then that's what I expect. Not a sudden, across-the-board drop in pay of 50%, without even so much as an explanation. If I get pulled off straight typing and forced onto VR, and they assure me I'm going to be twice as productive, and earn more, then you better believe I expect them to show me the money, and stop making up stories about how a 30-year veteran MT is somehow "inferior", and not as good as other, imaginary MTs who are supposedly banging out 3-4 times the line counts I am on the same shoddy equipment. If I ask for proof of these MTs' magical transcription powers, (and I have done so), then I want proof that such success truly exists. I don't know about YOUR situation, or YOUR employer, but mine has yet to answer any of my questions about this, let alone show me any proof that their productivity claims are indeed true.

There ARE some things we're entitled to in the United States. And one of them is MINIMUM WAGE.

To just sit there and quietly accept less than that, keep your head down and your eyes, ears and mouth covered, and talk yourself into believing that you've "got it good" because "at least you HAVE a job", regardless of how cr*ppy that job may be, is sheer LUNACY.

But hey, you're entitled to believe whatever you want. But don't forget: Just as YOU are entitled to not speak up, and to accept less and less pay for more and more work, for no other reason than they can get away with it, does not mean that WE aren't entitled to ask for, and get, what is rightfully and LEGALLY ours: Minimum wage for 8 hours a day, and overtime for more than that.

HEY, great post, nm (no message inside this post, don't look!! - gf

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.

What I am worth - wiseoldwoman

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I would be one of those who you say are making an excuse because I can't cut it.

First of all, you don't know me so do not give yourself the privilege of commenting on my abilities. I am a damn good MT who refuses to let an MTSO bully her around any longer!

What am I worth? I am worth being honest and upright and moral. I am worth standing up and saying I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! If I sat still and allowed this to continue, then I would be just as guilty as those who tell us to falsify our time cards!

Transcend is the only company I have EVER worked for in my 35+ years as an MT that has expected me to thumb my nose at federal labor laws -- to work more than 40 hours a week with no OT pay -- to add time to my timecard when I WAS NOT EVEN WORKING. Entitled? What I am ENTITLED to is an employer who does not break the law! Plain and simple. I am not a 20-something brat who thinks she can live off the gov't and not have to put in an honest day's work.

I have watched this profession that I have loved for so long go down the tubes, partly because of attitudes like yours! According to my state, I am ENTITLED to food stamps because my wages are so low. Do I take them? NO -- I work full time and feel that those are persons who truly cannot work and need them. It's not because I work any less hard than you or any less smart. It's not because I'm a slug or otherwise screw around on my work time. I am not willing to work 10 hours a day and record 8 hours on my timecard as we have been instructed to do.

You can go on believing that the 13 of us are rising up because we have nothing better to do or because we think we're special or entitled in some way. We're standing up and saying ENOUGH because SOMEBODY has to!

BOTTOM LINE - ALICE

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If you're happy where you are and feel that you are being treated fairly by an employer/client, then you may be in the minority and none of these lawsuits apply to you. You obviously haven't had the same experience, so why judge? Otherwise, we who have not been so fortunate are not going to take it anymore and we want to at least attempt to make for a better future for anyone who works from home on production. Some of these companies have abused homeworkers and should not be allowed to continue. How ridiculous for anyone to argue against that objective.

Right On - hypertyper

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Well said wiseoldwoman. I am with this fight. I have fought one company along the way, I was an IC and I won my unemployment against them, making them hire employees. It was not an easy fight I got my unemployment with a hell of a fight.

I am on board for this one too for all the same reasons, pay cut in half, hours cut, and the big takeover. I'm tired of taking it anymore. I still have some fight left in me before I leave.

I have over 10 years in this field and I have worked hard to get where I am, not to have this kind of treatment by a takeover from the big N.

It is high time we were heard. For crying out load I am still paying for my student loans that got me to this point and now I'm being treated like a piece of crap.

I'm with everyone else and at this point they can fire me for making my stand. I won't take it anymore. I am on board. Let's get em!

I also must thank the 13 who started this process. Let's not let it end. I have my call into the lawyer, can't wait to hear from them.:)

As for the naysayers on this board, just wait long enough and this bull will affect them too. It could be sooner than they think.

EXCUSE - Ihaveballs, do you?

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It is laughable that you think we can't cut it. By the way, where are the 2000 MTs you speak of defending your POV?

My worth? VERY VALUABLE... - Ihaveballs, do you?

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I am curious too molly, how much do you think you are worth? Do tell, are you a lousy worker or are you someone who does a stellar job? All those who are happy? How many do you HONESTLY know who are happy? I am sure there are some, but I also believe the numbers are trending downward as more people realize the unlawful and DEGRADING way they are being paid. If I work at a company outside my residence and I get called into work, regardless if I stay 10 minutes and am sent back home or 2 hours, I get paid for FOUR, but with this, if I sit here 8-12 on my regular schedule with NO jobs, I DO NOT get paid. If I choose to not sit here those 4 hours, I am supposed to check back in every 15 minutes... and if no jobs, STILL NO PAY... I could go on and on, but apparently you are mollycoddled into believing shizz dont stink if it covered with pine tree aerosol.

The "Worth" of Our Time - LittleMo

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I'm now 56 so this was many, many years ago but I had an aunt who started her career as an RN and finished as a nurse anesthetist. For the nurses, if they had to be available from X hour to X hour, even if they didn't go into the hospital at all, i.e., never left their homes, they were paid because that is what is called being "on call."

Wow. What about morality? - destinyisntfree

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I was always told "All it takes for evil to prevail in this world is for a good (wo)man to stand back and do nothing to prevent it."

And that is what I live by. The questions I asked myself before getting involved with this are as follows:
1. Would I still be doing this if I was still employed, or had left my employment of my own free will? The answer to this one is a resounding yes.
2. What are my motives in proceeding? I do not want to see another generation of MTs screwed out of money they worked their butt off for, only to have not a dime to show for it.

I cannot in good conscience sit back and watch this continue the way it is. I do not expect to get a dime out of this, but I expect to get respect that I have long ago lost in this field. After 12 years in this field, I am to the point that I would probably be better off working at McDonald's than I will ever be working as an MT.

I have worked in all aspects of the industry. I have seen how this all works and been on both sides of the fence. Enough is enough. I refuse to be the good person standing back and doing nothing any longer.

And you know what? I realize there is the possibility of ending up getting blacklisted in the industry and never being able to work again. You know what else? I really don't care. If ONE person after this gets treated with respect for what they do for a living, it is all worth it to me.

Here, here, I am with you! - suethemall

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I have considered McDonald's in all truth!

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