A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
I was in a union as an in-house MT.
Posted: Feb 23, 2011
We were lumped in a group with the housekeepers and the nurses. Union membership was mandatory for employment and dues were taken directly out of our paychecks. Our local reps said they could only negotiate for 1 group a year out of our 3 departments, but every time our turn came around the nurses weren't happy and the union would negotiate for them again. Of course this was 10 years ago, but we made from $8.10 per hour to a max of $12.39 per hour, but we did only have to pay $50 a month for our insurance.
I worked in-house for 5 years before going home to work because I could triple my income working on production, but we never saw a raise in our department in that 5 years - always the nurses. The only thing the union really did was protect the workers with seniority who would be sleeping at their desks and keep them making the top end of the pay scale to do nothing.
The IDEA of unions is ideal, BUT if you don't have good local reps it's just as worthless, if not more so, than not having one at all. In fact, the hospital could have fired all those lazy old women who cared more about making sure they each had their own coffee makers at their desks so they didn't have to walk to the break room and hired half the number of people to do the same job if it weren't for the union. So, while I've seen them do great things for my grandparents in the past, my experience with union has been nothing but a disappointment.
Do you think you would have made more without a union in hospital? - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I have never seen a company taking care of the workers with insurance and salaries WITHOUT a union. I wish I made $12.39 now with insurance, days off, vacation, etc.
No, but doubt I'd make less either. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]When I put in my notice to go home to work, the transcription supervisor begged the administrators to give me a raise to keep me. They said there was nothing they could do because the unions controlled the salaries. Whether that's true or not I have no idea. My point is though that I'm VERY good at my job and I know it. My supervisor knew it. Because of the union, they couldn't keep me on and give me the salary I deserved while other people were literally sleeping at their desks for more money. Since I've been working on production at home, I average around $35 per hour and get 3 weeks of vacation pay. Yes, I don't get paid holidays and that is one benefit that I used to have. Yes, I now pay $150 a month for my insurance, but to make almost $30 per hour more than I was, I'll take that extra $100 per month hit on the insurance.
I really, truly believe that unions used to be good, but they're not anymore... or at least most of them aren't.
Pay rates and benefits are not worker RIGHTS. They SHOULD be the reward to a good employee from a grateful employer. If you don't think you're employer appreciates you enough, find another one. Again, that's how it SHOULD work in an ideal world, but that doesn't work either. But unions are not the answer anymore unless a way is found to fix the corruption.
I could have written this post - WI MI
[ In Reply To ..]OMG. That is exactly my story from the in house to the old biddies club to the finally coming home on production, except that wages uses to be $35 on production but thanks to ASR and probably some laziness on my part I am down to half (but that is a whole other story). I hated working in house and I was there when the union was voted in. I was the only one who voted no. Secret ballot? I think not. They all knew who voted against it and I never heard the end of it. I got a measly 25 cent per hour raise out of the deal and as soon as a home position on production opened up I never looked back. The union reps told us we had to vote democrat at elections and thankfully the union magazines stopped coming to my house. I paid almost as much in dues as I did for day care so quitting and coming home was like getting a huge raise.
My bosses too wanted to give me a raise to stay, but their hands were tied because of the union. Totally not right.
Yeah, I should have mentioned I don't do ASR. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]My backup accounts are all ASR and I average more like $25 per hour on them, but whether it's because of ASR, or unfamiliar accounts, or a combination of both I don't now. Still, that's well over what I was making under the union. My primary account is still straight typing, so when that goes ASR I'll probably have to learn to adjust my lifestyle with a $10 per hour pay cut, but again it's STILL well above what I would have been making under the union.
Also, $12.39 was the TOP of the scale and it took 10 years to get there. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]If you've been an MT for 10 years, you should be making MUCH more than $12.39 per hour IF you have steady work flow unless you've got a health condition that prevents you from typing fast enough (in which case you should consider another line if work) or if your company isn't providing you enough work to do. The work flow issues companies are having of late is a whole different scenario from hourly salary and should not factor in to the point I was trying to make.
It doesn't prove my point very well when i fill a post with typos. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]Makes it hard to believe I maintain 99.8% accuracy, lol.
Also a new account could slow a person down as well. Forgot to mention that.
Seriously though, I don't mean to be rude or put anyone down at all. At the hospital we obviously always had the same "account" - the hospital account. If someone there couldn't average $12.39 per hour on production after 10 years, then they certainly don't deserve to be making that $12.39 per hour as an hourly salary. That's roughly 1300 lines per day at a line rate of 8 cpl.
Earlier you said you were there five years. - so confused now.
[ In Reply To ..]I have to go back and read this over, I guess.
I was there for 5 years. I never said I was making the top tier. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]When we hired on we were given the pay scale and what we were paid each year up until the 10-year point, so we knew what to expect every year. They were supposed to give us a new copy each time the union got us a raise and changed the scale, but that never happened in the 5 years I was there.
OK, now I understand--it was good you had a pay scale. - Most non-union don't. nm
[ In Reply To ..]
Everywhere I worked before getting into MT had a pay scale. Didn't think it was a union thing. - nm
[ In Reply To ..]nm
Everywhere I have worked you had to grovel individually for a raise - (except the union place) nm
[ In Reply To ..]
I wasn't for unions until I needed mine - sm
[ In Reply To ..]The union saved my job when a supervisor took a dislike to me because everyone knew I did all of her work. I was bumped up a pay grade by going through the union procedure. Management always tells you they can't do anything--you have to go through the steward or rep. At least the union had a procedure--unlike the management who dealt on how much the workers brown nosed.
That happened to me too. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I was the oldest employee and was never able to gain entrance into the various cliques in that office setting, not that I was particularly interested in that. There were 4 transcriptionists (including me). The experience I had (27 years) was twice as much as the sum total of the other 3. For this reason, I was never given job duties beyond those afforded employees on probation and received highly critical performance reviews from the lead transcriptionist (who was half my age). I think she was afraid to delegate work to anyone who just might be able to do it better or more efficiently. So much for team spirit.
Anyway, this was a non-union setting that provided zilch in the way of conflict resolution other than "he said, she said" which almost never favors a newcomer. There were never any complaints about the quality or quantity of my work outside of transcription and I went out of my way to help out in the front office when needed (something the lead transcriptionist and other two resented doing). Nonetheless, they managed to run me off in 9 months in the absence of any mitigation. I was, however, able to file an unemployment claim that was approved without appeal, since they really did not have a leg to stand on.
IMO, had I had union backing, I would be gainfully employed today instead of an UI recipient on taxpayers dime since November 2009. Go figure.
Your quality was good and - sm
[ In Reply To ..]yet you can't get another MT job? I'm just curious because I know several MT companies hiring transcriptionists. I'm just surprised an MT couldn't find a job since Nov of '09 especially one who types well.
Returning to MT and ASR - sm
[ In Reply To ..]for one third the rate I was making 6 years ago would be my last resort. The last job I described was not production pay. Itinvolved medical reporting and abstracting in an IME setting for insurers, workers comp and attorneys. I made $22.75 per hour, worked a 40 hour week with an hour for lunch and enforced breaks (did not have to punch out every time I went to the bathroom), optional overtime, doing a really easy job, had great affordable benefits, and liberal PTO, sick and vacation time. I have done some temporary work in the meantime in an effort to build up my resume with jobs that allow me to transfer my skills far, far away from production for pittance. I am also helping my husband build up his business and by doing so, have added income to the household that exceeds what I would be making working for an MTSO. I cant afford to go back, but will do so only in the event that nothing permanent turns up soon.
It appears that you went from $8.10 to $12.39? - looks like a raise.
[ In Reply To ..]Perhaps I am not understanding.
Explaining the pay scale... - sm
[ In Reply To ..]They had a set pay scale that started at $8.10 when you hired on and gradually went to $12.39 a year when you hit 10 years, so technically we DID get a raise every year, but that was not cost of living, just length of service. If the union continually declined to try to negotiate a higher pay scale, then when you hit your 10 years you'd never get a raise again, and still $12.39 is not great by any means and $8.10 was just horrible.
I have no idea what scale they would be at now because a couple of years after I left they decided to outsource and fired the entire staff. The union couldn't save that from happening. Plus, judging by the pay scale not changing for the 5 years I was there, it probably wouldn't have changed much at all if they finally did decide to bargain for the MT department.
What was the name of that union? What part of the country? - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I would like to know more about the specifics.
I honestly don\'t remember the names and such... - sm
[ In Reply To ..]It was a long time ago and I remember being so disenchanted with it that I wanted nothing to do with it, so I don\'t remember the names at all and my old pay stubs just said \"union dues\" for the due fees. I can tell you it was in the midwest though.
Pay SCALE went from $8.10 to $12.39. NEVER said that's what I personally was making. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]Apparently most people are misreading and haven't experienced an hourly hospital pay scale.
The scale went from $8.10 starting out up to a maximum of $12.39 after you hit the 10-year mark. These were not cost of living increases, but were length of service increases. As you are on the job in the MT industry, especially being on the same accounts for 10 years, your skill and speed SHOULD increase and thus you SHOULD receive a merit raise if you're truly doing your job.
Technically, yes, I got a raise because of the length of term scale, but in the 5 years I was there the union never negotiated an increase in the pay scale, so anyone there 10 years never got a raise at all every year. That's fine for the ones who were just sleeping and not doing their job, but for those who were actually working, not cool.
I NEVER said I was making the $12.39 number. I just said the scale was from $8.10 to $12.39. I honestly don't remember what I was making after the 5 years, but it was somewhere in the $10 per hour range. For some reason the starting and ending numbers still stick out clearly in my mind after 10 years away from the hospital, but I don't remember the scale in between.
This is interesting--most pay has been stagnant - sm
[ In Reply To ..]For most workers, pay has been virtually stagnant the last 12 years, with the last 2 years actually going down. Of course, we as MTs have experienced the decline due to outsourcing/off-shoring for the last 6 or 7?
I can only explain it as the off-shore and corporate crush war on American workers.
Well, like I said, this WAS 10 years ago... - sm
[ In Reply To ..]...and there were no increases in the 5 years before that while I was there. I'd really like to see if they got any cost-of-living raises since then, but 2 years after I left they outsourced.
My point was that the union that was there to supposedly keep pay going up with the cost of living, etc., was not doing that in any way and they could not save our jobs from being outsourced to cheaper companies.
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