Our demands were heard!
Earlier, Interpreters United (WFSE) sent in a demand letter to L&I explaining that legal action could be taken if payments were not processed on time.
Shortly after, L&I announced that 94% of all payments will be made at the end of this pay cycle. Huge win!
But our fight does not end here. We are committed to challenging L&I until every interpreter is paid for their appointments.
Key Points from Town Hall with interpretingWorks
Over 80 interpreters showed up to last night’s town hall with interpretingWorks. In our previous town halls, interpreters made their demands clear: WE WANT TRANSPARENCY.
We demanded that interpretingWorks come to the table and answer our questions. They did.
Here are the key takeaways:
- Jobs are sent to each individual interpreter every 5 minutes. If an appointment is made that day, the job will be sent to each individual interpreter every minute
- interpretingWorks says that interpreters with less jobs are placed on the top of the list for new jobs
- Your proximity to the appointment also gives you priority
- interpretingWorks is rolling out a quality assurance tab where providers can comment about interpreters and interpreters can comment about providers
- interpretingWorks recently hired a call center to answer interpreters' questions and address issues with the system
- Interpreters can adjust their mile limits and notifications by going to the Work Information tab in their portal
- Billing closes every other Friday starting this Friday 7/23 @5:45 (jobs must be approved by interpreter)
- No penalizations for interpreters yet
- interpretingWorks says that they have a 90% fill rate of appointments
The issues we need to fix as a union
interpretingWorks clarified that the below points were not within their control:
- Minimums appointment times (jobs ending sooner than they are scheduled)
- Clinics changing appointment times or cancelling appointments
- Payments for no-shows or late cancellations
- Clinics entering data correctly to make sure interpreters can get paid on time
The only way we can address these issues is through the power of a union and a fair contract.
Sign the Petition: I'm Voting Interpreters United (WFSE)
Walking the Walk
Interpreters United (WFSE) is the union that walks the walk.
WA Interpreters have not provided ANY victories for interpreters.
They have made the legally impossible promise that they would put an end to the online scheduling system so agencies and individuals can go back to taking a cut of your pay.
We want a union that protects all interpreters, not a group that tries to stuff the pockets of a corrupt few.
