New York, NY—Today, the ASL Interpreters Union-OPEIU publicly launched with an international organizing committee spanning from Puerto Rico to Seattle. The union is organizing video relay service (VRS) interpreters at Sorenson and ZVRS/Purple (ZP) as the first step to establishing new standards in ASL interpreting nationwide. ASL interpreters are launching their union to fight for wages that keep up with the cost of living, more respect for the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Deaf-Blind communities, and a voice on the job.

Video relay service is a federally administered program required under the Americans with Disabilities Act ensuring the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Deaf-Blind communities have equal access to telecommunications services. Too often, the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Deaf-Blind communities lose out when experienced interpreters are pushed out of VRS by poor working conditions, when early career interpreters lack adequate training and when interpreters do not have sufficient breaks to be able to give callers the attention they deserve.

The ASL Interpreters Union-OPEIU is working to hold the industry accountable. It calls on the FCC to immediately make clear the Telecommunications Relay Service Fund cannot be used to oppose unionization efforts by VRS interpreters. It urges Sorenson and ZP — and their private equity backers, Ariel Alternatives, Blackstone, Kinderhook and Carlyle — to be neutral in our efforts to organize and obey the National Labor Relations Act.

“VRS interpreters deserve a union,” said OPEIU President Richard Lanigan. “It’s time for Sorenson and ZVRS/Purple to commit to neutrality and meet with the union interpreters that make their business run. We look forward to meeting with Sorenson and ZP and their private equity backers Ariel, Blackstone, Kinderhook and Carlyle, to ensure interpreters have a voice on the job free of retaliation.”

“As a spouse and mother of Deaf people, I know the current path cannot continue, with service quality sacrificed in favor of profit,” said Meg Huseman, a VRS interpreter with more than 10 years experience. “VRS interpreters need a voice on the job to ensure interpreters have the resources they need to ensure the highest quality standards in VRS.”