(Washington, D.C., Feb. 26, 2025) – Today, Representative Greg Casar (D-TX), interpreter members of the ASL Interpreters Union-OPEIU and allies spoke in front of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to address the significant decline of service quality in Video Relay Service (VRS), an essential service ensuring the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Deaf-Blind communities have functionally equivalent service under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Working closely with VRS  interpreters, Rep. Casar sent a letter to the FCC urging the agency to act on its duty to regulate VRS. In response, Commissioner Anna Gomez has agreed to attend a first-of-its-kind public forum for VRS interpreters and Deaf users to share their stories directly with FCC officials.

“When unions organize and fight, and when these interpreters fight against the billionaires taking over your economy and your government, they’re not doing it just for themselves. They’re doing it for all of us,” Rep. Casar said at the press event. “Even though they may have all this money, we actually have power.”

“For too long, private equity owners have pillaged VRS, extracting enormous profits while users suffer,” said Meg Huseman, an ASL Interpreters Union-OPEIU leader at Sorenson Communications. “It’s time we stand up and take action to ensure that we are able to deliver the highest quality service, by ensuring VRS companies and their backers respect interpreters and the communities they serve.”

The ASL Interpreters Union-OPEIU is organizing VRS interpreters at Sorenson Communications and ZP Better Together. Sorenson Communications is backed by investment firms Ariel and The Blackstone Group, while ZP Better Together, after years of private equity ownership, has just been purchased by French multinational Teleperformance. The FCC funds and supervises the Video Relay Service program, and can hold VRS firms accountable for service quality issues. OPEIU is seeking neutrality agreements from both firms allowing interpreters to organize free of management interference. 

“OPEIU is organizing video sign language interpreters because of the significant problems in working conditions and wages that negatively impact the quality of service they provide to the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Deaf-Blind communities,” said Tyler Turner, president of the 90,000-member OPEIU. “We strongly urge Sorenson and Teleperformance to ensure these workers have a fair path to unionization without further delay.”

The press conference featured ASL interpreters and Deaf users of VRS, urging the majority members of the FCC to join Commissioner Gomez in taking action on significant service quality issues such as burnout, inadequate training, the need for Certified Deaf Interpreters, and hardware and software problems.