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.