Interpreters Call Out LanguageLine Solutions for Inhumane Treatment

 
LanguageLine Solutions and ZP-Better Together interpreters gathered in Dallas, Texas, to fight for recognition. Their parent company, Teleperformance, has a global neutrality agreement but refuses to implement it in the United States.

After a new CWA report exposed the company’s poor treatment of its workers, professional language interpreters working for LanguageLine Solutions (LLS) are petitioning their employer to respect their employment contracts and pay them for the number of hours they were contracted to work. 

LLS professional interpreters are forming a union with CWA to address stressful working conditions, inadequate training, and low pay.

Language interpreting is emotionally and intellectually involved work, and inaccuracies can carry severe medical, legal, and financial consequences for others.

A large majority of respondents (83 percent) felt that their ability to interpret well is impacted negatively by LLS policies that push interpreters to take calls back-to-back. A LanguageLine interpreter explained, “There's no break between the calls. After telling [a Limited English Proficient client] their child passed away or that they have been diagnosed with a terminal disease, and witnessing the [client] crying uncontrollably, LLS should provide us a few minutes to recover.”

“My hours have been cut in half, and my income reduced by as much as 75%, making it nearly impossible to live with dignity,” said Aizo Nokes, an LLS interpreter. “This struggle reminds me of my grandfather, who stood up for workers in the 1950s. I, too, feel the responsibility to speak out. Joining a union is the answer to our prayers and the way to turn our voices into real change.”

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.