Interpreters at Sorenson and ZP Better Together continue to press their case at the FCC

Interpreters seek greater oversight and regulation of the industry as the firms and their owners, Ariel Alternatives, Blackstone, and Telperformance, refuse to meet

On April 22 and 30, Video Relay Service (VRS) users and interpreters affiliated with the interpreters’ union, part of the Office of Professional Employees’ International Union (OPEIU), held two town hall meetings to provide FCC Commissioner Ana Gomez and other FCC employees with critical information about their experiences. They called on the FCC to take action to support improved service through, among other things, stricter regulations of VRS providers, improved working conditions, and training opportunities for VRS interpreters.

For many people who are Deaf and hard of hearing, Video Relay Service (VRS) is a critical translation tool in facilitating communication with family, medical providers, emergency services, and more. VRS users make calls by connecting with a VRS provider and an American Sign Language interpreter appears on a video screen and interprets between the VRS users and hearing call recipients.^[1] In order to provide a free service to users and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reimburses service providers, which are required to meet certain standards.^[2]

In August 2024, PESP released a report about the VRS system titled, Lost in Translation: Private Equity’s Capture of a Vital Translation Tool, which highlighted how the industry has been dominated by private equity and raised concerns about the working conditions of VRS interpreters and the resulting quality concerns of VRS users.

Since the release of that report, interpreters have organized for a union with the OPEIU, creating alliance with VRS users, and sought to engage the corporate owners of the two major VRS providers, as well as Congress and the FCC to improve the industry.

While both major VRS providers, ZP Better Together (owned by Teleperformance) and Sorenson Communications (owned by Ariel Alternatives and Blackstone), have refused to meet with the interpreters’ union, interpreters and users of VRS are supported by federal lawmakers including Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) and others. Casar’s office helped coordinate the two April meetings with FCC officials to hear from interpreters that have joined OPEIU.

During the April 22 meeting with over 70 participants, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and other FCC staff heard from VRS users, who highlighted serious concerns about the work environment of VRS interpreters and how those conditions affect interpreting quality. They also asked for more FCC oversight to deal with workplace issues in VRS. Multiple participants raised the need for the FCC to encourage VRS providers to hire deaf interpreters who work in teams with hearing interpreters and are often more effective at interpreting complex situations, but may increase costs due to requiring two interpreters for a particular call.

Others highlighted the shortage of ASL/VRS interpreters, the need for better training and apprentice programs, matching interpreters with specialized skills to specialized calls, and a more user-friendly complaint process for VRS users to flag issues to the FCC.

On the April 30th call, VRS interpreters who identified themselves as employed by ZP Better Together and Sorenson Communications joined from at least 10 states, including Texas, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico, with over 80 in attendance. Dina Schetler, Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Ana Gomez, and Rep. Casar also joined to hear from and address the group.

Rep. Casar spoke first, setting the stage for the importance of the unionization effort stating that “Interpreters do important work fulfilling the civil rights of this country. . .  For us to deliver this kind of service we need people to stay in the job, develop professionally, and be paid decently.”

Dina Schetler also addressed the group stating that: “[The FCC is the] federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing our nation’s communications laws and regulations. Our foundational mandate is to ensure that advanced communications services are available to all people of the United States; that all includes people with disabilities. Commissioner Gomez takes this mandate to heart in her role at the FCC. Commissioner Gomez wants to make sure that all consumers are served by the FCC, especially those that have been historically left behind.

The interpreters’ town hall was facilitated by two VRS interpreters, Faith Peavey, an apprentice with ZP Better Together, and Marina Martinez, a trilingual interpreter from Puerto Rico who has worked in VRS for almost 20 years.

One Dallas-based interpreter with over 12 years in VRS who is currently employed by Sorenson stated that “interpreters are the unseen backbone of functional equivalency. . . Truth is many of us are struggling.” He noted that interpreters are rarely included at the table when regulations for VRS are created and flagged the need for not just regulations, but enforcement that holds the two major providers accountable. “Supporting interpreters is supporting the deaf and hard of hearing VRS consumers.”

Multiple interpreters commented on the deteriorating service and the focus on profits over the people that work at and use VRS providers. “The FCC needs to know that the expectations put upon interpreters is too high. It is just an endless cycle of turnover because it is too much to handle.”

One interpreter stated that “The quality of VRS is on a speedy decline because interpreters are not being taken care of. Call volumes are so high that callers are not being served in a way that promotes equal access. By the time they do reach an interpreter those of us working are exhausted and burned out. VRS is unsustainable.”

Interpreters continued to highlight serious problems in the way that VRS providers treat employees and how it affects interpretation quality. They described constant turnover in the industry that leaves the service filled with less experienced interpreters for a very difficult job. A lack of sufficient breaks, little time between calls, and the toll that it takes on interpreters’ mental and physical well-being were also regular themes throughout about a dozen different interpreter comments.

Numerous interpreters noted that while the FCC has increased the reimbursement rates for VRS providers significantly, the pay increases did not seem to match up with those increases. “That is going into their profits, that isn’t going into our paychecks,” said one interpreter, who noted numerous small raises that he didn’t feel kept up with the rising cost of living. “A lot of interpreters who are experienced are leaving this industry for many other places because the pay is better [and] the pace of the call volume is better.”

Testimony after testimony continued these themes and also flagged experiences such as caller abuse and a lack of effective response from employers, poor benefits, and time requirements for interpreters to be actively on the phones that outpace the interpreting industry standards. Many interpreters asked for more FCC oversight into conditions, coordination between the FCC and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), as well as better pay for more skilled or experienced interpreters, such as trilingual interpreters.

After a little over an hour of testimony, FCC Commissioner Ana Gomez’s representative thanked the interpreters for their efforts to inform the FCC and encouraged them to continue engaging with the FCC through numerous channels.

^[1] Federal Communications Commission, Consumer Guide, Video Relay Services, https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/video_relay_services.pdf

^[2] Private Equity Stakeholder Project, Lost in Interpretation: Private Equity’s Capture of a Vital Translation Tool, https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PESP_Report_Lost-in-Interpretation_2024.pdf, page 3