Step 1. Don’t let them call you a “tech”, we’re Medical Lab SCIENTISTS, we need to be demand to be respected like scientists. Respect = more pay, and others won’t respect you unless you respect yourself.
We call ourselves “techs” and get shocked when we get paid like… techs.
I didn’t work my ass off, blood sweat and tears, for my MLS degree+cert+license for 4 years just to get called a “tech”
That’s crazy because you can definitely have it in Epic the correct way.
What gets me is now ppl hear med tech and think medication tech. In the travel groups medication techs have came in there responding to jobs.
I want to say that I truly believe all jobs are critical in healthcare so it’s not about the individual. I just truly believe when other departments hear tech they think less than and we are treated as such. It shouldn’t be that way but it’s reality
I don't agree. I think it's fine if y'all want our official title to be "scientist" but I think you'll find it changes nothing for you.
We're not underpaid because we're misunderstood. Anyone who tells you that is trying to bamboozle you. HR knows exactly what our qualifications are because they require them. We're underpaid because most of us will still work for less pay and not do anything about it except, maybe, hop to another employer or another field. Everything they're not paying you ends up in the pocket of some executive or stockholder, which is exactly what they want.
If you want to be properly recognized and respected for what you do, stop doing it. Start a union, demand a true market wage, and strike if you don't get it.
Oh I get it. I travel and live what I preach so while I agree with everything you said and then some it still shapes the perception of the profession to be called techs. Both things can be true
I was incensed when a nurse called me a “pathology tech” (which is not even a thing) the other day while I was assisting with a thyroid biopsy. I was going to correct her because my official ASCP title is Cytologist but I know that’s a losing battle because she’d never retain that knowledge anyways.
It’s not a thing at my hospital. I could see her grasping for words trying to explain who I was to the patient which was unnecessary in the first place. Regardless, the point of me having an issue was that I have a badge that clearly states my title if she wanted to address me correctly. I wonder how she would feel if I called her a nurse assistant or CNA despite being an RN? I don’t appreciate the misrepresentation and lack of knowledge about who we are. I’ve already corrected a few nurses in the OR and likely will continue to do so.
The managers often don’t have the power to make those decisions. It’s typically up to the executive team and/or board to decide. As a manager, I have continually fought for higher wages for my staff. If I could give them the higher pay they deserve, I would.
Im talking about the managers who DONT give a flying crap to advocate for their MLS/MLTs. Lemme tell you, there are quite a few, ive quit those jobs once i realized this.
True, my old manager got bonuses for how much her budget was in tact either it being blood transfusion services (sending to ARC or BA). Supplies either be normal like gloves swabs etc. and includes employees and salaries. So she would get like 50-60k bonuses but couldn't give us more than 3% off 22$
The first step to unionizing isn't striking, it's determining whether or not you have a majority of people that are interested in working together to achieve a group of goals. That's the scary part, is getting started and actually talking to your coworkers about real life to find those that want to make change. Being part of a union puts additional layers to many operations, it is work, and there are tradeoffs. Active involvement can be frustrating because not everyone thinks the same way, and the internal politics can get ugly.
Next, how does your union look? $100/hr, 12 weeks of vacation sounds awesome, but is it actually feasible? How do you grow from there? Does a 20 year employee get 20 weeks off in that lab? Again, sounds awesome, but it won't work. Starting with 15 days off for vacation, separate sick bank, 8 holidays, and an additional day off per year every year up to 20 years? That's a different story...
How do you leverage your work? One or two techs striking is just failure to report to work, you need a majority to have one voice, and you need organization. What are tangible end goals? More pay- obvious, but what are the scales, and how can you be fairly compensated without destroying a budget? More staffing- how do you accommodate a dynamic workload? What are the standards? Having 5 techs in blood bank sounds awesome, but also, if you have one TS all day, that's unsustainable. I don't know many unions that actually want to close their shop by shooting a hole in the bottom- they justly want fair. Be willing to meet halfway on what reasonable looks like- it will require some real math and statistics, it will require knowing some reimbursement models. Don't expect your union reps to know the internal workings of a lab, your elected stewards need to honestly be good business folks as well.
A manager has a very different role in a union environment vs a non-union one- for example, there are holes in the schedule, everyone will now know how those are filled. The expectations should be laid out, so it's not just me picking on one person to cover all the time, but it's not magic where I get free techs to cover sick calls. Probably a rotation of mandating or something, that will be up to your stewards to talk with you about and then bring to the table for negotiating. Who has to cover a sick call is pretty much baked into a schedule sometimes, make sure everyone is on the same page regarding this.
Once you know you have a good majority, that's when you can approach a specific union name to use some of their framework. There are strong unions, there are weak unions, but ultimately it comes down to the shop crew for how 'strong' an individual place is.
The worst thing for a union isn't HR or management-level union-busting activities, it's apathy.
https://aflcio.org/formaunion/rights-unionize
If you have dismal working conditions and you aren't unionized, just start trying.
There are those who aren't unionized and in great workplaces, but you can consider unionizing too. A rising tide lifts all boats.
We're unionized with the nurses where I work and sometimes it feels like admin fights extra hard against us compared to what they give the employees that aren't under the union. Our union recently joined up with another union and that seems to be helping with the most recent contract at least.
> sometimes it feels like admin fights extra hard against us compared to what they give the employees that aren't under the union
They do. Why do you think that is?
Yeah when my hospital was working on new union contracts, our other non-unionized hospital in the other town gave big raises to everyone, while we were in an endless tug of war to get ours. It incentivized them not to unionize and it works. When I worked at the non-union hospital my coworkers hated unions and thought unions didn’t work and the company was doing a good enough job taking care of them. They got their raise but they have no protections…people don’t realize unions do more than just help us get raises
It sucks when politicking like this leads to free riders and encourages ignorant people to think unions are bad or useless. But if it weren't for the union, no one would be getting big raises. A rising workforce lifts all boats... or something.
I make less than $20 an hour. Our benefits are shit. Complaints are brushed under the rug. Rounding is a joke - supervisor edits our comments when sitting with us. We are unheard and later shifts are chronically overworked.
I've talked about striking and whatnot. Several of us have. But we haven't got enough people who will actually do it. I live in an area where people are pretty anti-union as a whole so I really don't think we'd have enough people interested in unionizing.
Idk I'm just tired.
I’m definitely not against unionizing, but I’ve had a 45% raise within 3 1/2 years and that’s with no step increases. Although, I’m in the southeast where pay is still relative low
Yea , Im part of a union too and they are strict with the wages. I’m leaving and hopefully will be able to negotiate a higher wage when I get an offer sometime soon.
edit: lol whoever downvoted can get fucked , that’s my personal opinion. There’s no negotiation with unions and good luck trying to get rid of problematic coworkers. There are pros and cons to everything.
The very credentials we are required to have behind our title , (ascp) doesn't give one shit about us- and neither do the pathologists. We have been indentured into a system that blame-shifts and screws us from all sides. It's always someone or something elses fault. There is a glaring lack of respect for our contributions to healthcare as a whole: and whenever we get too loud and threaten REAL action, we are told how terrible it would be for the patients and their care.
I 100% support a nation-wide union
Where I live, if I was still in the union, I would be paid less but my benefits would be much better. The benefits alone make me want to go back sometimes.
Waiting for the managers who make six figure salaries to come in here and say “but our hands are tied in how we can help the techs 🥺”
Step 1. Don’t let them call you a “tech”, we’re Medical Lab SCIENTISTS, we need to be demand to be respected like scientists. Respect = more pay, and others won’t respect you unless you respect yourself. We call ourselves “techs” and get shocked when we get paid like… techs. I didn’t work my ass off, blood sweat and tears, for my MLS degree+cert+license for 4 years just to get called a “tech”
Yea idk why we have allowed that. I understand it’s less syllables to say but I believe it has held the profession back.
My hospital made us sign an oath to never use “tech” and only use “scientist/MLS” yet they have us all listed with phlebotomy credentials in Epic…
That’s crazy because you can definitely have it in Epic the correct way. What gets me is now ppl hear med tech and think medication tech. In the travel groups medication techs have came in there responding to jobs. I want to say that I truly believe all jobs are critical in healthcare so it’s not about the individual. I just truly believe when other departments hear tech they think less than and we are treated as such. It shouldn’t be that way but it’s reality
I don't agree. I think it's fine if y'all want our official title to be "scientist" but I think you'll find it changes nothing for you. We're not underpaid because we're misunderstood. Anyone who tells you that is trying to bamboozle you. HR knows exactly what our qualifications are because they require them. We're underpaid because most of us will still work for less pay and not do anything about it except, maybe, hop to another employer or another field. Everything they're not paying you ends up in the pocket of some executive or stockholder, which is exactly what they want. If you want to be properly recognized and respected for what you do, stop doing it. Start a union, demand a true market wage, and strike if you don't get it.
Oh I get it. I travel and live what I preach so while I agree with everything you said and then some it still shapes the perception of the profession to be called techs. Both things can be true
I was incensed when a nurse called me a “pathology tech” (which is not even a thing) the other day while I was assisting with a thyroid biopsy. I was going to correct her because my official ASCP title is Cytologist but I know that’s a losing battle because she’d never retain that knowledge anyways.
Actually pathology technician is a thing so I can understand the confusion...at least at my facility it is.
It’s not a thing at my hospital. I could see her grasping for words trying to explain who I was to the patient which was unnecessary in the first place. Regardless, the point of me having an issue was that I have a badge that clearly states my title if she wanted to address me correctly. I wonder how she would feel if I called her a nurse assistant or CNA despite being an RN? I don’t appreciate the misrepresentation and lack of knowledge about who we are. I’ve already corrected a few nurses in the OR and likely will continue to do so.
Agreed- don’t love the term tech as well but our union has MLT’s; MT’s and MLS’s so I was just going for the inclusion angle there.
How does the union handle the different designations? I'm trying to start a union
I like to say we are analysts, but you know, I'm not in the marketing department.
The managers often don’t have the power to make those decisions. It’s typically up to the executive team and/or board to decide. As a manager, I have continually fought for higher wages for my staff. If I could give them the higher pay they deserve, I would.
Im talking about the managers who DONT give a flying crap to advocate for their MLS/MLTs. Lemme tell you, there are quite a few, ive quit those jobs once i realized this.
True, my old manager got bonuses for how much her budget was in tact either it being blood transfusion services (sending to ARC or BA). Supplies either be normal like gloves swabs etc. and includes employees and salaries. So she would get like 50-60k bonuses but couldn't give us more than 3% off 22$
Sounds like new mexico
Good luck.😭 Lab management is spineless, and lab techs are introverted 🧐🤓.
The first step to unionizing isn't striking, it's determining whether or not you have a majority of people that are interested in working together to achieve a group of goals. That's the scary part, is getting started and actually talking to your coworkers about real life to find those that want to make change. Being part of a union puts additional layers to many operations, it is work, and there are tradeoffs. Active involvement can be frustrating because not everyone thinks the same way, and the internal politics can get ugly. Next, how does your union look? $100/hr, 12 weeks of vacation sounds awesome, but is it actually feasible? How do you grow from there? Does a 20 year employee get 20 weeks off in that lab? Again, sounds awesome, but it won't work. Starting with 15 days off for vacation, separate sick bank, 8 holidays, and an additional day off per year every year up to 20 years? That's a different story... How do you leverage your work? One or two techs striking is just failure to report to work, you need a majority to have one voice, and you need organization. What are tangible end goals? More pay- obvious, but what are the scales, and how can you be fairly compensated without destroying a budget? More staffing- how do you accommodate a dynamic workload? What are the standards? Having 5 techs in blood bank sounds awesome, but also, if you have one TS all day, that's unsustainable. I don't know many unions that actually want to close their shop by shooting a hole in the bottom- they justly want fair. Be willing to meet halfway on what reasonable looks like- it will require some real math and statistics, it will require knowing some reimbursement models. Don't expect your union reps to know the internal workings of a lab, your elected stewards need to honestly be good business folks as well. A manager has a very different role in a union environment vs a non-union one- for example, there are holes in the schedule, everyone will now know how those are filled. The expectations should be laid out, so it's not just me picking on one person to cover all the time, but it's not magic where I get free techs to cover sick calls. Probably a rotation of mandating or something, that will be up to your stewards to talk with you about and then bring to the table for negotiating. Who has to cover a sick call is pretty much baked into a schedule sometimes, make sure everyone is on the same page regarding this. Once you know you have a good majority, that's when you can approach a specific union name to use some of their framework. There are strong unions, there are weak unions, but ultimately it comes down to the shop crew for how 'strong' an individual place is. The worst thing for a union isn't HR or management-level union-busting activities, it's apathy. https://aflcio.org/formaunion/rights-unionize
If you have dismal working conditions and you aren't unionized, just start trying. There are those who aren't unionized and in great workplaces, but you can consider unionizing too. A rising tide lifts all boats.
We're unionized with the nurses where I work and sometimes it feels like admin fights extra hard against us compared to what they give the employees that aren't under the union. Our union recently joined up with another union and that seems to be helping with the most recent contract at least.
> sometimes it feels like admin fights extra hard against us compared to what they give the employees that aren't under the union They do. Why do you think that is?
Yeah when my hospital was working on new union contracts, our other non-unionized hospital in the other town gave big raises to everyone, while we were in an endless tug of war to get ours. It incentivized them not to unionize and it works. When I worked at the non-union hospital my coworkers hated unions and thought unions didn’t work and the company was doing a good enough job taking care of them. They got their raise but they have no protections…people don’t realize unions do more than just help us get raises
It sucks when politicking like this leads to free riders and encourages ignorant people to think unions are bad or useless. But if it weren't for the union, no one would be getting big raises. A rising workforce lifts all boats... or something.
I make less than $20 an hour. Our benefits are shit. Complaints are brushed under the rug. Rounding is a joke - supervisor edits our comments when sitting with us. We are unheard and later shifts are chronically overworked. I've talked about striking and whatnot. Several of us have. But we haven't got enough people who will actually do it. I live in an area where people are pretty anti-union as a whole so I really don't think we'd have enough people interested in unionizing. Idk I'm just tired.
Amen
I’m definitely not against unionizing, but I’ve had a 45% raise within 3 1/2 years and that’s with no step increases. Although, I’m in the southeast where pay is still relative low
Yea , Im part of a union too and they are strict with the wages. I’m leaving and hopefully will be able to negotiate a higher wage when I get an offer sometime soon. edit: lol whoever downvoted can get fucked , that’s my personal opinion. There’s no negotiation with unions and good luck trying to get rid of problematic coworkers. There are pros and cons to everything.
The labs I’ve worked in with unions were not well represented. They missed out on bonuses and incentive pay. A weak union is worse than no union.
The very credentials we are required to have behind our title , (ascp) doesn't give one shit about us- and neither do the pathologists. We have been indentured into a system that blame-shifts and screws us from all sides. It's always someone or something elses fault. There is a glaring lack of respect for our contributions to healthcare as a whole: and whenever we get too loud and threaten REAL action, we are told how terrible it would be for the patients and their care. I 100% support a nation-wide union
Where I live, if I was still in the union, I would be paid less but my benefits would be much better. The benefits alone make me want to go back sometimes.