What the hell is wrong with NYC Interpreting Agencies?

Okay, Terps. Here it goes. Can someone tell me what the hell is wrong with NYC interpreting agencies? We here at Terp Union have never seen such a sad sorry collection of miscreants, morons and criminals in all our 20-odd years of terping. From agencies not paying their Terps (probably because they need to pay their criminal lawyers first) to agencies taking 30 days to pay, to that beloved Brooklyn agency that makes new rules every 15 minutes so they can get out of paying their terps, including not allowing to double bill when a team doesn't show up ... or find ways they can get paid double while denying a terp their rightful cut. If we want to be able to have long term careers as Terps we need to protect ourselves. Not just monetarily, but our health. ASL terps are the number 1 industry to report job related injuries. (CTS etc) WE NEED YOUR HELP! Let us hear your stories from the battlefield. The point of this blog is to hear from all of us, so we can develop and spread the word about proper standard treatment of ASL Terps in the NYC area. We need to be united. While we're not saying we should all be paid the same, we should be aware what are the industry standards for pay in our field. Below are some possible points we think need to be emphasized, and please make suggestions to add to this ...

STANDARD PRACTICES

1. When a freelance terp is hired for a specific job at a specific location s/he and the client is a no-show, they can not be placed on another job which they did not previously accept. (Needs wording help here.)

2. If a team terp does not show up the solo terp will receive double pay if they so choose to terp the job alone.

3. 48 hours notice of cancellation, and if less than 48 hours FULL PAYMENT FOR EVERY HOUR SCHEDULED.

and .... (Make some suggestions in the comments)

Thanks

And hope to hear from you soon.

TERP UNION