50 signatures reached
To: Governor Jay Inslee, and Washington state Health Care Authority
HEALTH CARE AUTHORITY, ALLOW INTERPRETERS TO WORK IN PERSON!
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As essential workers in our state, we have been told by the HCA that we can't cover in person appointments. As of April 16th, 2020 the HCA has determined that all interpretation jobs will be covered over the phone (OPI) through the remainder of this Covid-19 pandemic.
As language access providers, we were not taken into consideration when this decision was made on our behalf. WFSE/Interpreters united/ Local 1671 is the union that represents the HCA segment of language access providers, and has not advocated against this decision. This stance indicates that they're either in agreement, or powerless against it. We have received multiple reports of interpreters not finding OPI jobs available on the ULS web portal.
We are also DSHS certified interpreters who subcontract with ULS. We cannot stand still while jobs are not available, and our fellow interpreters suffer. As stakeholders, we demand the immediate return to interpreting in person as soon as possible. If L&I was able to adjust to our needs as interpreters, why can't the HCA do it? Since the very beginning, our mission has been to defend in person interpretation.
Please sign our petition and tell the HCA to do what's right for workers!
As language access providers, we were not taken into consideration when this decision was made on our behalf. WFSE/Interpreters united/ Local 1671 is the union that represents the HCA segment of language access providers, and has not advocated against this decision. This stance indicates that they're either in agreement, or powerless against it. We have received multiple reports of interpreters not finding OPI jobs available on the ULS web portal.
We are also DSHS certified interpreters who subcontract with ULS. We cannot stand still while jobs are not available, and our fellow interpreters suffer. As stakeholders, we demand the immediate return to interpreting in person as soon as possible. If L&I was able to adjust to our needs as interpreters, why can't the HCA do it? Since the very beginning, our mission has been to defend in person interpretation.
Please sign our petition and tell the HCA to do what's right for workers!
Why is this important?
By the HCA taking immediate corrective action, and overturning this recent decision, interpreters would have access to more jobs instead of relying only on over the phone (OPI). As fellow DSHS certified interpreters who also cover ULS appointments, we ask you to support our petition to allow our brothers and sisters that cover HCA appointments to immediately return to work in person to be able to pay their bills, and put food on the table!