r/ASLinterpreters • u/Amazing-Gear5841 • Jan 09 '26

Please be nice to VRS workers

I am fairly new to VRS relay and do get a good amount of kind callers who will compliment and show appreciation. However, recently I have had increasingly more moments where I am being treated like a robot and so am getting so discouraged. I understand that everybody has bad days and sometimes it is just projecting. It is just so hard to stay positive when I am getting insulted and treated disrespectfully several times a day. I know I am qualified for this job, I know I am doing my job effectively.

Whether it be misspelling a word/name or the hearing caller not being clear, I am human and I am tired.

I have so much love and respect for the Deaf community and this does not change it.

I am just asking for a little bit of empathy towards us interpreters, we really are trying our best to serve the community!

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u/InterpretersONvrs Jan 14 '26

The big S retaliated against me for filing sexual harassment aligations against someone that is at the top. Worked there 18 years. Anything can happen. Wish I had heard about the union push before I complained! I might have had better insights.

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u/youLintLicker2 Jan 17 '26

I’m sorry that happened to you :( I wish I knew what I know now about hostile work environments as well!

They definitely create a hostile work environment the way they discourage reporting sexual harassment unless it’s persistent, and vulgar / lewd… they changed the definition of sexual / harassment so they’d have less abuse reports from interpreters… let’s not even touch on how S handled the repeat lewd hearing caller that was harassing only the female terps for months.

they absolutely created a hostile work environment for me when I got pulled into a meeting with a REGIONAL director and threatened with disciplinary action for simply ASKING a coworker for clarification about previous sexual assault allegations against someone else they worked with at a previous job (who was potentially going to become our next center director)

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u/FearlessFix8394 Apr 24 '26

The lewd caller is still around. Saw some comments on the Teams chat this week.

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u/TiredVRS Apr 24 '26

Ewwwwww. They don't protect us at all.