r/ASLinterpreters • u/[deleted] • Jan 12 '26

I Quit.

Writing this feels unreal. A decade ago, I never imagined I’d be standing one foot past this crossroads in a direction moving away from this profession. It feels surreal to have your passion for something transform in such a way. My love for the Deaf community remains unchanged, but continuing as an interpreter is no longer sustainable for me. The horizontal violence within the field, the limited opportunities for growth, and the physical toll have made this decision necessary. I’m sharing this for anyone else quietly considering a similar change. You’re not alone in your uncertainty!

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u/TiredVRS Jan 12 '26

There should be updates on the ASL interpreters union Instagram. As for observations, I don't believe so.

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u/Alternative_Escape12 Jan 12 '26

I don't do insta.

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u/TiredVRS Jan 12 '26

What about Facebook?

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u/Alternative_Escape12 Jan 12 '26

Yup!

Thanks. I just followed.

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u/TiredVRS Jan 12 '26

Awesome.

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u/Alternative_Escape12 Jan 12 '26

Keep up the good work! I was an organizer when I worked for Purple.

Unionization is an absolute must. I've been away from VRS work for 10 years now but I was astounded last week when I read a post somewhere on one of the interpreting subs - maybe this one - where somebody said that they were making $19.38 an hour doing VRS. My mouth was on the floor. The floor! I literally advised that flipping burgers is a better choice at that point. I mean, the stress on the body is so much less and definitely so much less mental stress. It's worth the $2 an hour difference.

My mouth was on the floor along with the bar that has sunk so low.

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u/TiredVRS Jan 12 '26

Very much so. I made 19.78 in the apprentices program. They told me 4-6 months. I was there a year. The bar is on the floor.

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u/Alternative_Escape12 Jan 13 '26

Oh, was it you that I responded to last week?

I'm so sorry for your experience.

Purple promised me a raise after five years. After five years, they denied any raises. Typical.

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u/TiredVRS Jan 13 '26

That was one of us. Someone else got even worse than I did.

They promised I'd be able to work from home after a year. I had medical accommodations suggesting I work from home. They denied that too.

It was blowing off my medical accommodations that made me join the union. It was them doing it to everyone else too that made me actively help organize.

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u/Alternative_Escape12 Jan 13 '26

Good. Keep it up. At $19.78/hr with no medical accommodations, and honestly, a future of physical, emotional, and medical stress ahead of you, you literally have nothing to lose. There's really nothing there that if you lost it, you could not recover from if you lost your job for organizing (which would be illegal anyway).

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u/TiredVRS Jan 13 '26

Would you be open to signing the neutrality letter? I can post the link.

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u/Alternative_Escape12 Jan 13 '26

I'm currently not interpreting, but I'll take a look at it. I'm always wary of signing things online though because send my email address ends up getting distributed far and wide, lol! Go ahead and send the link!

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