"There's been a rumor of a big temp attorney strike at the Hudson Newark project. Apparently, they've been desperate to fill the jobs, and the temps have some decent leverage. Word is some people might put a walk-out together and demand Dr. King's day back."
I really hope this is true. It's time for some structure, people. The firms, temp agencies, predatory banks, and TTT law schools are continuing to eat us alive. How much more non-dischargeable law school debt will they be allowed to pile on top us? For the fifth straight year, will you just sit back and allow them to yet again "deflate your rate"? Will you lose yet another P.T.O. (not just any P.T.O, but one belonging to Dr. King), while profits per partner continue to soar? I hope not.
Also, Tom the Temp will be in D.C. in the coming days and plans to meet up with the newly established "D.C. Temp Attorney Underground". I also want to thank the Philadelphia Black Sheep for doing one hell of a job down in the Rebel Capital. http://blacksheepcontractatty.blogspot.com/ We are utterly disorganized at this point, but what we do have is a good, small first step.
48 comments:
If only it were true! Let's hope it is.
I pray it is. We want our fuckin 8 hrs!!!
I pray it is. We want our fuckin 8 hrs!!!
careful with the strike people.... management will cut you out and not look back.... would be interesting though... $35 an hour maybe low for the NYC area.... but try making that in other markets..... but you have to do what you have to do... please note that some people probably won't walk out.... they will simply keep their jobs and move up the doc ladder... the people who walk will be excised into doc oblivion....
Where does Lexolution come up with its rates? Have never seen such odd hourly numbers? Not a rate ending in a "0" or a "5" to be seen. What's the game with these strange increments? Am new to this.
Will they really be fired on the spot? I think a lot of people will be watching to see how the agencies and the firms behave in this situation.
Personally, I think most temps would be too scared or distracted to even consider it...Hudson would instantly blacklist them and other agencies and firms could see the M&E on their resume and put two and two together. So a sickout might only prove to blacklist you from ever working for most agencies in the NYC area ever again.
However, if all of these workers signed up for a union, then I believe more protections would apply in terms of retaliatory firing, especially by the agency. Not sure though.
At that point it gets interesting. A sickout will largely lead (as the prior poster said) to a massive purge. The irony of course, is that the best and most conscientious workers with higher standards are probably those that want to sickout and the less competent money grubbers with questionable billing practices are those that want to keep working and hog up all the hours. So let's see what happens.
rates can be anywhere.... major market: $40.00 and lower... maybe down to $35.00.... smaller market... start at $25.00... the key variable: is there OT on your project ??? if so how much and how much are you willing to get. to get a lot of OT you will have become a document zombie..... no workouts.... maybe some sleep... lots of coffee (try espresso instead).... plus the tax man loves killing a nice big OT check.... but OT is always 2x as good as no OT... even a little OT....
strike !!!!!!!!!!!!! sue the law schools !!!!!!!! got to get back to another document... see people later... power to the people !!!!!!!!!
and if anybody walks off..... at least the air will be nice... and the ride home will be sweeter... but of course, the bank account might rebel...
good luck people.... certainly a walk off would get blacklisted from the temp agency... you would really be technically walking out on the temp agency....
from an old song: there once was a union maid... she never was afraid...
and there is always the classic: which side are you on ? in harlan county, there are no neutral sides there.....
maybe those law professors who spoke about the Constitution and the bundle of straws (re: property) should walk out on their law schools in show of support for the dockers (or is that docers??).... did they cover computer mouse injuries in law school ??? probably too busy cashing those law professor checks...... a good gig if you can get it....
power to the people !
all quiet on that NJ front.....
what the eff is this talk of a strike? Folks, allow me to burst your bubble... all is well from 90 Mulberry.
I'm usually the first one to voice my opinions on TTT, but I must say in all fairness this is one of the more flexible projects I've worked on in quite some time... If you can get on it, I suggest you do so...
ps. I made $400 on referals alone :)(Thanks Hudson!)
Most people have not worked for the agency long enough to be eligible for holiday pay. Whoever is giving the false Newark updates is making fools out of all of you.
More horse shit from this disconnected whine-fest. Strike? Sick out? Over what? Getting fat money for simple work in a friendly and flexible environment. That makes sense.
Football!
Actually, I was in the very first group that began on the review... I referred 5, but only four have been put on thus far..supposedly there are limited spaces???
If you strike, Hudson will just re-hire the un-admitted con-artists they placed on their last project.
that's right, 11:18... strike away!! you will be the laughing stocks of the ny legal scene. if you aren't already.
Call in Princess Zuckerburg to quash the riot.
Princess Zuckerburg peers down from her mighty throne and loudly shouts, "Let Them Eat SHIT"!
For the millionth time you assclown, Princess Zuckerburg no longer works in the temp attorney industry. Pick someone new for your throne, Bro. This ship has sailed.
Are we talking a strike here, or a walk out, or a sick out?
The difference is a very practical one.
A strike is a threat not to work until demands are met. Strikes are also usually made public with picketers standing outside of a site. They can go on a long time, and usually need to be union supported because the union arranges some funds to help the workers survive.
A walk out is where everyone gets up from their desks at the same time and leaves at a specified time and either then proceeds to go on strike, or returns to work at a specified time. This is a relatively private method between employees and employers unless it is highly publicized to the news media, or the industry greatly effects the public. This usually has to be coordinated pretty tightly so that everyone leaves at the same time. Technically since you are allowed a lunch break and do not have many mandatory meetings, etc. You would be doing nothing wrong by all going to take lunch at the same time. If the overseers and contract firm is observant, they will get an inkling of organization and might try to prevent it, but if you can arrange this, you might as well actually unionize the job site.
A sick out means that everyone calls in sick for one day. It is a form of a strike that can be maintained for several days, but it is usually used for only a couple. This is also relatively private method between employees and employers unless it publicized, or the industry effects the public. One common use of a sick out is in fields that are essential to public safety and health. You have all heard of the Blue Flu. In those occupations, certain people are usually selected to serve on some of the days of the sick out. The intention in these situations is to leave the workforce so diminished that it is noticeable. It also falls short of a strike because people are using their legitimate sick days, and therefore cannot be fired for not being there that day. In an industry such as Doc Review, a highly organized sickout like a police force sickout is not necessary. There is really no one that has to be in work on any particular day, so essentially closing the office with a sick out is possible. Again, it can sometimes evolve into a full strike.
From the comments to previous posts, it sounds like people are NOT calling for a strike or a walk out, but a SICK OUT. It seems to me like it might work if you can get enough participation together A one hour walk out would not really disrupt job operations at all, thus there is no incentive to correct the problem. A full-on strike without a union is pretty much impossible for people who are in debt as we are (besides while I think that the staffing agencies would be hard pressed to find 300 new bodies to fill Doc Review positions, it is not impossible to do so over the course of a couple of weeks). A SICK OUT on the other hand is one day. 300 people send an e-mail or call the staffing agency the night before or day of the SICK OUT to tell them that they are sick and will not be in work today, but should be able to return tomorrow. This disrupts business operations enough to make them aware that you are organized, but not so much that they will fire everyone and do all of that work to replace them. They will look for the organizers, and they will look for how to prevent it in the future, but what they will not do is replace people that return to work.
For those of you concerned about how this looks on your resume, consider this project probably has a few years on it still as the drug has not been pulled from the market, and complications with diabetes that the plaintiffs will want to show will take a while to manifest themselves. A couple of things. 1. if fired, this job is so early that it doesn't have to go on your resume. 2. if the walk out were successful(enough participation), then you have the people to form a union which will snowball from there and protect your future ability to get hired.
As to the comment about how long people have worked for Hudson. That is true, many of you have not worked for Hudson long enough in Newark, but if you worked on any job for them that totaled 500 hours in the 16 weeks prior to the holiday then you would have been eligible. Also, think about it, you might be working this project next year. In any case, I think that the poster suggested it was from Philadelphia as their site has been running since summer 2007.
Finally, getting a paid Holiday back doesn't mean it has to be MLK day. We could demand a floating one, or a President's Day, Memorial Day, Good Friday, First day of Purim, Easter Monday, or some other day off. 2 years ago Hudson gave Memorial Day, last year they took that away and gave MLK day, now both are gone. For that matter you can pick your demands more pay, whatever. Just keep them simple, reasonable, and in direct response to what the staffing agency has done.
Any Cliff's Notes available for your post, 12:43? How about the abridged version next time?
sick out !!!!!!!! though that project doesn't sound so bad... i better starting pestering hudson maybe....
Still making fat money... besides, all should be eligible for 4th of July paid just from this project alone... and Hudson gives 8 hours PTO for every 400 worked. I plan on earning a vacation day every 6 weeks.
what is the coffee scenario ???
just got to my document gig.... documents might be dying here.. who knows... a sick out sounds like a nice vacation... is the newark gig still looking for robots ???
12:43, thank you for your thorough response. Very educational and necessary, so that people understand the differences and the affects of their decisions.
response was excellent..... solid information.... tough spot being a docker (or is it docer ?)
tried to get the law school professors to walk out in support of the possible NJ action.... but they were confused with the concept of a 30 minute lunch break since their job is basically a long lunch break... also the law school professors apparently had never heard of a dockers (or docers??).... i tried to explain that not all law graduates get to argue before the supreme court but.... i suggested a possible return of law school tution money... that was when the phone got hung up on me...
something to keep in mind ... some of these law firms are in the BUSINESS of union-busting. i don't know if that is the case of the firm at question here, but it is a possibility either on this project or another one. and as someone from a union family, i can tell you firsthand that people who bust unions for a living are ruthless motherfuckers (and don't count on much sympathy from the NLRB or the courts).
i'm not arguing AGAINST taking any action and i am totally in sympathy with y'all. i am just pointing out a very real possibility that y'all may face if you seriously go through with this.
Where are you working? It was laughs and smiles in my part of the Newark project. The only time the word "strike" came up was in reference to baseball. And why shouldn't we joke around? We "worked" five hours on Tuesday and were paid for eight. The work isn't challenging, the supervisors aren't overbearing in the least, and the pay is good.
Helpme123, you sound like you have low job satisfaction. Why do you continue to temp. Go work in a firm if this job isn't for you. Or is blogging easier than doing.
work in a firm that is a great idea...... is that before after they throw one's document review resume in the trash ...
You know, it kinda sounds like the union breakers write into these sites. 11:37 sounds like one, as well as many others. I am sure that not all of them are union breakers (at least not professionals). Some of them sound a little like they are employees of the Temp Firms, some the law firms, and yes, there might even be a few Temps out there who actually like what they are doing, though they are probably new to contracting (less than 6 months) and haven't been all that screwed yet.
Gotta love it when these a--holes "suggest" we "get a real job." Maybe Tom should post something reminding these folks that when "Contract Attorney" is on your resume, you can forget about a "real job."
Bullshit. You certainly won't get a job at a big firm, but that only accounts for a small percentage of legal jobs. The truth is, you can get a job at a small firm, but because there are so many lawyers, the pay is less than document review.
the comments left on this blog certainly don't help dignify the "contract attorney" positions on the resumes, FYI. All the uglyness on here... please.
dignify.... oh boy...i choose to use the word "reality"....at least, document review taught me how to operate in the jungle....
Ugliness here? I take it you've never had the pleasure of working on one of the NYC Metro doc review hellrides.
I guess you're one of the agency owners, kicking back watching the cash roll in.
9:25- if your skills are of the 'jungle' variety, then you are in fact of no use to a firm in a permanent capacity. Maybe you should apply to work as a tour guide in Kenya.
tour guide ?? how much does it pay ???
As Bon Jovi once sang:
Tommy used to work on the docks
Unions been on strike
He's down on his luck
It's tough... so tough.
I was the one who kinda mentioned a sick out a few months back when I was talking about the Viacom permalancer demonstrations.
I think that super-long post up top was important. Although I support a temporary walk-out/sick-out, I'm not sure about a strike. Strikes are too long-lasting and most temps can't sustain the fight. Late last year, I thought the whole writers' strike was an interesting development. It has since proven to be a bit troublesome. The two sides dug in and made it worse.
As for the Seroquel project, I happen to work in the Philly site. There are minor things about it that bug me (ex. three bathroom stalls for men on a floor of well over 200 people, no overtime over 40, some other minor things) but overall the project seems flexible and respectable compared to many of the horror stories I've heard.
"it always feels like somebodies watching you..."
Allan Cohen is a filthy......
5:02- couldn't get on the Newark project, huh? your life does blow the big one.
I'm starting on this project soon, and I think you people are a bunch of crybabies.
I worked on the Vioxx case, and Hudson is so amazingly wonderful.
Don't go complaining to me or around me because I will tell on you like I used to do there.
I may not be very bright, but I know how to kiss up to management.
more newark
Organizations like Hudson, Law Resources, HireCounsel, Cambridge Partners, Clutch Group etc., are simply subsidiaries of the law firms they service. But, they have an independent ethical obligation to seek the highest possible salary for their "employees" from their "employers".
None of them, of course, have the ethical fortitude to do this, and simply take what they can get and put the squeeze on hard working "contract attorneys" ... the same people who account for ALL of these organizations profits.
Try asking for a raise, after working for one of these agencies for a while. Try negotiating for better conditions. What will happen? You'll be "fired" (not re-hired) and you'll never get a job in that industry again.
We need federal legislative intervention which gives all employees of such agencies the right to unionize and strike (without being fired) against any company which does not offer sufficient benefits and salaries.
$35.00 an hour is pathetic. $35.00 an hour is appalling when no raises are provided after 1, 2, 3 or more years of service.
It is time these agencies and their employers are made to come into the real world and pay real salaries instead of given their minimally competent associates $100K a year bonunes
Stop picking on Hudson and McCarter! They rule! By the way, me Chinese me play joke me put pee-pee in your Coke!
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