Steps you can take NOW:

1.    Sign this petition if you agree with the statement below.

2.    Please indicate your membership status (i.e., Active, Voting, [ATA] Certified, Student, etc.) and the name of your association(s) in the section: I'm signing because ...

3. Share with the directors of your association. 

Even if you are not a member of an association, you can show your support by signing and then writing in “In support only.”

STATEMENT 

We must empower our national and state associations to lobby on our behalf!

The passage of California's Assembly Bill 5 into law on January 1, 2020 threatened the livelihood of language professionals by compelling agencies to hire freelancers as employees rather than contracting with them. What happened in California will soon be happening in every state of the Union, if we don’t act swiftly with a winning strategy for advocacy.
 
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act* is looming in the background, it already passed the House of Representatives. And, once again, this bill will threaten freelance language professionals, but this time on a national scale. We need lobbying power. We need each and every translator and interpreter association to revisit their bylaws and take the lead in this monumental task before us. 

We are asking our respective associations, regardless of their non-profit status, to make the necessary structural adjustments so that it can lobby on our behalf. Associations can no longer take a back seat and watch us do the work for them. We can no longer stand to pay membership dues for things we can get outside our respective associations. We need them to step up to the plate. We need to feel protected.
 
Lobbying power has proven to be more successful when combined with constituency-driven advocacy. Having a lobbyist doesn’t mean we stop advocating for our profession; on the contrary, it shows that we are serious about our livelihood. Lawmakers must know that before they attempt to make substantial changes, they will have to consult the professionals that will be impacted by such changes. A lobbyist can monitor bills and swiftly intervene as evidenced by the exemptions obtained in California by some lobbying groups of other professions, very early in the process. Even one local Association of Independent Judicial Interpreters of California (AIJIC) that hired a lobbyist got things done faster and more in line with our needs. Another independent group of language professionals also hired a lobbyist. An association needs to be front and center in the discussions, instead of standing on the sidelines.

Now is time to protect the membership!

Let’s start a conversation with our associations. They need to hear from you directly. Please write a letter or email the entire board so that they can hear our voices.
 

*Note: Nothing in this statement is meant to discourage laws that offer worker protections.