WORKING THROUGH THE PAIN

The report details a crisis of occupational health among ASL interpreters at the two dominant US Video Relay Service (VRS) providers, Sorenson Communications and ZP Better Together. Drawing on academic research and interviews, it finds that intense call volumes, insufficient breaks, and a lack of ergonomic support lead to high rates of cumulative motion injury and psychological distress. These conditions, exacerbated by private equity ownership, drive experienced interpreters to leave the field, thereby reducing the quality of service for Deaf users. The document recommends that the FCC and VRS providers engage with unions and researchers to redesign job roles and increase break times.

• The US Video Relay Service (VRS) market is dominated by two companies with private equity ties: Sorenson Communications (owned by Ariel Alternatives and Blackstone) and ZP Better Together (recently sold by Kinderhook to Teleperformance).
• Academic research indicates that VRS interpreting causes higher levels of psychological distress and occupational health risks than other ASL interpreting settings, contributing to a national interpreter shortage.
• VRS interpreters suffer from high rates of cumulative motion injury (CMI) and musculoskeletal pain; one study found that only 18.8% of surveyed VRS interpreters reported having no pain.
• Working conditions at Sorenson and ZP Better Together are characterized by intense call volumes and insufficient downtime, with software tracking that allows for an average of only 10 minutes of non-call time per hour.
• Interpreters report a lack of employer support for physical health and mental trauma, including insufficient ergonomic training and inadequate responses to abusive or traumatic calls.
• The pressure of high call volumes and low staffing creates a cycle where experienced interpreters leave the industry, which in turn increases the workload for remaining staff and lowers service quality for Deaf users.
• Interpreters have launched an organizing campaign with the Office of Professional Employees’ International Union (OPEIU) as of September 2024, but major providers have refused to meet for collective bargaining.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2025). WORKING THROUGH THE PAIN. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PESP_Report_VRS_Safety_2025.pdf

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. WORKING THROUGH THE PAIN. 2025. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PESP_Report_VRS_Safety_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=WORKING THROUGH THE PAIN |date=June 2025 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PESP_Report_VRS_Safety_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2025working, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{WORKING THROUGH THE PAIN}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PESP_Report_VRS_Safety_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }