Massage Union??

Comment

Comment by Julie Onofrio on November 16, 2009 at 2:26pm

I actually just had a friend of mine (Male) who works at a spa get falsely accused of inappropriate behavior with a client and he got fired. They won't even tell him what he supposedly did. They are just reporting him to the state board. He has little recourse unless he hires a lawyer which of course he can't afford. He isn't a self starter so likes having a job so starting a business is out for him. A union could also help in these kind of situations.

Julie

Comment by Laura Allen on November 16, 2009 at 11:55am

I think part of what is missing here is: low-paying relative to what? ME is known for hiring a lot of people who are fresh out of school.

I don't know what they get, so let's say for argument's sake they get started out at $16 an hour. If, prior to going to ME to work, that person was working in a fast food restaurant for minimum wage, or at Wal-mart for less than $10 an hour, that makes ME look pretty dang good. Of course, a seasoned therapist who is used to making much more probably doesn't want to go there.

As Darcy has said, they are provided with benefits. I know quite a few therapists who are perfectly happy working at ME on account of that.

Comment by lee kalpin on November 16, 2009 at 11:05am

Responding to Gloria's posting - here in Ontario the requirements for massage therapy education are approximately 2200 hours , which translates to 2 - 3 years, depending on whether the student attends a private college or a community college. As a result, our graduates are quite justified in expecting to earn a higher income. First of all, they have paid a lot of money for their course, and they are extremely well qualified. However, the amount of compensation still boils down to presenting oneself as a professional and negotiating a good contract. If a massage therapist finds himself/herself in an unsatisfactory arrangement, they should quit and move on, accepting it as a learning experience. I find that some of the younger graduates are in the low-paying positions, but it's not all bad. They need the experience in doing massage therapy, in learning how to interact with clients, and with managing a business situation. When they have acquired experience and maturity they should be able to move on to a better position

Comment by Gloria Coppola on November 16, 2009 at 9:56am

Thanks Great to hear that Massage Envy is doing all that! Thanks Darcy!

Comment by Darcy Neibaur on November 16, 2009 at 8:04am

If it was not for Massage Envy, who is a sponsor for alot of events and conventions, A Global Sponsor for the World Massage Conference, and ABMP, a lot of therapists would not have jobs nor the benefits that come with those jobs. Massage Envy employees received free registration to the WMC, discounts on ABMP membership free CEU's etc, etc, etc. Listen for those advertisments when they introduce the sponsors and see how many events your hear Massage Envy mentioned first. We all might be surprised. No Union membership here.

Comment by Laura Allen on November 16, 2009 at 6:05am

I certainly don't ever see myself wanting to join a union.

I have found it interesting this week on the World Massage Conference that ME is one of the main sponsors, and all the commercials repeatedly say "Massage Envy is the largest employer of massage therapists in the US."

Comment by Gloria Coppola on November 15, 2009 at 11:13pm

I personally would never want a union!
I agree with Lee and many of the other comments here.

We need to teach students about business!
We need to train them properly

Schools that are promoting massage as a way to make money, need to stop!
I agree with Mike, it used to be run by people who cared about the healing work!

I hear very positive things from employees from places like Massage Envy or Hand and Stone and similar types of franchise. I don't think it's the franchises that are the problem, I think it is the management of some that people are disappointed with.

I have several former students of mine that started out with a franchise company 10 years ago and many of them are still working for them and now teaching for them. That says something!!

I also feel MT's are getting out of hand thinking they should make huge wages for an education that consists of approx. 6 months! Come on guys, really? What if your MD only went to school for a year? PT's have a rigorous training and I hear MT's wanting the same pay That's ridiculous!. Maybe we do more hands on, but we surely don't know the same stuff they do (Unless you seriously educated yourself after massage school).

If there are unions, they will dictate what you can and cannot do. Is that why you went into this profession?

If it wasn't for places like the ME's, where would MT's get work? If you don't like it, then open your own practice. Think it's easier?

With the unemployment rate so high and people taking jobs for minimum wage that used to make fairly decent salaries, I think we need to stop being 'greedy' and be grateful that we get to do work we "love"!


We need to respect owners and their efforts and their
financial investments.
If they are truly exploiting you, then find another place to work and write an article , get involved with your massage community, educate others....and stop complaining!

Julie, I think it's these schools that do false advertising and make false promises that are the problems first!
I worked in a few in the midwest. They had students in the classes that didn't belong there. They made them huge promises ! $60 +/more when they come out. Most of these students, quite honestly can't pass a simple math test. The truth! I spoke with admissions, they are told to 'push them through', they need to reach their % quotas for the quarter. Financial aid is offered left and right.

Geez, I had students in these classes that didn't even want to receive a massage.
I had some that had felony records and the schools didn't tell them they wouldn't be able to get licensed.
I had individuals that had 'huge' hygiene problems and couldn't understand why no one wanted a massage.

The problem!! The schools in it for the money!


Those of us that are truly dedicated to this profession and have learned how to operate our business' know what it takes to be successful.

If you can run your own business, be grateful there are places out there that know how!

Even when I have the slowest times in my profession I am grateful for what I have. I am grateful that I don't have to work in a 'true' factory breathing in fumes or any other job that has difficult working conditions.

Should places be paying $8/hr. Personally, NO. But I won't work there either, so why would you?
common sense, we don't need a union. We need to stand up for ourselves!

The lowest wage I ever got working for someone was $20/hr plus tips. In reality, its not a terrible wage and as one person on the massage survey said "it beats unemployment"

Comment by lee kalpin on November 10, 2009 at 9:53pm

I have read this comment a few times - that massage therapists should have a union. It leads me to wonder if they understand what a union is! First of all, a union serves people who are employed in a particular type of work, usually an industry. It forms as a way of bargaining for wages and conditions. That is not applicable for massage therapists since many of them are self-employed, and many others work on a commission basis. I am not in the U.S. but here in Canada massage therapists working for a wage are the exception. Unless the members have common concerns, then there is no commonality on which to form bargaining strategies.
The second aspect is that a union takes a great deal of organizing, People must be ready to take leadership and managereal responsibilities, they have to be paid, and this means that members must pay UNION DUES.
I suspect that most massage therapist would balk at the idea of paying substantial dues.

I think what is hugely needed is for schools to have much expanded and relevant business courses. Each therapist should know how to negotiate a contract with an employer. MTs need to present themselves as professionals and negotiate working conditions that they will be satisfied with. This must be done on an individual basis, since each job situation is very different. Those who are asking for a union are hoping that some big person on high will do that negotiating for them! That is not reality - they need to learn to do it for themselves

It takes a great deal of organizing to

Comment by Mike Hinkle on November 9, 2009 at 11:13am

Julie,

When schools first started they were ran by therapists that cared. So many schools now are hiring ill prepared instructors, because there are not proper standards for instructors, to teach in schools. Many school owners are there for the money and are not therapists themselves. They do the minimum to make the most money. A lot attribute this to the tech colleges adding puppy mill education based just on hour accomplishment.

Massage Envy is a great program that has faced and proved itself against much negative propaganda. They are to be commended. Have there been problems inside of the individually owned franchises? Of course. You are dealing with therapists and management. Then you hear, yea but they have so much more problems... That's like saying, there are more traffic accidents in CA. Duh, no kidding, they are bigger. Same with Massage Envy. They employ more therapists than anyone.

This anti effort, reminds me, of the Wal~Mart argument, that it will put ICs out of business... weak!

Comment by Julie Onofrio on November 9, 2009 at 10:44am

It isn't only about ME. Unions always come up in the topic of discussions. I emailed that person to find out more and they are not able to tell me who they are but they seem to have the info about what is going on. They know the ME owners will be seeing their posts.

In general though would a union be helpful for massage therapists who are in jobs - not just at ME?

I don't really like the idea of them but people who are in them swear by them. I would not like to see everyone getting the same rate of pay for what they do. It is so limiting for one thing.

The thing is we don't really know about what ME or other employees are thinking. It is all just hearsay really.

The discussion I would like to have is would a union be helpful? Why do massage therapists take those low paying jobs in the first place? Where are the massage schools going wrong? They actually promote jobs at ME and have job fairs with them I think because they just want their grads to have jobs and they don't care what one.

Julie

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