Video Relay Service (VRS) provided by the FCC-administered TRS fund is a critical tool for providing functionally equivalent service in ASL for the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Two private equity-owned companies dominate the VRS market: Sorenson Communications, owned by Ariel Alternatives and Blackstone, and ZP Better Together, owned by Kinderhook Industries and backed by Carlyle. Their role is exposed in the new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.
In 2023 alone, Blackstone CEO Steven Schwarzman made over $839 million. He has a net worth of $40 billion.
Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz made over $187 Million in 2023. Carlyle’s three co-founders have a net worth of over $11 billion.
Private equity firms raise money from investors like pension funds to buy companies using large amounts of debt placed on the portfolio company. Driven by the promise of high returns for investors, firms attempt to quickly extract as much cash as possible, often by loading up debt.
Research highlighted in the report shows that VRS interpreters have a demanding job — workers experience high levels of muscular strain, distress, and burnout, leading to job shortages, high turnover, and job dissatisfaction. Interpreters handle highly sensitive information and take on “vicarious trauma” when interpreting across a variety of contexts.
With little support offered by employers, interpreters find it difficult to remain in the profession and provide high quality care while meeting their own ethical standards, according to interviews with ASL interpreters.
Beyond the stress of the job itself, many workers report insufficient pay and benefits. In 2023, the FCC increased payment rates to VRS providers by 30 to 49 percent and estimated that wages for interpreters would rise by 65 percent over the next five years, but aside from modest cost of living adjustments, workers at Sorenson and ZP Better Together have not seen that reflected in wages.
The private equity firms that back these VRS companies should commit to policies that guarantee fair wages and occupational safety and health, non-interference and neutrality when employees seek to join a union, among others.
Given how critical VRS is to the everyday lives of its users, companies, private equity owners, and federal regulators should ensure high quality working conditions to allow for high quality service by allowing workers to organize with the ASL Interpreters Union free of management interference and retaliation.