Dear Sorenson:
I was recently approached by your PR department asking me to contribute my artwork to your promotions during Deaf Awareness Week. New work was especially desired, the email said, and my work would reach thousands of visitors on Sorenson’s Web site and Facebook page. It would bring “exposure,” they said.
I wrote back stating that in order to feed my family and be able to continue working in my craft, I would need to be paid for this work.
Your response stated that there was no budget for compensation. None of the Deaf artists featured would be paid.
I am upset that your idea of promoting yourself through Deaf artists during Deaf Awareness Week includes short-changing them. We are professionals. If a multi-million-dollar company can afford a PR department, let alone the salary of the employee who sent me the original email, they can most certainly afford to compensate Deaf artists for their work.
I have helped you by having your VP in my home, and by using your services. I’m disappointed that you seem to think you are doing me a favor, when I and other Deaf artists helped you earn millions of dollars. This is wrong.
Please reconsider, Sorenson. The Deaf community is your business partner. You do not cheat your business partners. Deaf artists have a special skill that none of your staff have; otherwise, you would not be approaching them. Value it.
Even if you never work with me again, I hope this letter will at least prompt you and other companies to recognize my colleagues as professionals.
Adrean Clark
Illustrator
Adreanaline.com
TerpToons.com
They have a lot of nerve doing this. I’m glad you stood firmly and declined the offer. This move will benefit them tremendously, but you won’t be getting any financial compensation. Not a fair deal at all for the Deaf artists.
Thanks for sharing this tidbit with us. We are fortunate that many other VRS companies have contributed to the Deaf Community financially. Not Sorenson. *shaking head*
Please contact me I would gladly feature your work and compensate you.
Sean Belanger
CEO ZVRS
Excellently written letter, and very valid points!
I like your guts! We must take stand against exploitation. This is the worst kind of exploitation I’ve ever read. Shame on you, Sorenson!
BINGO… You are right on this and WELL SAID!
Sorenson doesnt care about deaf community but PROFITS!
Bravo.
Good for you, Madame!
“Exposure”? Call it exploitation. That feeble excuse has been used as a come-on to persuade artists and photographers to contribute free products or time. Even large companies and well-funded nonprofits with huge advertising budgets try this. This unethical practice is to be condemned.
Now that the Internet is so widespread and universally used, “exposure” is no longer a reason for giving away freebies.
A company that made huge profits for its stockholders from Deaf people has a moral responsibility to return some of that profit. How? By giving business to Deaf professionals and creatives as well as by employing Deaf people.
I am disappointed in Sorenson and have been looking for alternative videophone services for some time. This is further incentive for me to switch.
Surprised? NOT!
That is how SorensonVRS have done over the years.
You wake up now. Bark at them is a little too late.
Just stop doing them a favor by switching to other VRS.
Your choice.
Well said and well done…
It’s exploitation. Period.
A lot of corporations and organizations do this to the professionals on a daily basis. Artists, photographers, graphic designers, etc.
It’s not right. I find these practices to be highly unethical and offensive. I am a graphic designer, It bothers me to see people being taken advantage of.
I also hate these so-called competitions for a logo redesign, logos for events, etc. They always award small prizes such as $500. It’s a joke. It is a form of exploitation.
A logo can be very difficult to get for under $1,000 due to the research, thumbnails, revisions, mileage, printing, etc. They often go for thousands and thousands for the big corporations due to the amount of work involved.
They need to start respecting the artists, photographers, graphic designers and such.
I admired your standing up to point them out. YOU are a professional artist and need to be compensated. No questions! I myself am a professional design consultant. I specialize in architect designs. As a professional consultant myself, I would immediate decline their offer. I saluted you for standing up.
J
Hello, excellent letter!!! We all apperciate you taking a stand against that audistic company!
Bravo, Adrean. The world needs more people like you in it to stand up for what’s right.
Way to go, girl!!
Adrean,
We are sorry to miss the opportunity of featuring your great work as part of our celebration of deaf culture in September. Sorenson appreciates that you work hard to create interesting and compelling work which you sell to support your family. The value that Sorenson is able to bring to artists in this program is the exposure and promotion to the tens of thousands of individuals who visit our website and Facebook page. The people highlighted in our Deaf Awareness Month program are presented to both hearing and deaf visitors as a celebration of deaf art and culture. Sorenson does, in fact, invest a great deal in deaf-centric sponsorships to support deaf-related causes, and we will continue to do so. We wish our resources were unlimited so that we could fund any and all appropriate causes. Of course, this is not the case, and while it may seem that Sorenson has unlimited funds, we cannot do everything that we would like to do. We wish you much success in your endeavors and hope that we can work together another time.
Sincerely,
Dana
You.Go.Girl!!!!!!!!! <3
Very well said! I would be irritated and angry but you definitely kept your composure through this and like people say, you’ve hit it right on the nose. I think it’s great you’ve taken the time to share this with the rest of the world!
I hope Sorenson is embarrassed and will learn something from this. Probably not but perhaps it’s time for the community to withdraw their support from Sorenson.
Adrean, I salute you for sharing your thoughts with precise points. Too many times, artists are exploited for their hard work without earning enough money and it is much more common among Deaf artists for sure.
I cannot helped but be bothered how Sorenson boasts to “invest a great deal in deaf-centric sponsorships to support deaf-related causes” while in fact they have dared to find the money to sponsor AGBell convention every year. http://nc.agbell.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=274
What kind of message is Sorenson sending to the Deaf community when prioritizing their sponsorship to such organization that suppresses sign language instead of sponsoring Deaf artists like you? Sorenson, if the resources are so limited, then it is the time to re-prioritize and do the right thing.
Hello Everyone,
Should not be surprised by this situation with SorensonVRS. Basically Sorenson is invested and operated by a large wealthy group of hearing people that they care about the money. They do not really care what the deaf people needs. Lowering the cost and maximizing their profit are most essentials to them. This idea is applied to many of other VRS companies. You notice Sean Belanger, CEO of ZVRS is just another one of these hearing wolves in sheepskin. Don’t fall for it.
I would suggest you to shift your VP200 remote controller from SorensonVRS to these VRS companies which are operated and/or owned by deaf person or people.
1) ConvoRelay
2) PowerVRS
3) West Interpreting Network (WIN)
4) Bimbaum Interpreting Service (BISVRS)
5) NationWide VRS
6) Hey-Say VRS
7)
Shifting from SorensonVRS to Deaf-Owned VRS companies, the deaf economic will be expanded largely and competitively better. Reducing the Sorenson’s market share would be a lot better and healthier for other VRS competitors.
Links:
http://commerson.blogspot.com/2010/03/open-letter-from-alfred-sonnenstrahl.html
http://rc.blip.tv/
http://djstacey.weebly.com/1/post/2010/05/sorenson-asking-for-a-bailout-from-fcc.html
http://www.myvrs.org/blog/2010/08/sorenson-communications-layoffs-employees-after-fcc-change-vrs-tired-rate/comment-page-2/#comment-617
http://www.myvrs.org/blog/2010/08/sorenson-communications-layoffs-employees-after-fcc-change-vrs-tired-rate/comment-page-2/#comment-615
While your letter is very well written, it seems like you were itching for a reason to hate on Sorenson.
There are aspiring artists of all kinds that would love to have the visibility that a large company could give their work. Those people would jump on this opportunity, as many likely have. Not to mention that the effort wasn’t in building a corporate logo, but rather to help promote Deaf Awareness Week. Perhaps you feel you are better than those artists or the cause isn’t worth a donation of your effort?
They respected your work enough to approach you with an offer to promote it along with a good cause. Instead of simply saying ‘no thank you’ and walking away, you instead turned the situation into some kind of anti sorenson rant.
SorensonVRS DOES have funds, but they choose to INVEST it elsewhere. Like other comments above, Sorenson DOES NOT contribute to the deaf communities. Only big named institutions or businesses that is well known to place their Service there. For example, Airport, Apple, College, etc. Deaf Communities?? Name one if you can…Do they LISTEN to us? NO! If they have name one!
It would be NICE to see how it feels if we as a consumer to them BOYCOTT their VRS Service and see how reality struck on their end.
I am for boycott, are you?
The purposes for VRS is to bless us with a phone call to our needs, not to be in any damn competition or taking advantage of us deaf/hh.
One blogger named Surprised! has stated that it is too late to bark at them, I agree but BOYCOTT is best and to do that find a good VRS Provider such as Purple and CONVO…They are a blessing to use their friendly tools.
Thank u!
Your an open letter to Soreson Communication is well written. We, the Deaf people, have the same experience like you. All they want is free or pay less for your professional work to save their budet. They don’t seem care about how excellent worker you are. They cares about themselves. Of course, they will say ” Well, we have college degree and you don”t have one that is why you can not enter this big contest company.” Interpreters will help other interpreters more than to help Deaf workers and do you know why ? ….They are getting higher pay than ASL Deaf Teachers. Image that ?…. Yes, dead seriously. They saw the idea of using Deaf people for many things just as CI sugery, interpreters, Avt, speech therapy, and you name it ! yes, it is so unfair. Life sucks when they using us. They have no respect for us for whatsoever! They were smart to give us free soreson in your home yeah wonderful great idea thank you !!!…Now what happen ?? they got their job to work to make a good living with good pay and good benefits until they retired. YI am so glad that you speak up !
Great job telling Sorenson off! They just want your art work so they can make millions off everyone’s art work! They’re too crooked to admit that they do have money and don’t want to profit any Deaf people’s work, if it was Hearing’s work, they will compensate them because they know hearing are not dumb!
I am all for boycotting Sorenson for a month! Can we start this boycotting Sorenson for a month and see how Sorenson reacts! LOL I would love to be a fly on the wall at Sorenson when we all did that!
Good Luck!
Excellent letter Adrean. I agree that what they want is $$$$$ and they dont care about the Deaf community. Remember this is a bussiness and they are looking for profits. In my family we have a real dissaponting job experience, they have lack of sensitiviness.
Good luck on all your plans and keep your voice loud!!!!