What We Advocate For
the usolmt advocacy program
WHAT WE ADVOCATE FOR:
*Safe and sustainable workplaces
*Holding employers accountable to the law
*Eliminating wage theft in the massage industry
*Eliminating sexual solicitation and harassment
*Eliminating prostitution in our industry
*Regulations that promotes ease of practice
*Reduction of continuing fees associated with your career
*Reduction of fees associated with massage establishment licensing
*Changes in municipal codes to separate massage from sexually oriented businesses
*Quality entry-level and continuing education
*More opportunities to receive massage in low-income areas
*More opportunities to provide massage therapy to underserved and underprivileged populations
*Diversity, equity, and inclusion displayed in massage therapy leadership boards
*The student's right to a high-quality massage education
*Improvement to the working conditions of massage therapists - higher pay, better benefits, perks, bonus programs, and salaries
*The elevation of massage-therapist owned businesses and employers
*High health and safety standards in massage therapy including the prevention of infectious disease such as Covid-19, Influenza and others
*Massage Therapists' right to refuse service
*Worker's rights in Massage Employment
*The education of governments, media, and law-enforcement regarding our profession
*Increased public awareness and education regarding massage therapy
*Leadership Transparency, Authenticity and Visibility
*Licensing continuity, CE Continuity, and Standardization of Requirements
*Prevention of the Misclassification of Independent Contractors
*Anti-Bullying & Harassment in our industry and workplaces
*Education in public health, vaccines, and science literacy for all massage therapists
*Expanded business resources and education for all massage therapists
*This is not an exhaustive list. The bottom line is that we advocate for you personally and our profession's forward progress. If you need help with your concerns, do not hesitate to contact us.
USOLMT In Action
USOLMT IN ACTION: 2020-2021
USOLMT's first direct advocacy calls happened shortly after massage therapists began returning to work nationwide, mid-2020. These calls were related to employer covid-19 standards and violation of state-specific guidelines. We guided therapists to the proper agencies to report violations and assisted with making those reports online. We also developed an LMT Return to Work Campaign detailing the areas that therapists should ask their employers about.
Since then, we've had other calls that we've investigated and contacted employers about regarding wage theft, unpaid final paychecks, misclassification, reports of unlicensed therapists and unlicensed practices. We've secured pay for employees and reported unlicensed therapists and practices to the proper authorities.
We reached out to the local media when the Atlanta Shootings happened and wrote letters to the Presidents of both AMTA and ABMP with our thoughts.
Our founder, Stephanie Rodriguez developed a consulting package for businesses using the information we've collected from speaking to thousands of massage therapists about what they want and need at work to help employers improve their workplaces, compensation plans and training programs and bring them more in line with what their employees and potential employees are looking for.
We have actively dug deep into the newest online massage education options so we can truly understand how the programs work and voiced our concerns. We met with an attorney to explore how to create a sexual solicitation reporting tool for massage therapists.
We are excited to continue our advocacy work and diving deep to understand the issues in our profession. Through this work and the learning opportunities we've sought out, one thing is clear. Massage therapists have to be their own advocates on the ground. We need to take action together and support each other to create positive change.
