Simul
From Eikaiwa Wiki
Simul Academy was apparently originally started by Muramatsu Masumi in the 1970's [1]. Masumi, a skilled interpreter, set up a very successful interpreting and translation company called Simul and eventually expanded into book publishing that concentrated on translations of well-known Western books but also began commissioning books of it's own. Simul would later go bankrupt, mainly because of the over-expansion into book publishing, and was bought out by BERLITZ benesse.
Simul Academy did (or still does under the ownership of Berlitz) high level translator and interpreter training. recognizing the need for high level professional teachers to train the translators, they had (and may still have) a good relationship with unionized teachers so the turnover rate was/is much lower.[2]
- (from the union's news page)
- "On Wednesday, August 27, SAITU members voted to refuse all overtime work until the Union's demands were met. On Friday, August 29 the management of Simul International conceded to the Union's demands. The Union members determined to launch the action when, in a surprise announcement, management inserted new provisions to Union members' contracts coming up for renewal at the end of September. Management proposed axing two weeks of teachers' vacation and putting teachers on a 'merit pay' system. When teachers cancelled Sunday overtime interviews for new students, management quickly threw in the towel. Management withdrew the contract changes and agreed in writing not to make future changes in teacher contracts. One of the keys to the success of the boycott was that all the teachers at Simul participated, Union and non-union alike."
[edit] References
- ↑ Personal website - Greg's life story
- ↑ Personal weblog Interview with Louis Carlet
