CWA: Bringing Home Quality Jobs is "Win for Everyone"

CWA Local 3640 Executive Vice President Lori Manuel, a 28-year US Airways reservation agent in Winston-Salem, N.C., speaks out on the need for good jobs to return to the U.S. at a Senate news briefing in the U.S. Capitol. Manuel was joined by co-workers Charlice Boston and Karen Justice-Hardman. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)(above) is the bill's sponsor.

CWA members who are US Airways reservations agents in Winston-Salem, N.C., joined a Capitol Hill news conference that focused on companies that "insource" good jobs and called for action to stop the offshoring of U.S. work.

The news conference was led by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) a day before the vote on the Bring Jobs Home Act, S. 2884. The Bring Jobs Home Act, authored by Stabenow and co-sponsored by Durbin, Whitehouse and Blumenthal, ends a tax giveaway that rewards companies that ship jobs overseas and provides a tax cut for American businesses that move overseas jobs and business activity back to the United States.

Today, the Senate vote was 56-42, not enough to meet the "super majority" of 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster.

Lori Manuel, a 28-year US Airways reservation agent, was joined by new colleagues Charlice Boston and Karen Justice-Hardman. All work at the Winston-Salem, N.C., call center and are members of CWA Local 3640; Manuel is an executive vice president.

Manuel told senators and reporters that "call center workers at US Airways have seen 700 jobs returned to the U.S. over the past few years, and this is terrific news for workers, customers and our company."

This work came back because CWA negotiated with US Airways to reach an agreement on bringing back quality jobs, and "that's a win for everyone. It shows that a smart company recognizes that quality service is a real competitive advantage," she said.

"We hear every day from customers who say they are so glad to talk with someone in the United States. Satisfied customers are what US Airways wants, and as agents, we want to keep our quality jobs, that provide good benefits and the opportunity for us to take care of our families and be a part of our communities," Manuel said.

Today, Stabenow expressed her deep disappointment that the Senate could not work together to move forward on the legislation.

The American people are "scratching their heads, saying 'What in the word is going on when we can't come together on the simple premise that Americans should not be paying for jobs that go overseas?'"

But she vowed to keep fighting. "We're going to keep at it," she said.