Offshoring Bill Becomes Big Focus of Rep. Hanna Town Hall

Members of CWA Local 1126 took over a town hall meeting of Rep. Richard Hanna in Utica, N.Y. to press for his support of legislation to stop offshoring of call center jobs.

About 45 members of CWA Local 1126 just about took over the Utica, N.Y., town hall meeting of Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.)

The activists, members of CWA's Legislative-Political Action Team, pressed Hanna on his refusal so far to support the offshoring bill, which would stop federal grants and loan guarantees to companies that move call center jobs overseas.

The bill, H.R. 3596, introduced by Reps. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Dave McKinley (R-W.Va), also requires that consumers are told of the call center agent's location and transferred to a U.S.-based agent on request.

CWA activists have generated more than 100 calls to Hanna's office, urging him to co-sponsor the bill. Verizon, a major employer in Hanna's district, is a big opponent of the bill because it, along with other profitable companies, is shifting good jobs overseas.

If Hanna refuses to co-sponsor the bill, CWA members will follow him around his district to remind voters that the congressman apparently supports sending good jobs overseas.