Fighting for Good Call Center Jobs

CWA activists are fighting to keep good call center jobs here in the U.S., and one way to help make that happen is through legislation that takes away the rewards that U.S. companies now receive for moving jobs offshore.

The "U.S. Call Center and Worker Protection Act of 2013," H.R. 2909, was again introduced in Congress, and CWA members are pushing hard for its passage, with actions and events underway in October and to mark the global Call Center Action Month that is focusing on compensation and professionalism.

The bi-partisan legislation is sponsored by Democratic Reps. Tim Bishop (NY-1), Mike Michaud (ME-2) and Gene Green (TX-29), along with Republicans David McKinley (WVA-1), Michael Grimm (NY-11) and Chris Gibson (NY-19).

State legislative efforts have been building over the past year with bills introduced in Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, New York and New Jersey, and other states.

"Press 1 For America," a part of the bill, requires call center employees to identify their location and outside the United States, to offer consumers the opportunity to be transferred back to a U.S. facility. The bill also bars federal grants, loans and subsidies to companies that send call center jobs offshore.

About 3 percent of the U.S. workforce is employed at call centers, making these jobs an important part of our economy. But over the past five years, offshoring has hit this industry hard, with half a million jobs lost to offshoring and layoffs.