CWA Members Join Sen. Sherrod Brown to Urge Action on Call Center Jobs

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) joined 30 call center workers from CWA Local 4322 in Dayton, Ohio, this week to call for action on his legislation to help rein in offshoring and bring call center jobs back to the United States.

Senator Brown is a cosponsor of the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act, which would make U.S. companies that offshore their call center jobs ineligible for certain taxpayer funded grants and loans, give U.S. consumers a right to know where they are calling and to be transferred to a U.S.-based location, and create a public list of companies that offshore call center jobs.

"Most Americans want to support American jobs by buying American whenever they can, and that includes the customer service they get from call centers," said Brown.

Democratic Senators alerted President Trump to the need for action on protecting call center jobs last year, but instead of working to reduce offshoring, the Trump Administration backed provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that provide incentives for corporations to send jobs overseas. Many of the companies that are the biggest beneficiaries of the Republican tax bill, including AT&T and Wells Fargo, have been closing American call centers and aggressively offshoring U.S. jobs, especially in the call center and customer service industry.

"My job is extremely important to me, my family, and my community. My call center employs around 300 middle class Ohioans," said Renee Rouser, a call center worker and member of CWA Local 4322 from Youngstown, Ohio. "These are good, valuable, middle class jobs that should be staffed by qualified U.S. workers and not sent overseas where workers earn poverty wages."

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) joined call center workers from CWA Local 4322 in Dayton, Ohio, this week to call for action on his legislation to help rein in offshoring and bring call center jobs back to the United States.