T-Mobile USA Shuts Down Seven Call Centers

T-Mobile USA will shut down seven call centers on Friday, June 22 affecting 3,300 workers and their communities.

The call centers are Allentown, Pa.; Thornton, Colo.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Frisco and Brownsville, Tex.; Lenexa, Kan.; and Redmond, Ore.

CWA members and supporters in those communities and others will hold rallies and vigils to shine a light on T-Mobile USA's assault on U.S. jobs and workers. In Albuquerque, elected officials including U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, labor-endorsed candidates, New Mexico Labor and others will rally at noon and call for support for H.R. 3596, the U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act, which will stop companies from taking taxpayers handouts, then moving jobs offshore.

T-Mobile USA has received more than $14 million in state and local economic development grants from four of the seven communities where it now is closing call centers. The company also has offshored 6,000 jobs to the Philippines, Honduras, Guatemala and other countries.

T-Mobile USA workers and supporters in Thornton, Colo., where 400 workers are losing their jobs, will hold a candlelight vigil June 21. In Allentown, Pa., where 600 T-Mobile USA workers will be jobless, a community rally will be held.

CWAers and allies in 99 Percent Power are beginning a two-week nationwide blitz of T-Mobile-owned retail stores, reminding the public that T-Mobile USA's offshoring is just unacceptable. From June 25 to July 11, State AFL-CIOs and local labor councils will organize actions that show that communities are fed up with companies that take taxpayer handouts and then ship good paying jobs overseas. Store actions will include a postcard campaign, so customers and passersby can send a message to T-Mobile USA management, as well as information for retail store workers that explain how a union can help.

"We're going to continue to fight for these employees every hour of every day," said CWA District 6 Organizer Judy Graves.

CWA has been leading the campaign to support H.R. 3596, which would bar companies that offshore jobs from receiving federal grants and loans for five years, requires overseas agents to disclose their location to customers and provides the opportunity for the customer to be transferred to a U.S.-based call center.