Bill would penalize companies that outsource call centers overseas by withholding federal grants and contracts
Call centers employ more than 3 million workers in the U.S.
Moving call centers abroad puts Americans’ data at risk
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act to protect American call center jobs from being outsourced overseas. In recent years, many call center operators have shifted operations overseas and shut down or downsized their U.S. operations. This alarming trend not only harms American workers, but American consumers whose data could be at risk under the control of foreign companies and governments.
“When Pennsylvanians call for customer service help, they should not have to fear that their personal data may be at risk,” said Senator Casey. “This legislation will help safeguard your personal data and keep jobs here in the U.S. rather than shipping them overseas.”
“The threat of outsourcing hangs over Ohio call center workers constantly. Companies can’t function without these workers, and Ohioans should have the option to support American jobs and talk with workers based in the U.S. This bill holds corporations accountable for shipping these jobs overseas, and encourages companies to keep their customer service where it belongs: in America,” said Senator Brown.
“We shouldn't reward call center companies that outsource Nevada jobs and put consumers’ personal data at risk,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This legislation helps hold companies accountable and encourages businesses to remain in the U.S. I will keep fighting to keep American jobs here and stand up for our working families in Nevada.”
“CWA strongly endorses the Call Center Worker and Consumer Worker and Consumer Protection Act. As the union representing the largest number of workers in the call center industry, we understand how devastating call center offshoring is to U.S. workers, consumers, and communities. Our taxpayer dollars shouldn't reward companies for offshoring their customer service work so they can skirt U.S. labor law and exploit low wage workers in other countries,” said Dan Mauer, Director of Government Affairs, Communications Workers of America (CWA). “U.S. workers and communities rely on these good paying jobs and consumers rely on our data privacy laws to keep their personal identifiable information protection. We applaud the introduction of the bill and urge Congress to pass this legislation!”
The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act would protect jobs and families by restricting and penalizing businesses that relocate call centers or redirect customer service calls to locations outside the United States. The bill would:
- Make companies that ship call centers overseas ineligible for federal grants and subsidized loans;
- Require that all call center work performed on federal contracts be done in the U.S. and that the federal government give preference to companies that do not offshore jobs when awarding contracts;
- Require U.S. companies to identify the location of the call center and allow the customer to be transferred to a call center located in the US, if asked; and
- Require companies to report to the Department of Labor (DOL) when moving call center operations outside of the U.S.
In addition to Casey, Brown, and Cortez Masto, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act is supported by the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Read more about the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act here.
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