Bill Aims to Stop Call Center Jobs From Being Shipped Overseas
Washington, D.C. — In recent years, many call center operators have shifted operations overseas and shut down or downsized their U.S. operations at an alarming rate. Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act, legislation that would protect call center jobs across Pennsylvania and the United States.
“Shipping jobs overseas is hurtful to American workers and our economy, and it poses a threat to the security of consumers’ personal data,” said Senator Casey. “That’s why I introduced the U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act, which supports American workers and ensures that federal benefits aren’t going to companies that ship good jobs out of the United States.”
The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act would:
- Make companies that ship call centers overseas ineligible for federal grants and guaranteed 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 off-shore jobs when awarding contracts;
- Ensure that U.S. callers be told the location of the call center they are speaking with and offered the option of being transferred to a U.S.-based call center should they prefer.
Call center closures and downsizing have occurred across the country and across industries, as companies have moved service centers to countries where working conditions and information security practices are often far inferior to those in the U.S. This has both devastated communities that have lost jobs and placed American consumers’ sensitive information at greater risk. There are roughly 3.6 million call center positions across the country, according to industry data.
This bill is supported by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and cosponsored by U.S. Senators Brown (D-OH), Blumenthal (D-CT), Cortez Masto (D-NV), Baldwin (D-WI), Rosen (D-NV), Manchin (D-WV), Stabenow (D-MI), Harris (D-CA), Van Hollen (D-MD), Durbin (D-IL) and Peters (D-MI).
Read the U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act here.
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