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Golden Backs Legislation to Protect Call Center Jobs

August 9, 2019

Golden-cosponsored legislation would hold corporations accountable for off-shoring call-center jobs

WASHINGTON — Working to protect call center jobs in Maine's Second District, Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) cosponsored the bipartisan United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2019. The bill would punish companies that send call center jobs overseas by disqualifying those companies from receiving federal grants and loans, making them less competitive for federal contracts, and requiring call centers to disclose their locations to customers.

"We've lost too many good Maine jobs from corporations' decisions to send jobs overseas," Golden said. "Call center workers are the latest victims of these companies prioritizing profits over people. The workers lose their livelihoods but the corporations don't face consequences. I'm proud to support this legislation, which will incentivize companies that run call centers to keep jobs in the states."

"As a call center worker and state representative, I know firsthand that these good jobs for working families in Maine are at risk of corporate offshoring and also that our elected officials can and should do something about it. The federal anti-offshoring call center bill is a good thing for Maine workers, consumers, and taxpayers and I thank Rep. Golden for his leadership and commitment to our state's working families by supporting this bipartisan and common-sense bill." - State Rep. Michelle Dunphy, CWA Local 1400 member & call center worker

Call centers have increasingly been targets for outsourcing over the past several decades. The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2019 would incentivize companies to keep their call centers in America by:

  • Requiring businesses to notify the Department of Labor (DOL) of the transferring of jobs overseas at least 120 days before relocation - failure to do so would subject businesses to a $10,000 fine per day;
  • Directing the DOL to maintain a list of businesses who have transferred call center jobs overseas. Employers will stay on the list for five years unless they return to an equal or greater number of domestic call center jobs;
  • Making employers on this list ineligible for federal grants or loans;
  • Requiring agencies to give preference to employers not on this list when awarding federal contracts and require all call center work be performed domestically;
  • Requiring call centers to disclose their location at the beginning of customer calls and transfer calls to a domestic-based location, if requested by the customer; and
  • Requiring the DOL to prepare a report on the amount and location of call center work being performed.

The legislation is supported by the Communications Workers of America.