CWA Launches Election Year Campaign to Stop Call Offshoring

CWA launched a campaign Tuesday to spotlight legislation incentivizing American corporations to keep call center jobs in the United States.

The campaign will target over 50 members of Congress to ensure that voters are aware of both the key congressional champions of the issue, as well as those who are intent on blocking important call center legislation. It will include major grassroots actions and an online and social media push.

On Tuesday, CWA rolled out its first radio ads in support of the lawmakers backing critical call center legislation. It includes support for Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY), the original call center legislation sponsor; Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WIs.), who is running for her state’s Senate seat; Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who is also looking to move to the Senate; and Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio).

“Our elected officials should be paying attention,” said CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins on a conference call with reporters. “The call center issue isn’t a manufactured political attack, lacking substance – quite the opposite. The US call center industry is a big economic engine, representing 3 percent of the overall US workforce.”

A new study shows that it’s also a bipartisan issue. Of the Democrats, Republicans and Independents polled, 78 percent of voters have a negative view of overseas call centers, and 59 percent said they have a very unfavorable impression of them. According to the poll, 53 percent said they are less likely to vote for a candidate who has voted against relevant legislation proposed in Congress.

“Very few polls today show the kind of unanimity and the kind of intensity that we find in this poll,” said Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners, who shared the findings on the conference call.

Read the full polling results here (PDF): Democrats and Republicans Strongly Support Anti-offshoring Proposals