SAVE CT CALL CENTER JOBS
We're fighting to pass the Act Concerning Call Centers and Notice of Closure (H.B 5273) to protect our call center workers and strengthen our communities by keeping good jobs here!
The Facts
- This legislation aims to prevent the outsourcing of jobs from Connecticut to other locations.
- Under the bill, call center employers with more than 50 employees would no longer be eligible for tax breaks or other incentives if they move 30% or more of their operations out of Connecticut. They are also required to notify the State 90 days in advance of such job movement.
- A company that moves 30% or more of their jobs out of Connecticut will be fined up to $10,000 a day and put on bad actors list and means they’ll lose state subsidies for five years going forward.
- The bill would also require state agencies to use Connecticut call centers for their customer service.
Why It’s More Important Than Ever
When the 2017 GOP tax bill slashed corporate tax rates nearly in half, corporations promised to reinvest in their companies and workers. Instead, the tax bill has actively encouraged corporations to send jobs overseas by taxing profit made abroad at half the already lowered rate.
The result? AT&T received $20 billion in corporate tax breaks, then proceeded to kill 10,700 union jobs in 2018. And in February 2019, AT&T announced the closing of multiple Meriden, CT call centers, eliminating 90 good jobs from the community.
Call centers are easier to move than other jobs, making them a prime outsourcing target for CEOs. But the results are predictable: outsourcing hurts Connecticut families, depresses wages, and exploits labor from around the world with poverty-level pay.
There are still many call centers in Connecticut, which is why we need to pass this legislation immediately and prevent them from following AT&T’s example of boosting profits at the expense of jobs and communities.
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