Save NY Call Center Jobs
UPDATE: WE DID IT! On March 12th the NYS Senate passed the NY Call Center Jobs Act by a vote of 58-3, and on June 19th the Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 93-19. It will now go to Governor Cuomo's desk to be signed into law!
We're fighting to pass the New York State Call Center Jobs Act (S1826 / A567) to protect our workers and communities by keeping good jobs here!
The Facts
- There are over 260,000 call center workers in New York. Over the last 12 years, we’ve lost nearly 40,000 call center jobs in New York. CWA represents about 4,000 of these workers, mostly at Verizon.
- This legislation aims to prevent the outsourcing of jobs from New York State 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 state.
- If companies that already received benefits break their promise, the state can “claw back” any governmental financial support for 5 years.
- The bill would also require state agencies to use New York 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 January 2019, AT&T announced the closing of a Syracuse call center, eliminating 150 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 New York families, depresses wages, and exploits labor from around the world with poverty-level pay.
Verizon still has 10 call centers in New York, 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.
Materials
Senate Bill (S1826) [The NYS Call Center Jobs Act has passed in the Senate!] / Assembly Bill (A567)
Flyer - Call Your Assemblymember!
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