The Communications Workers of America last week applauded the New Jersey State Assembly for passing the “Save New Jersey Call Centers Jobs Act,” which requires public disclosure by companies that move jobs from the state overseas as well as prevents those companies from receiving state tax breaks and subsidies.
The CWA cited companies like Verizon Communications (VZ) in a press statement, which the union claims has received $113 million in subsidies from New Jersey since 1998, while at the same time having cut call center jobs in the state.
“New Jersey has a right to know when profitable companies like Verizon send middle class jobs overseas and then come begging for a taxpayer handout,” noted Seth Hahn, New Jersey political and legislative director for the CWA, in a statement. “Taxpayer money should not go to companies like Verizon that destroy jobs in New Jersey instead of creating them.”
The CWA added that its members employed by call centers in New Jersey has dropped from 3,000 workers a decade ago to 725 employees today.
The CWA reported earlier this month that it had reached a “tentative contract agreement” with AT&T Mobility covering its “District 6” region that the union organization said would result in “the return of a minimum of 2,000 jobs over the four year life of the agreement.” CWA’s District 6 includes approximately 9,300 workers in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. CWA claims more than 700,000 members across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, including members at AT&T, AT&T Mobility, Verizon, Frontier and CenturyLink.
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