Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown introduces bill to keep call centers in U.S.

by India-West Staff Reporter, Mar 26, 2018

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has introduced a bill that attempts to keep call-center jobs in the United States as opposed to moving them offshore to Indian companies or elsewhere.

According to a news release from Brown’s office, citing federal Bureau of Labor Statistics information, the U.S. lost 200,000 call-center jobs from 2006 to 2014.

“Most Americans want to support American jobs by buying American whenever they can and that includes the customer service they get from call centers,” said Brown in a statement.

“Jobs at call centers are some of the most vulnerable to offshoring. Too many companies have packed up their call centers in Ohio and across the country, and moved to India or Mexico,” he said.

Brown said the constant threat of outsourcing hangs over workers like Renee Rouser of Youngstown, whom he talked with last week. Rouser has worked at a Youngstown call center for 13 years and knows that call center jobs are where some people build careers.

“So many companies wouldn’t be able to function without their customer service staff. Ohio workers like Renee contribute to their businesses and bring ideas to make it work better. We need to value their contributions – not end their careers and ship their jobs overseas,” Brown said.

According to the news release, the U.S. Call Center Workers and Consumer Protection Act would give preference in federal contracts to companies that haven’t relocated call-center jobs overseas; require U.S. companies to identify the location of the call center and allow the customer to be transferred to a call center located in the U.S. if asked; and require companies to notify the Department of Labor before they relocate call centers and create a public list of companies that outsource call-center jobs.

The list would be maintained by the DOL and be available for public reference, Brown said.

Any companies on the list would be ineligible for federal grants or loans, with an exception for national security or substantial job loss in the United States, according to the news release.

Additionally, federal agencies would be required to give preference to U.S. employers that do not appear on the list.