Posted on 04/19/2016 3:02:41 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A key issue raised by labor unions in their weeklong strike against Verizon is the offshoring of work. The unions say Verizon has plans to send more jobs overseas. Verizon isn't saying what it is doing in this respect, but there is a paper trail of documents filed by its employees that point to offshoring.
The union contends that Verizon wants, in a labor contract, to shift more jobs to contractors. Nearly 40,000 Verizon workers are on strike.
"They want the ability to contract work -- as much as 50% -- the great majority of that is offshore," said Marilyn Irwin, president of the Washington area Communications Workers of America Local 2108. CWA is one of the unions involved in the strike.
This complaint is getting attention in the presidential race, including from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic nomination.
"They want to outsource decent paying jobs," Sanders said at the Verizon picket line. Earlier this month, Sanders said Verizon wants to move call center jobs out of the country to places "where people will be paid pennies an hour."
Sander's criticisms of Verizon prompted a response by Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in a blog post.
"Contrary to Sen. Sanders's contention," wrote McAdam, the proposal that Verizon is making to the union does "not call for mass layoffs or shipping jobs overseas. Rather, we've asked for more flexibility in routing calls and consolidating some of our call centers, some of which employ a handful of people."
Despite repeated attempts, Verizon did not respond to requests for comment.
Over the past several years, Verizon workers have been filing applications with the U.S. Labor Department for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits. Employees who believe they have lost their jobs as a result of offshore outsourcing can file for benefits that include extended unemployment and educational help.
Verizon workers in multiple states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, New York and North Carolina, have filed claims. These can be filed by state labor officials or affected employees. A minimum of three affected workers must file the application, which, if approved, can make other affected employees at a worksite eligible for benefits as well.
For instance, in Lake Mary, Florida, employees wrote on their TAA application: "Verizon has been in the process of moving all production for all products off shore for the last few years. We were notified in April [2015] that all the remaining VOIP Order Management was being moved to Manila. Two VOIP order managers had been sent to Manila to train the new group. … My group also had to train the offshore group to take over our job function. HR told me this was a massive layoff!"
In Texas, requests for benefits from employees have stated that "work was outsourced" to Manila. The employees said 20 workers lost their jobs.
In North Carolina, workers also cited Manila, and said 11 jobs were lost in that state.
A New York, a TAA petition filed by IT workers said: "Due to a reduction in force, our jobs were eliminated. However, the function continues offshore."
BS. They make more in a year than most of their employees make in a lifetime and say they are doing it for the good of the company. They then move it off shore and still raise prices.
“Thanks, liberals. Nice work.”
It’s just the Liberals? Gee, I thought it was the so called ‘Conservatives’ too.
I saw a report the other day that corporations are attempting to skirt the black eye of abusing the H1B visa system by hiring an Indian consulting company that imports the H1B’s. The corp can then say they hired a consulting company.
You might want to read 18.
Ted Cruz was for a 500% increase in H1B visas until November. I believe the only reason he changed his position is because Trump was creaming him on it. I would not be surprised to see Cruz go back to the 5x increase as soon as he can to please his GOPe donors.
RE: Ted Cruz was for a 500% increase in H1B visas until November.
Yes, and Donald Trump never went to church until he suddenly says he is a strong Christian. He never read the Bible until he now tells us he reads it. He said he was pro-choice and even donated money for the campaign of pro-choice candidates. Now, he’s pro-life. He said he was for universal healthcare until he now says he isn’t. He said he was for the Obamacare individual mandate a now tells us he isn’t.
So, we should all take Trump at his word today and ignore his statements and actions in the past, but we should be suspicious of Ted Cruz when after he looked at the issue more closely, he makes an official proposal in his website?
I call that a double standard.
Oh, great. I get to talk to another Vietnamese, whose English is so awful I can understand only about every eighth word. Or perhaps I will get “Steve” in Bombay.
How I hate foreign call centers and the companies who use them.
The reality is that businesses kept prices of made in USA products higher by a margin greater than products made overseas. They did it to make more profit. When sales dropped below a certain level they quit making the product in the US at all and blamed it on competition.
I had 31 years with Verizon Business which was formerly Bill McGowan's old company MCI.
My 401K was destroyed by The WorldCom buyout and the subsequent Corporate Accounting Scandal, but I decided to retire anyway with what little I have been able to build up again since then.
Bernie Ebbers is still in Federal (PMITA) prison and will no doubt die there. Bernie was Canadian-born too, just like Ted Cruz!
Yeah, I meant to post that one to you.
I am NOT happy receiving all this bad economic news.
But, I am also NOT surprised.
How long they can keep this thing going is anyone’s guess.
Trump does not lie anywhere near as often as Lying Ted, so there is that to consider.
Really sorry about that.
We are getting shafted by all professional politicians.
Or, at least the overwhelming majority of it.
They’ve been doing little besides entrenching themselves and putting on puppet shows, it seems.
RE: Trump does not lie anywhere near as often as Lying Ted, so there is that to consider
I just gave you a whole list of items where he “changed his mind” conveniently and then changes his mind again when he mis-speaks.
All of the above including the things he stuck his investors with in his other failed business ventures plus the fact that he cheated on his wife tells me about the character of the man.
Now, I want you to detail for me the “lies” of the so called “Lyin’ Ted” ( the monicker du jour you parrot ), and let’s see whether or not these are really lies...
RE: Bernie was Canadian-born too, just like Ted Cruz!
Wasn’t Bernard Madoff born in the USA, in New York?
What’s your point?
What’s your point?
My point was Bernie Ebbers is the CEO criminal in prison that I was referring to.
The outsourcing pandemic is ingrained into Millennial MBA’s, almost as much as the corporate raider, breakup and sell off pandemic was in the 80s/90s among yuppie MBAs. It is so ingrained that even when it begins to get erased, it will linger for another 8 yrs.
RE: My point was Bernie Ebbers is the CEO criminal in prison that I was referring to.
I thought yu mentioned Ted Cruz in the same sentence...
I said:
Bernie Ebbers is still in Federal (PMITA) prison and will no doubt die there. Bernie was Canadian-born too, just like Ted Cruz!I am a little rusty with diagramming sentences, so if you have any more questions, please read it again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.