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."
The job market is improving!!!
Just not in America.
Thanks, Obama.
Thanks, liberals. Nice work.
Free Trade:
We TRADE your job for someone in a 3rd world country
You now get FREE Stuff.
And in the process Verizon and the politicians who support them get very rich...
I would have been mad at this in the past, but one study shows that Americans will choose lower prices over “Made in USA”. The businesses have no choice but to outsource to compete.
When you look at all of the governmental administrative burden that these companies must contend with, cutting labor costs is the only way they can stay in business.
Please stop whining about offshoring and start whining about the insane governmental abuses of business, get rid of OSHA, EPA, IRS, etc. and they will be very happy to pay good wages. They need and want good people, but if the choice is to close up shop or offshore, they’re going to offshore.
Employees can also take a pay cut. How many offered to do that to help keep the company in the black.
and i heard the Verizon workers want 6.5% raise. geesh. who gets that much anymore except young people on the low end of the spectrum that they are trying to keep?
This is as Ted and John and the rest of the GOPe like it.
Vote accordingly.
The company where my sister works is staying in the US, for now. But, what they are doing is changing their hourly employees to salary. That way, there is no overtime. They have to work a minimum of the 40 hours and will not get paid if they have to work more in order to complete their jobs. Still have to use PTO for time off. Everything stays the same except they cannot get paid if they work more than 40 hours. This is how they are staying put. Obviously, they are not union. They just keep adding on to their responsibilities and say “get it done”. No new hires.
This is how they are placating the company shareholders, keeping costs down without moving overseas....yet.
RE: This is as Ted and John and the rest of the GOPe like it.
Ted Cruz Immigration Plan:
https://www.tedcruz.org/cruz-immigration-plan/
EXCERPT:
Suspend the issuance of all H-1B visas for 180 days to complete a comprehensive investigation and audit of pervasive allegations of abuse of the program: Initiate an immediate 180-day investigation and audit of the H-1B visa program and enact fundamental reforms of this program to ensure that it protects American workers.
In recent months, more and more reports have become public of companies replacing American workers with cheaper foreign workers, contrary to the stated intent of the H-1B visa program. This will stop, and the H1-B program will be suspended until we can be certain that the program is no longer being abused.
Enforce existing federal protections for American workers: Conduct systematic audits of the companies that have taken advantage of the H-1B visa program during the last 15 years. All companies that have violated the terms of the H-1B visa program will be barred from using it for a period of years. The Attorney General will have authority to prosecute any individual found to have committed H-1B visa fraud, and offending companies will be suspended from receiving government grants and contracts.
Amend the H-1B visa program to fulfill its original purpose: Work with Congress to pass reform legislation for the H-1B visa program that will:
Create an advanced degree requirement: Only individuals with advanced degrees in their respective fields may be brought to the United States with an H-1B visa. And preference will be given to those with advanced degrees from American universities.
Create a “layoff cool-off” period for all H-1B visa applications: Companies must wait one or two years between laying off a worker and bringing in any H-1B foreign workers to ensure that the program is not used to displace American workers.
Establish accreditation or recognition requirements for overseas schools: The recent lack of federal oversight of the H-1B visa program has fueled a cottage industry of diploma mills. Foreign academic institutions must meet minimum accreditation standards at least as stringent as those imposed on American universities in order to qualify for the advanced-degree requirement.
Require sworn affidavits describing domestic hiring efforts: Companies will provide sworn statements and documentation that detail their efforts to hire Americans before requesting foreign workers through the H-1B visa program. Individuals who make false statements in these affidavits will be subject to perjury charges.
Suspend companies from H-1B visa eligibility for failure to help foreign workers obtain green cards: Many companies misuse the H-1B visa program to train foreign workers that they intend to send back overseas to compete with America. The law must impose additional requirements on employers to pursue Legal Permanent Resident status on behalf of their H-1B visa-based foreign workers, or risk loss of access to the program.
Verizon, without notifying me, just switched my internet service over to something called Frontier Communications. Apparently, at least in CA, Verizon got out of the ISP game.
They also switched my email service to AOL. AOL used to be an ISP. Now they only have email.
I’ve always despised AOL so I don’t use them. I opened up a gmail account. Much better than AOL anyway.
6.5% over 3 years.
Is Verizon’s corporate headquarters in one of those places that require a $15/hour minimum wage?
Hmmm?
Go with T Mobile. Great service and very acceptable coverage, better than I had with verizon.
Call center people have all been delightful, sharp, helpful, happy AMERICANS!
After 6 months I cant recommend them enough.
Damn, I’d boycott and change my service, but where oh where?
You forgot the other part of the uni-party...republicans. They are complicit in this.
Yes, yes they are. The Uniparty at work.
Well, there’s just so much to thank liberals for, for Obama, for Obamacare (thanks, John Roberts, for that one, though), for bathrooms becoming confusing, for hurting the workforce economy, etc.
I liked this quote from the New Yorker:
“In sum, what we are seeing is a fight between a company stuck in a business for which it has no enthusiasm, and workers stuck with a company to which there is no alternative. Wall Street analysts have suggested that Verizon should sell all of its landline business, but there is no natural buyer. What’s clear is that McAdam and others have a vision of the future with no wires and, consequently, with no unions.”
But this is how the corrupt pols remain in power though. They use business as a strawman to anger gullible sheeple rather than pointing out that their byzantine laws and taxes are responsible.
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