By Matt Murray
For the NH Labor News
With over 12 Million Americans already out of work, we need to encourage companies to retain jobs not ship them overseas. We can do just that! We can fight back against the greed of Corporate America and Wall Street and we will rebuild our economy at the same time.
Over the past decade America lost over 50,000 manufacturing jobs. This resulted in over 6 Million American Jobs washed away. Many of these jobs were sent overseas to manufacturing facilities in China, and Taiwan. Now there is another trend that seems to be effecting jobs here in America. I am talking about “service” jobs. These are the friendly people you talk to when you call customer service phone numbers.
On March 22, 2012, T-Mobile announced it would close seven of the 24 call centers, including the centers in Allentown, Pa.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Frisco and Brownsville, Texas; Lenexa, Kan.; Redmond, Ore.; and Thornton, Colo., impacting some 3,300 workers. At the same time, T-Mobile increased the volume of calls handled through offshore call centers in the Philippines, Honduras and Guatemala. T-Mobile workers all across the United States face daily worries about their job security and they are organizing and fighting back!
T-Mobile is not the only company who has shipped jobs overseas. More and more are taking advantage of the low-cost labor while still collecting tax exemptions from the Federal Government. This must be stopped! If we want our economy to recover we need to bring those lost manufacturing jobs back and keep the jobs we have.
As we have always done we need to stand up and push our legislators in Congress to support “Bring Jobs Home Act” (S. 2884). This bill would:
Eliminate tax incentives that encourage U.S. companies to ship jobs overseas and eliminate loopholes that allow more than $1.5 trillion in U.S. corporate profits to go untaxed because they are held offshore.
We also must address the practice of currency manipulation so that countries like China aren’t allowed to undervalue their currency in order to make goods cheaper and encourage U.S. companies to move offshore. Congress also should take action on the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act to prevent offshoring of more service-sector jobs.
And we must push for fair trade policies that benefit workers, not just multinational corporations.
Many of us look for that “Made In America” label. It means that by buying this product you are helping to support a company that employs our fellow Americans. Both President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney have said we create more American jobs. President Obama was quoted as saying “Americans… still believe in an America where anything’s possible”. Even Governor Mitt Romney said “I believe in America” and “My priority is putting Americans back to work, that’s job number one,”. If you believe in America and the power of the American workforce then prove it. Tell American Voters that you support S 2884 and want to Bring Jobs Home.
No matter which side of the fence you stand on, bringing these millions of jobs would strengthen our economy. Call you Senator and tell them to support the Bring Jobs Home Act (S.2884). Together we can make Made In America mean something again.
About Matt Murray
Matt Murray is the creator and an author on the NH Labor News. He is a proud union member from southern New Hampshire. He is an advocate for labor and the middle class. He also works with other unions and members to help spread our message. You can follow him on twitter @NHLabor_News