RNC Making Calls From A Verizon Philippines Call Center Termed Hypocritical

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Republican National Committee (RNC) used a call center based in the Philippines, to conduct a media conference, dedicated to attack President Obama’s economic record and specifically point out the high rate of unemployment in the country.

The call featured a media conference between RNC Chair Reince Priebus, Virginia GOP state party chair Pat Mullins and Ohio state party chair Bob Bennett.

CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins, who began his career in a Maryland-based Verizon call center said, as tens of thousands across America protest corporate greed on the occasion of Verizon’s shareholders meeting, we get another reminder of how the company is shipping jobs overseas. It’s hard to imagine anything more hypocritical than the RNC making calls about U.S. unemployment from a Verizon foreign call center.”

Verizon is the 16th largest corporation in America and made $22.5 billion in profits over the past four years.

The CWA, is strong supporter of the “U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act.” a proposed bipartisan federal legislation, would  prevent companies that relocate U.S. call centers to overseas locations from getting lucrative federal grants and loans.

The RNC in damage control mode said that that the call was run by Verizon. Verizon has been targeted for shipping jobs overseas resulting in the closure of US call centers. The Communications Workers of America has, over and over again; drawn attention to Verizon’s offshore jobs agenda.

A spokesperson for the company said, “Companies like Verizon that have shipped call center operations overseas have contributed to the devastation of the U.S. based call center industry. While the industry still comprises approximately 3% of the overall U.S. workforce, the industry lost over 500,000 jobs between 2006 and 2010, largely because of the off-shoring trend. This continued trend depresses our economic recovery.”

Earlier members of the 995 power coalition had disrupted Verizon’s annual shareholder meeting in Huntsville. Protestors, interrupted proceeding, shouting slogans, such as “Shame on you” and “Verigreedy” and “People over Profit.”

The protests came in the wake of the company asking for givebacks from its workers, in some cases as much as, $20,000 per worker, and to add insult to injury has tripled the salary of its CEO, Lowell McAdam from $7.2 million to $23.1 million.