Contact: Michael Earls
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CWA: Announces effort to thank Rep. Baldwin for supporting legislation to lower risk of fraud, identity theft and extortion to U.S. consumers
Constituents of Rep. Tammy Baldwin to Receive CWA Calls Highlighting Her Backing of Congressional Call Center Legislation to Crack Down on Dangers to U.S. Consumers
Washington, DC – As momentum builds on behalf of bi-partisan legislation to strengthen the domestic call center industry – cutting down on fraudulent activity centered in overseas call centers in the process – the Communications Workers of America (CWA) today announces an effort to thank Members from both parties who back this legislation – including Rep. Baldwin.
CWA will be sponsoring calls into voters’ households on behalf of 20 Members of Congress who are sponsors or co-sponsors of the “U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act.” Households receiving these calls will learn about their Member’s backing of this important legislation and will have an opportunity to be connected to their Member’s office for a personal “thank you.” Rep. Baldwin is a co-sponsor of this legislation.
Targeted households will hear that the call is coming from CWA, “with an alert about identity theft. You may have heard about personal data theft, extortion and fraud happening at call centers located in India and the Philippines. The US Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act will address this threat, protect consumers, and give you the option to deal with an American call center. Representative Baldwin is supporting this bi-partisan bill. Please call to thank her for working to protect US consumers from data and identity theft. Paid for by Communications Workers of America.”
In addition to Rep. Baldwin, CWA’s supportive phone calls went out to nearly 400,000 constituents in the following districts:
•In District calls to the legislation’s sponsors Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY-01) and Rep. David McKinley (R-WV-01);
•Statewide calls to constituents of Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM-01), Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT-05), and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI-02);
•In District calls to some of the legislation’s co-sponsors Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA-08), Rep. Pat Meehan (R-PA-07), and Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY-13), Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME-2), Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH-13), Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA-03), Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA-01), Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA-23), Rep. John Garmendi (D-CA-10), Rep. Kathy Hochul (D-NY-26), Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA-17), Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA-02), Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA-11), Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY-23), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY-28) and Rep. John Tierney (D-MA-06).
Citing a growing number of security questions surrounding overseas call centers, CWA recently released an updated version of their report detailing the linkage between the off-shoring of call center jobs and a range of serious negative effects on U.S. consumers and job seekers, including placing consumers’ personal information at risk.
Many of the problems cited in the CWA report are addressed by the U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act. Featuring over 100 co-sponsors from both parties, the legislation would ban taxpayer dollars in the form of federal grants or guaranteed loans to American companies that move call center jobs overseas. The legislation would also require call center employees to disclose their location to U.S. consumers and transfer that call to a U.S.-based center if requested by the consumer, as well as require that a list of companies that off-shore their call center work be made available to the public.
