We Know that Companies Come and Go, but Our Union Is Here to Stay!

We've all read the headlines: T-Mobile and Sprint are talking merger . . . again. Sprint is notorious for outsourcing good call center jobs to low-wage contractors in and outside of the United States, cutting its workforce by more than 50 percent in the past 11 years, and exporting thousands of jobs to the Philippines, Mexico, India, and other countries. So what action can we take to protect ourselves?

No one can predict the future, but we do know that if we stick together we can fight for good jobs no matter what company we work for. We asked our members across the country to talk about why organizing now is so important:

"I remember the last time T-Mobile closed call centers. With the industry's history of outsourcing, a possible merger almost guarantees more closings if we don't unionize," says Gabby Orth of Wichita, KS.

Rebecca Gillespie of Meridian, ID, wants workers to see how much they need TU right now. "I think you can be both pro company and pro union, but I wish my coworkers could see the writing on the wall. In recent weeks, higher up folks from places like Guatemala have been at our call center. I'm sure it's so they can learn how to run things overseas if we are shut down."

James Brooks of Colorado Springs, CO, adds, "For anyone who thinks T-Mobile call centers will be safe from closure and offshoring in the future, I have some beautiful beachfront property to sell you in Colorado."

Our union, CWA, has a strong record of fighting back when companies try to export jobs and making sure workers are protected if layoffs do come along.

• When T-Mobile offshored 3,200 call center jobs, CWA won additional unemployment benefits, health insurance, and job training for those workers.
• CWA got thousands of jobs at AT&T, CenturyLink, Verizon, and US Airways moved back to the U.S. from overseas.
• CWA is now pushing Congress to pass legislation that will penalize companies that ship good jobs out of the country.

Organizing with TU-CWA means we have a seat at the table to negotiate contracting out work, metrics, and compensation. We won't stop fighting until everyone has fair metrics and respect. We need to speak with one voice from a position of strength. Join us today.