By Joseph N. DiStefano

– Citing a loss of U.S. call-center jobs that companies have moved to foreign countries amid a Presidential campaign that has candidates for both parties decrying job losses tied to trade treaties, a labor union representing call-center workers at former Bell phone companies has asked Congress to back U.S. Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa.’s, latest version of the “United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act.” House version here. Earlier iterations of the bill have failed to pass the last few sessions in Congress.

Casey’s bill would force call centers to tell Americans where they are located, give Americans the option of having their calls transferred to a U.S.-based call center, and “make U.S. companies who off-shore their call center jobs from the U.S. ineligible for certain federal grants and taxpayer-funded loans,” according to a summary posted by the Communications Workers of America labor union..

Nearly 40,000 CWA members are on strike against Verizon Corp., and the union wants Verizon to stop threatened “offshoring” as part of a settlement. Verizon says the workers have a competitive contract offer.

An affiliate of the CWA union represents writers and editors, among other workers, at the Inquirer and philly.com.

Source: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Pa-Senators-bill-would-.html