Avaya Must Not Abandon U.S. Call Center Workers

This week, communications technology provider Avaya informed the Communications Workers of America that it plans to close its U.S. billing and customer service operations and send the work overseas. CWA represents customer service workers in Denver, Colo., and Oklahoma City, Okla. "The functions currently performed by our hourly billing and collections department workers will no longer be handled internally at Avaya or in the U.S.," the company wrote in an e-mail to union officials.

"Avaya's decision to abandon its U.S. customer service workers is outrageous and a violation of our collective bargaining agreement," said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. "Avaya counts on business from federal, state, and local government agencies; those public dollars should support jobs here in the United States. We will pursue all avenues available to us to enforce our contract and protect our members at Avaya."

"Workers are fed up with being discarded by companies in the pursuit of profit," said CWA Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President Lisa Bolton. "We have news for Avaya: you can't push us around or ignore our collective bargaining agreement. We will fight for the respect we deserve and to continue to provide the high-quality service our customers expect."

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion