Tampa call center workers strike against layoffs
Tampa, FL – Early in the morning June 5, over 40 Maximus employees, Communications Workers of America (CWA) members, and other supporters rallied in front of Maximus, a federally contracted call center, in Riverview, Florida. The rally was part of a nationwide one-day strike put on by the CWA in response to hundreds of layoffs nationwide and to demand a living wage.
As commuters rolled by, honking horns and waving in solidarity, picketers chanted, “Hey hey, ho ho, poverty wages have got to go!” Laid-off workers spoke about the type of abuse they received from management at Maximus such as timed bathroom breaks.
Laid-off Maximus Tampa employee Dedra Dawes spoke out, saying, “Maximus should be protecting their employees but instead they laid us off. I have parents and kids to take care of, which is hard enough to do on $16 an hour.”
Later in the day the picket moved to another Maximus location in Tampa. The nationwide action is part of a larger campaign called Call Center Workers United.