How Telecom Customer Service Representatives Got Better Connected
American politicians love to pose as defenders of factory workers threatened by globalization, corporate restructuring, and overseas outsourcing. But their campaign spiels rarely mention other jobs at risk, for the same reasons, in white-collar workplaces that now employ more workers than all domestic manufacturers of steel, autos, airplanes, and other machinery combined.
Among them are the nearly 4 million employees of 40,000 call centers based in the U.S., part of a labor force that rapidly expanded in the last 40 years due to changes in the way people buy products and get service and support.
