About 100 men, women and children stood outside an empty Boardman building Saturday that once housed a call center chanting,"Outsource no more!". 

On Labor Day Weekend, members of Communication Workers of America, United Auto Workers, and state lawmakers joined with members of Our Revolution to call on President Donald Trump to use a stroke of his pen and fix the problem stating as CEO, he can stop allowing the government from giving lucrative federal contracts to companies that ship jobs overseas.

"The working class women, men and families of this nation have done more than their fair share to lift the profits of corporations. What they are sick and tired of is greed and exploitation. Right now in the U.S., and across the world, we see economic oppression is happening and hard working men and women are being kept down, not because they're not working hard," said Nina Turner, President of Our Revolution. "They're working 40, 50, 60 hours a week trying to string together two or three jobs, yet they still find themselves in poverty. Political elites need to get a clue and use the force of their public policy to do what is right on behalf of the working families in this country. We need all people to join us in holding our politicians accountable."

"I am asking everyone to take out your phones and text good jobs U.S.A. to 97779 to join our fight. For far too long we have allowed politicians to get in bed with corporations and take our tax dollars, our money, and run. We have allowed them to screw American workers," said Joesph Geevarghese, executive director of Good Jobs Nation. "We are saying enough is enough. We are going to need your help to hold politicians accountable. From here we will go to Lorraine for a Labor Day picnic, then to Erie PA."

They emphasize over the past decade there has been an exodus of call center jobs in Ohio that pay around $30,000 a year with benefits and add workers can't compete with other countries in a race to the bottom.

George Sifkas, CWA shop steward said, "Corporations pay overseas workers to do call center work for less than $2, and sometimes that's for a 12-hour work shift. The U.S. should not be forced to compete with that, but it's exactly what happens. Corporations ask us to cut our wages or benefits with the threat of taking our jobs overseas if we disagree."

UAW Local 1112 President Glenn Johnson said, "We stand with our brother and sister CWA members in the fight to keep good paying jobs here in our country.  There are so many bad trade agreements because of corporate greed, so the world will continue to spiral downward until we put a stop to it. We must hold our politicians responsible."

In Ohio, state lawmakers from our region have introduced House Bill 245 and Senate Bill 156. Their aim is to stop corporations from taking money in the form of loans and tax incentives, then moving jobs off shore overseas. 

"For far too long hard working Ohioans have watched middle class jobs leave our state. With House Bill 245 we can ensure that companies won't be eligible for state grants and loans from taxpayers. We must ensure that our tax dollars support call center jobs within our borders. We refuse to reward companies that take jobs from American workers and send those jobs overseas," said Michele Lepore-Hagan, representative of the 58th District. "I am asking that people call their lawmakers and ask them to vote house bill 245 out of committee. You can also contact the Chairman of the Commerce and Labor Committee and let him you want House Bill 245 out of committee to save jobs and so your tax dollars are used wisely."

"If you're going to take incentives to move your call center into Ohio, then you should not be allowed to leave with those incentives. Corporations would have to pay that money back," said Senator and candidate for governor Joe Schiavoni. "We need to protect jobs and make Ohio work for working families." 

"We don't want to use your taxpayer dollars to subsidize the bottom lines of companies that are not loyal to workers, not loyal to Ohio and not loyal to the United States of America, which has made them wealthy beyond compare to other companies around the world. Not here, not in the Philippians, not in India or anywhere else," said State Representative John Boccieri. "We need elected leaders from all walks of life to make it their priority to make it their job to fight for your job."