fbpx
Connect with us

Mississippi News

Maximus call center workers continue striking

Published

on

Maximus call center workers in Mississippi continue striking for better wages and benefits

Frances Poole says she is still rationing medication from 2019 after doctors raced to save her by removing her colon.ย 

Last time she attempted to have the pills refilled at the pharmacy, she said the bill was $70. She should also be regular checkups with a specialist.ย 

โ€œI just cannot afford that,โ€ said Poole, 55.ย 

Poole has spent the last seven years at Maximus Federal in Hattiesburg, a call center contracted by the federal . All workday, she answers questions about the Obamacare marketplace. Often, she says, the health benefits she’s helping callers with are better than what she has through Maximus.ย 

That’s why she’s become one of the call center’s most vocal employees, working alongside the Communications Workers of America and its local Hattiesburg chapter to organize Maximus workers. She attended their first strike in March and was back on the picket line for a two-day strike on Monday and Tuesday.

In addition to offering assistance with the Affordable Care Act marketplace, call center workers also handle Medicare inquiries. There are about 10,000 Maximus workers across 11 call centers. Workers in a call center also went on strike this week.

Workers say they’ve seen no response from Maximus โ€“ the nation’s largest federal contractor โ€“ since their first strike in March. Their biggest complaints continue to be benefits and wages. The changes the company made earlier this year to improve pay and health care aren’t enough, according to workers.

Maximus lowered the health care deductibles from $4,500 to $2,500 after employee pressure began in 2021.ย 

โ€œBut who has $2,500?โ€ Poole said.ย 

Call center workers make about $15 an hour, leaving most of the Hattiesburg workers with wages between $31,000 to $35,000 a year before taxes. That latest hike came just ahead of a presidential order in January that all federal contract workers be paid $15 an hour.ย 

Most of the Hattiesburg workers were making between $9 and $11 before the pandemic.ย 

On Tuesday morning โ€“ while dozens of workers, activists and CWA members marched to deliver the second-day strike notice โ€“ Maximus leaders held a virtual investors call.ย 

Maximus Bruce Caswell called the company’s โ€œpeople its advantage.โ€ย 

โ€œOur commitment to make Maximus an employer of choice is not a new goal,โ€ Caswell told investors, as he touted flexibility the company offers with work-from-home options and the recent cuts to health care costs.ย 

In its second quarter that came out earlier this month, Maximus reported a revenue increase of 22.7% to $1.18 billion to last year. The company expects revenue for the latest fiscal year to range between $4.5 to $4.7 billion.ย 

With the costs of essentials like gas and food on the rise, Poole and her coworkers say it has been all the more difficult to stretch each paycheck enough. Their wages, workers say, have never kept up with inflation making it near impossible to build up any sort of meaningful savings.ย 

โ€œWhat man or woman or can survive at $9.05 an hour?โ€ Jaimie Brown, 49, said, referring to his long-held former wage as a Maximus worker. โ€œSeven years I’d been doing this. What makes me not a professional? Why can’t you pay me as a professional?โ€

Brown said he was regularly assisting insurance brokers do their jobs.

He is a single parent of a 7-year-old son. Many of his former coworkers are single mothers; most are Black.ย 

Brown’s employment ended with Maximus in March. He filed a complaint against the National Labor Relations Board with the help of the CWA, the union Maximus employees are working with. The CWA said in a statement that they’re holding Maxiums accountable for discouraging workers from forming a union.ย 

Brown declined to comment on the specifics of the complaint and his separation from the company. Maximus said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation, but that it respects workers rights to organize.ย 

Brown has lived in Mississippi for almost two decades. He was raised in New York, where unions are more common. Organizers and experts across Mississippi have said one of the biggest hurdles organizers face in the South is educating workers on their rights.ย 

READ MORE: Starbucks employees and others trying to unionize in Mississippi face decades-old hardships

โ€œThere’s going to be some ups and downs,โ€ Brown said. โ€œYou got to take the bumps with it in order for improvement. It takes a fight โ€ฆ but there will be no benefits unless we all stand up to do this.โ€ย 

In a statement, Maximus said it โ€œroutinely meets with its employees to address various concerns and issues.โ€ It also says it has an employee hotline where workers can submit issues anonymously.ย 

CWA said nearly 100 workers went on strike this week in Mississippi.ย 

โ€œIt can all go around,โ€ Brown said, referring to forming a union. โ€œEveryone could win.โ€

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi News

Vicksburg man charged with assaulting woman in domestic dispute

Published

on

www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-11-02 11:33:00

SUMMARY: In Vicksburg, Mississippi, a domestic assault led to the hospitalization of a man and woman on November 2. were alerted by Merit Region after a 28-year-old man, Daron Evans, arrived with a stab wound. Authorities dispatched to the scene found the woman, who had also been assaulted. After receiving treatment, Evans was and charged with aggravated assault domestic violence; he is held without bond until his court appearance. The woman is in stable at the . An investigation is ongoing.

Read the full article

The post Vicksburg man charged with assaulting woman in domestic dispute appeared first on www.wjtv.com

Continue Reading

Mississippi News

Cloudy and humid weekend – Home – WCBI TV

Published

on

www.wcbi.com – Sadie Morris – 2024-11-02 10:13:00

SUMMARY: In Columbus, Mississippi, humid and cloudy weather is expected, with temperatures remaining above average in the lower 80s for the upcoming . Rain is forecasted for Election Day on Tuesday, continuing into the week with isolated showers likely. This Saturday will see patchy fog in the morning, clearing by midday, with a high around 80 degrees. Sunday will bring similar humidity, with a high in the lower 80s and mild overnight lows in the mid-60s. Throughout the week, expect persistent clouds and humidity alongside mild temperatures.

Read the full article

The post Cloudy and humid weekend – Home – WCBI TV appeared first on www.wcbi.com

Continue Reading

Mississippi News

Sports Zone Saturday: A must-win weekend for Mississippi's college football teams

Published

on

www.wjtv.com – Blake Levine – 2024-11-02 09:43:00

SUMMARY: College football is back in Mississippi for the 2024 season, with a lineup of exciting this Saturday. The Zone team will special coverage from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on . Notable matchups include No. 19 visiting Arkansas at 11:00 a.m. CT on ESPN, while Mississippi celebrates Homecoming against UMass at 3:15 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. State UAPB for their Homecoming game at 2:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+, and Alcorn State travels to face Alabama State at 4:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Southern Miss has a bye .

Read the full article

The post Sports Zone Saturday: A must-win weekend for Mississippi's college football teams appeared first on www.wjtv.com

Continue Reading

Trending