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Rep. Thompson, NAACP call for federal racial equity investigation at call center

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Rep. Thompson, NAACP call for federal racial equity investigation at call center

Mississippi call center workers and the NAACP are calling on the Biden administration to investigate equity and racial disparities at one of the country’s leading federal contractors, Maximus, which employs nearly 800 people in Hattiesburg.

The bulk of those frontline employees in Mississippi are Black women who handle customer service calls about Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act.

The heads of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and union Communication Workers of America (CWA) delivered a letter Thursday on behalf of workers to the federal office charged with investigating discriminatory practices at federally contracted companies.

NAACP Director Derrick Johnson and CWA President Chris Shelton, who signed the letter, wrote that women of color at the company face barriers to move beyond the company’s lowest rungs, according to a copy obtained by Mississippi Today. The letter, addressed to Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director Jenny R. Yang, says Maximus has failed to “address systematic racial disparities within its workforce.”

The letter alleges the company may be in violation of regulations that require federal contractors to “identify problem areas where impediments to equal employment opportunity may exist” and create programs to correct those problems.

“I know that I am a great employee,” Daija Arrington, who has worked at the Hattiesburg call center for three years, said during a Thursday virtual press conference hosted by the NAACP and CWA. “I am someone who is willing to go above and beyond for my employer and in my job. But at Maximus, there’s just not an opportunity for me.”

Arrington said she, too, wants to see Maximus investigated by the feds.

A report, written by NAACP and CWA, references Maximus-released workforce data that shows while 48% of its call center employees are Black and Latina women, they represent just 5% of executives. The report surveyed nearly 300 call center employees and found that more than 60% applied for higher positions. Of that number, 75% said they were turned down or never heard back.

In response to the report and letter, Maximus said in a statement it is “committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

“We continue to make significant progress with our long-term commitment to build a strong and diverse workforce,” the statement said. “We take strong issue with undocumented and uncorroborated claims and faulty research promoted in this report.”

CWA’s report comes after its ongoing efforts in both Mississippi and Louisiana to organize Maximus call center workers, who last held a strike in November. Attendees to such events are consistently women of color calling for an increase in wages.

Maximus said its company is regularly audited by the government for its hiring and promotional practices, as well as for the diversity of its staff by location.

“Maximus has passed every audit conducted across our locations,” the statement said. “We hold ourselves accountable, from the executive level to those working every day serving millions of Americans seeking information and connecting with essential benefits.”

Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson, who attended Thursday’s virtual press conference, said he’s met with women who work at Maximus office in Hattiesburg.

He, too, called on the Biden administration to investigate Maximus, adding “if this contractor is in violation of the intended spirit of this whole issue around equity and inclusion, to hold them accountable. Either fix it, or find us another contractor who will.”

A spokesperson with the Department of Labor said should federal contractors be found violating compliance regulations they may be subject to contract termination and disbarment for future federal contracts.

Arrington, who has almost a decade of experience working at call centers, is in school. She said she is about a year-and-a-half away from finishing her bachelor’s degree and has held supervisors roles at other call centers. She enjoys her job at Maximus but doesn’t feel like there’s a clear pathway, or support, to land a promotion.

“If I could get Maximus to respect me and believe in me, like I believe in them, then we can go places together,” she said. “But that takes accountability and actions on both sides. And if I am trying to meet them halfway, but they’re not willing to do so, then that is an issue.”

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

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1997

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-12-22 07:00:00

Dec. 22, 1997

Myrlie Evers and Reena Evers-Everette cheer the jury verdict of Feb. 5, 1994, when Byron De La Beckwith was found guilty of the 1963 murder of Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers. Credit: AP/Rogelio Solis

The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers. 

In the court’s 4–2 decision, Justice Mike Mills praised efforts “to squeeze justice out of the harm caused by a furtive explosion which erupted from dark bushes on a June night in Jackson, Mississippi.” 

He wrote that Beckwith’s constitutional right to a speedy trial had not been denied. His “complicity with the Sovereignty Commission’s involvement in the prior trials contributed to the delay.” 

The decision did more than ensure that Beckwith would stay behind bars. The conviction helped clear the way for other prosecutions of unpunished killings from the Civil Rights Era.

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

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Mississippi Today

Medicaid expansion tracker approaches $1 billion loss for Mississippi

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mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2024-12-22 06:00:00

About the time people ring in the new year next week, the digital tracker on Mississippi Today’s homepage tabulating the amount of money the state is losing by not expanding Medicaid will hit $1 billion.

The state has lost $1 billion not since the start of the quickly departing 2024 but since the beginning of the state’s fiscal year on July 1.

Some who oppose Medicaid expansion say the digital tracker is flawed.

During an October news conference, when state Auditor Shad White unveiled details of his $2 million study seeking ways to cut state government spending, he said he did not look at Medicaid expansion as a method to save money or grow state revenue.

“I think that (Mississippi Today) calculator is wrong,” White said. “… I don’t think that takes into account how many people are going to be moved off the federal health care exchange where their health care is paid for fully by the federal government and moved onto Medicaid.”

White is not the only Mississippi politician who has expressed concern that if Medicaid expansion were enacted, thousands of people would lose their insurance on the exchange and be forced to enroll in Medicaid for health care coverage.

Mississippi Today’s projections used for the tracker are based on studies conducted by the Institutions of Higher Learning University Research Center. Granted, there are a lot of variables in the study that are inexact. It is impossible to say, for example, how many people will get sick and need health care, thus increasing the cost of Medicaid expansion. But is reasonable that the projections of the University Research Center are in the ballpark of being accurate and close to other studies conducted by health care experts.

White and others are correct that Mississippi Today’s calculator does not take into account money flowing into the state for people covered on the health care exchange. But that money does not go to the state; it goes to insurance companies that, granted, use that money to reimburse Mississippians for providing health care. But at least a portion of the money goes to out-of-state insurance companies as profits.

Both Medicaid expansion and the health care exchange are part of the Affordable Care Act. Under Medicaid expansion people earning up to $20,120 annually can sign up for Medicaid and the federal government will pay the bulk of the cost. Mississippi is one of 10 states that have not opted into Medicaid expansion.

People making more than $14,580 annually can garner private insurance through the health insurance exchanges, and people below certain income levels can receive help from the federal government in paying for that coverage.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation championed and signed into law by President Joe Biden significantly increased the federal subsidies provided to people receiving insurance on the exchange. Those increased subsidies led to many Mississippians — desperate for health care — turning to the exchange for help.

White, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, Gov. Tate Reeves and others have expressed concern that those people would lose their private health insurance and be forced to sign up for Medicaid if lawmakers vote to expand Medicaid.

They are correct.

But they do not mention that the enhanced benefits authored by the Biden administration are scheduled to expire in December 2025 unless they are reenacted by Congress. The incoming Donald Trump administration has given no indication it will continue the enhanced subsidies.

As a matter of fact, the Trump administration, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is looking for ways to cut federal spending.

Some have speculated that Medicaid expansion also could be on Musk’s chopping block.

That is possible. But remember congressional action is required to continue the enhanced subsidies. On the flip side, congressional action would most likely be required to end or cut Medicaid expansion.

Would the multiple U.S. senators and House members in the red states that have expanded Medicaid vote to end a program that is providing health care to thousands of their constituents?

If Congress does not continue Biden’s enhanced subsidies, the rates for Mississippians on the exchange will increase on average about $500 per year, according to a study by KFF, a national health advocacy nonprofit. If that occurs, it is likely that many of the 280,000 Mississippians on the exchange will drop their coverage.

The result will be that Mississippi’s rate of uninsured — already one of the highest in the nation – will rise further, putting additional pressure on hospitals and other providers who will be treating patients who have no ability to pay.

In the meantime, the Mississippi Today counter that tracks the amount of money Mississippi is losing by not expanding Medicaid keeps ticking up.

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

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1911

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-12-21 07:00:00

Dec. 21, 1911

A colorized photograph of Josh Gibson, who was playing with the Homestead Grays Credit: Wikipedia

Josh Gibson, the Negro League’s “Home Run King,” was born in Buena Vista, Georgia. 

When the family’s farm suffered, they moved to Pittsburgh, and Gibson tried baseball at age 16. He eventually played for a semi-pro team in Pittsburgh and became known for his towering home runs. 

He was watching the Homestead Grays play on July 25, 1930, when the catcher injured his hand. Team members called for Gibson, sitting in the stands, to join them. He was such a talented catcher that base runners were more reluctant to steal. He hit the baseball so hard and so far (580 feet once at Yankee Stadium) that he became the second-highest paid player in the Negro Leagues behind Satchel Paige, with both of them entering the National Baseball Hame of Fame. 

The Hall estimated that Gibson hit nearly 800 homers in his 17-year career and had a lifetime batting average of .359. Gibson was portrayed in the 1996 TV movie, “Soul of the Game,” by Mykelti Williamson. Blair Underwood played Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo portrayed Satchel Paige, and Harvey Williams played “Cat” Mays, the father of the legendary Willie Mays. 

Gibson has now been honored with a statue outside the Washington Nationals’ ballpark.

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

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