At MS strike, Medicare call center workers demand paid sick leave, better health care

Workers at Medicare call centers employed by Maximus, the country’s largest federal call center contractor, went on strike for the first time ever Wednesday, calling for paid sick leave, competitive wages and better health insurance.

The strikes were held in Hattiesburg and Bogalusa, Louisiana, and workers also called for Maximus to stop disrupting attempts to unionize.

“It felt good to let our voice be heard,” said Haley Jefcoat, a Maximus call center worker who was part of the strike. “I feel like we made an impact and made a statement.”

The strike was scheduled March 23, the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, as the call center workers are contracted for Medicare and Medicaid services.

According to the press release, Maximus employs around 10,000 people that work at 11 federal Medicare and ACA call centers in nine states.

A virtual town hall was held after the strike and featured a handful of speakers, including state Sen. Juan Barnett, Hattiesburg City Councilperson Dave ware and members of the Mississippi NAACP.

“These workers are helping American citizens get access to affordable health care everyday, and they have a really unaffordable health care plan,” said Victoria Miller, an organizer for the Communications Workers of America union who was involved in the organizing of the strike. “Maximus workers do complicated jobs … and they deserve to have a middle-class living wage.”

Although they are yet to hear back from Maximus, organizers say the event was a success.

“It was an incredibly powerful day,” Tiandra Robinson said, a union organizer based in Mississippi who use to work for Maximus. “Across the South, it’s not every day you see workers raising up.”