Phoenix call center workers strike over pay and working conditions
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Tori Gantz/KJZZ
Maximus employees picket outside a call center in Phoenix.
Hundreds of call center workers who help Americans sign up for health-care plans through Medicare and the Affordable Care Act went on strike Nov. 9, demanding better pay, working conditions and health care for themselves.
Ezekiel McQuiggin was on strike in Phoenix.
He said he works the phones 40 hours a week for roughly $18 dollars an hour.
“It's not enough for me to afford an apartment to afford a car, car insurance, all that, all that — those basic necessities that you need," McQuiggin said.
Workers are asking the Biden administration for a $25 an hour minimum wage.
A spokesperson for call center operator Maximus criticized the timing of the strike, which coincides with open enrollment for Medicare and ACA recipients.
Tori Gantz/KJZZ
Ezekiel McQuiggin says Maximus call center employees don’t make enough to afford basic necessities.
