Toys R U

Coming Soon! Special Industry Wage Board inaction figures*. Now being molded in a country near you. These authentic toys feature our patented Talking Head technology with individualized Talking Points. Get the complete set including:

Hardline Harry, a self-certified pundit, not to be confused with;
Free Lunch Larry representing Non-Governmental Organizations;
Boring Bureaucrat;
Barely Bureaucrat, his twin and just-as-qualified brother;
A Political Posturer;
Percival Carpe ('Per') Diem, Department of Interior;
Petri Dish, representing the Garment Industry (fabulous in lustrous spandex);
The Lambasting Liberal, representing;
The Compassionate Conservative, emeritus member;
The Industry Illusionist; and
Hiram Redstate ('Hi Red') Gunn, Jr., the economist.

WARNING: Electrical shlock hazard from vocal units, do not expose to direct sunlight, choking hazard for industries less than three years old.

* Some assembly on Saipan required, Five Star playhouse sold separately. Batteries must be chargeable.

Let's call the whole thing off

We Manage Calls may be in trouble before it starts, according to the Marianas Variety.

The newspaper quotes part-owner Erick Van Der Moss as saying "We can only afford a $4.5 to $5.5 per hour rate at the call center and beyond that number, the decision will have to be made by my partner in the U.S. as 90 percent of our clientele are from there."

I'd like to say I told you so, but I never finished that blog. Just another case of trying to compete with low wage labor overseas. How did that go the last time it was tried in Saipan? Sounds like a job for Captain Wage Review Board.

Or not. Here's Call Center Magazine in 2002:

"That Puerto Rico is part of the US is a major contributing factor in companies considering it since 9/11," says John Boyd, site selection consultant with the Boyd Company.

Puerto Rico's minimum wage is the same as in the US: $5.15/hour. That's more than Mexico's $3.50/hour, but less than the reported $7/hour in US border towns, such as Laredo, TX.

Proponents say that more agents are willing to work at levels closer to the minimum in Puerto Rico - $6 per hour for customer service agents - than in the rest of the US. Puerto Ricans do not pay income tax; so they keep more of their earnings.

That was five years ago, things may change dramatically in that time. Yep, they have, says the Arizona Republic in an excellent article:

But with the Valley's 3 percent unemployment rate, a growing number of centers are offering record starting wages, robust benefits and perks in a desperate bid to find and keep qualified workers.

As a result, small and midsized operations, especially those refusing to pay more than the $10.71 per hour industry average, could be forced to drastically downsize or shut their doors.

Firms hoping to set up shop in metropolitan Phoenix and pay $8 to $9 per hour likely cannot compete for labor and may consider locating elsewhere, said James Trobaugh, senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis' Call Center Solutions Group.