Proposed FTC Changes Hurt Entry-Level & Minority Jobs.

The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) released results from its “Face of the Teleservices Industry 2002 Survey” showing the potentially devastating impact of proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over-regulation of the teleservices industry. Additional federal regulation would disproportionately affect the ability of women, minorities and students to find well-paid, steady employment, survey results demonstrated. The DMA will report its complete findings at the FTC’s upcoming Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) workshops on June 5 – 7.

“Regulators in Washington are not taking into account the human cost of their overly broad and superfluous proposed regulations,” said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA. “This study provided conclusive evidence that the proposed changes would especially hurt employment opportunities for minorities and women,” Wientzen said.

THE HUMAN FACES OF TELESERVICES

The DMA survey shows that any adverse impact on the teleservices industry would disproportionately affect women, minorities, students, working mothers, and part-time employees.

Women represent 60 percent of the teleservices workforce

Minorities represent 64 percent of the teleservices workforce

Welfare-to-work individuals represent 30 percent of the teleservices workforce

Students represent 26 percent of the teleservices workforce

Sixty percent of call centers are located outside large urban areas with average populations of less than 23,000
“The FTC wants to re-create the wheel and roll it over the backs of the millions who depend on flexible, well-paid, steady teleservices employment,” said Wientzen. “The reality is that the true faces of the teleservices industry are those who are most in need of the government’s support,” Wientzen added.

“The truth is that The DMA has had a national do-not-call list since the mid-1980’s – long before the states or federal government came up with the idea. For marketers, it has always made good business sense to respect consumers’ marketing preferences – something that can easily be done without a new government bureaucracy.”

“Any new government regulation of this already heavily regulated industry must take into account that millions of jobs and the futures of thousands of companies are at stake,” said Wientzen.

In 1999, nonprofits generated the largest portion of their revenues from telephone solicitation – almost 42 percent of total contributions or $43 billion. A recent DMA study showed that nonprofit organizations would have to spend an additional $5.9 billion to maintain the same level of fundraising if a restrictive regime such as a federalized do-not-call list is established.

In 2001, the teleservices industry, directly and indirectly, employed more than six million Americans. And, American consumers purchased more than $270 billion worth of goods and services from outbound telemarketing. The Business-to-Business telephone marketing sector, which is typically supported by shared Business-to-Consumer teleservices operations, accounted for an additional $390 billion in sales in 2001.

To view the DMA’s The Face of Teleservices Industry 2002 Survey CLICK below:

http://www.the-dma.org/cgi/dispannouncements?article=190.