TP workers across U.S. protest broken union promises, low pay
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Thousands of American workers of TP (formerly Teleperformance) staged coordinated protests across states, demanding the global outsourcing giant honor its commitment to union rights.
Employees providing critical call center, interpretation, and content moderation services say they face stagnant wages, burnout, and unaffordable healthcare despite the company’s 2022 global labor agreement.
Workers cite broken promises on global union agreement
Despite a 2022 agreement between TP and UNI Global Union guaranteeing organizing rights for nearly 500,000 workers worldwide, United States employees say the company has blocked unionization efforts.
Workers in California, Florida, and seven other states organized with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and ASL Interpreters Union (ASLIU) report retaliation fears and understaffing that degrades service quality.
“I was hopeful that things would change once Teleperformance took over at Purple, but they’re still constantly understaffing the queues, overworking and underpaying our interpreters, and not providing the Deaf community with enough qualified interpreters,” said Angie Valdez, video interpreter at Purple/ZP Better Together.
The French multinational call center operator provides customer service, debt collection, and ASL interpretation for major corporations. Yet U.S. workers allege pay as low as $16 per hour, with some waiting eight to ten years for raises prompting many to rely on Medicaid
“We need to unionize to have a say in correcting these issues, because the owners have demonstrated they are not going to improve things themselves,” Valdez added, stressing the need for the company to be accountable.
Low wages and burnout drive high turnover
Employees describe grueling workloads, including back-to-back calls and repetitive stress injuries, with interpreters like Kaitlyn Bertic reporting carpal tunnel syndrome from video relay services.
Understaffing forces workers into mandatory overtime, exacerbating burnout that harms service quality, said CWA’s Erin Mahoney. Despite handling sensitive financial and healthcare data, many qualify for public assistance due to high-deductible insurance plans.
TP’s U.S. labor practices clash with its European operations, where unions negotiate living wages and workload protections.
“Me and my coworkers at Purple Communications, which is owned by Teleperformance, are unionizing to win more time between calls and stronger protections against abuse while on the clock,” said Bertic, highlighting disparities with the company’s Paris HQ workforce.
TP recently overtook Accenture and soared to rank #1 in the OA500 2025, an objective index of the world’s top 500 outsourcing companies.
