New T-Mobile Call Center Perpetuates Last Century's "Maquila" Model

Recently, City and BEDC leaders celebrated the arrival of the new T-Mobile call center with wages of $9-12/hour. (see http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/articles/brownsville_76761___article.html/mobile_company.html). On first blush that sounds like good news. But let's look a little deeper.

According to the most recent data from the Census/American Fact Finder (factfinder.census.gov) the average Brownsville family has four (4) people with a median income of $24, 207/year, just above the poverty level for a family of four at $20,650/year (according to the 2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines).

The T-Mobile wages of $10/hour = $20,800/year. Assuming that a call center employee is the sole provider in his/her home, that home is still essentially at or below the poverty level. What that means is most likely there will have to be public assistance for that family, or both parents will have to work, or get a nanny for the children. Moreover, after deducting the $5,000 per T-Mobile job that Brownsville residents will pay in sales tax incentives from BEDC ($3.5 million of incentives divided by 700 jobs created) the city is actually getting jobs at $7.20/hour ($15,000/year) -- right around the new minimum wage.

Realistically, what kind of residents will work at the T-Mobile call center? If Convergys is any indication, they will be single (or single-parent), less-educated residents. What's the implied message the City is sending to UTB students? That, after spending tens of thousands of dollars and working for six years towards their bachelors degree, they can look forward to making maybe $12/hour?