In a message dated 3/16/08 3:09:45 A.M. Central Daylight Time, News@JobDestruction.info writes:
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1838 -- 3/16/2008 >>>>>
Patrick Thibodeau wrote a thought provoking blog about the possibility
that Congress will raise the H-1B cap. He listed five reasons, let me add a
few more:
Thibodeu may be right that the odds of thwarting another H-1B increase are
not good. The last several years have been somewhat lucky for us because
industry groups made the mistake of piggybacking H-1B expansion with the
large amnesty bills. Those of us that oppose H-1B were able to join the
large numbers of the public who opposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform
bills. When CIR went down in flames, so did the H-1B increases that were
embedded in the bills.
Several attempts to amend other bills with H-1B expansions such as omnibus
spending legislation have also failed.
The introduction of bills by Giffords and Smith show a new willingness to
push stand-alone bills.
Opposition to H-1B is almost non-existent except for a few unhappy
technical workers that have been victimized by the flood of cheap foreign
labor into the U.S. So far techies and other categories of workers affected
by H-1B such as teachers and nurses have been unwilling or unable to
organize -- and there is no cooperation across career boundaries. Most
opposition groups have either withered or shut down due to lack of public
support.
Employers and a growing number of immigrant worker support groups have
shown no such reluctance to organize and actively lobby Congress -- and
they are being heard. Ironically many engineers and programmers don’t
believe an H-1B increase is possible because they arrogantly believe that
Congress is somehow afraid of them. Considering their lack of participation
in politics that kind of narcissistic thinking could be fatal to their
careers.
The best hope that H-1B increases won’t happen is that Congress continues
its reputation as "Do Nothing". Unfortunately with the pressure and
enticements Bill Gates just offered them they have every reason to "Do
Something" this time around.
So far it looks like a very one sided battle in which the only voice is
being heard is from those that want more H-1B visas and green cards.
Techies are going to lose this battle if they don't quickly get their acts
together, and judging by the fact that H-1B has been in place for over 18
years, there is little reason for optimism.
The demise of TORAW is an example that Thibodeau cited. See the second
article in this newsletter to read an epitaph on TORAW called: "The
outsourced, the offshored, the downsized organized T.O.R.A.W." The article
doesn't have a link because it was published in a local newspaper that
didn't post it on the web.
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http://blogs.computerworld.com/five_reasons_why_the_h_1b_visa_cap_will_incre
ase
Five reasons why the H-1B visa cap will increase
By Patrick Thibodeau
Created Mar 15 2008 - 3:36pm
Two bills were introduced this week to raise the H-1B visa cap. They follow
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates' visit to Washington [1]and his push
for a H-1B cap increase. The opposition faces a daunting task in
challenging the push to increase the H-1B visa.
H-1B proponents in Congress acted quickly to take advantage Gates brought
to the issue. U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced legislation Friday
that would retroactively increase the 2008 visa cap to 195,000 [2], as well
as set that level for the fiscal year, 2009, that begins Oct. 1. Gabrielle
Giffords (D-Arz.) introduced legislation the same week to increase the cap
to 130,000 a year [3]. The current cap is set at 65,000, with an additional
20,000 for holders of advance degrees.
Here are five reason why opponents face a very difficult, if not impossible
task, in stopping a visa cap hike:
One: H-1B opponents have no clout
If H-1B visas weren’t part of the larger immigration reform issue in
Congress, the H-1B cap would have been increased long ago. The opponents
have been piggybacking on the broader immigration debate and they know it.
But the H-1B opposition is in decline even as the debate grows more
intense. Five years ago, tech workers in Connecticut -- many working or
connected to the financial services industry (the first industry to really
embrace offshoring) -- organized a lobbying group, the Organization for the
Rights of American Workers (TORAW). By 2003, Connecticut's congressional
reps had introduced several bills -- all affecting the H-1B issue. The
legislation went nowhere, but Connecticut tech workers proved that an
organized effort can have impact. It’s all part of history now. TORAW has
disbanded [4], out of money and members. The broader base of opponents are
alert, well connected and can fire off thoughtful, well researched emails
to lawmakers at an instant, but TORAW is illustrative of the anemic state
of the opposition. Opponents lack lobbying muscle in Washington.
Two: The Gates effect
Bill Gates is, obviously, a powerful proponent of the H-1B visa. But where
is the opposition’s star power? Lou Dobbs isn’t it. The Programmers
Guild has been effective in raising issues, but the real heavy weight
organization, with true lobbying ability, is the IEEE-USA, and it has
scaled back its opposition to H-1B visas. This group has staked out a
position focused on visa reform and improving access to permanent
residency, the Green Cards. The IEEE-USA was once more direct about the
impact of the H-1B visa: In 2004, when the cap was scaled back to 65,000
the IEEE-USA pointed out [5]: The number of unemployed U.S. high-tech
professionals dropped sharply from the first quarter of 2004 to the third
quarter. The decline mirrors the reinstatement of the H-1B visa cap to its
historical level of 65,000 in Fiscal Year 2004 from 195,000 in FY 03. That
was a strong message to send to Congress. But the IEEE-USA also represents
many academic institutions that depend on the H-1B visas. Although
universities are exempted from the cap, foreign enrollments may suffer if
students feel they have little chance of remaining in the U.S. longterm.
Universities also have strong ties to tech companies. It is probably safe
to say that the IEEE-USA, as an organization, is getting pulled in
different directions.
Three: There is grass root support for the H-1B visa
A major use of H-1B visas is to help facilitate offshore outsourcing and
even in this downturn outsourcing will continue to grow. That’s the broad
outlook by industry analysts. The pressure for visas remains, even in a
downturn. But the H-1B visa has a very broad, grass root constituency that
extends beyond the tech sector. In the 2007 fiscal year, nearly 20,000
companies [6], academic institutions, hospitals, public schools and others
received only one H-1B visa. These organizations send emails as well.
Four: The H-1B lottery is a big problem for tech firms
The forecasted demand for H-1B visas is going to force the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Service (USCIS) to hand out visas via a random lottery for
the fiscal year 2009 that starts Oct 1. For the 2008 fiscal year, the USCIS
received more than 123,000 visa petitions [7] in two days for the 65,000
cap. Despite that number, the odds were still good that a petition would be
approved in its lottery. The USCIS put all those visa petitions in a hat
and selected about 100,000, rejecting the rest. The selection process works
like college admission: The USCIS accepts more petitions then it has slots
and expects a certain number of these applications to be withdrawn or
disqualified. But this year there seems to be broad consensus that the
number of visa petitions will exceed last year's total, and companies may
face visa odds of two-to-one or higher. This makes the outlook for getting
a visa very unpredictable and unacceptable to tech groups, which are now
pushing for a cap increase with special urgency. But here is an important
point to keep in mind: The people who receive visas under the 65,000 cap
are more likely to only have a bachelor degree. They are the worker bees.
The U.S. has a separate H-1B visa cap of 20,000 for foreign nationals who
graduate with advance degrees from U.S. universities. But there was no
lottery for these graduates because there was no sudden rush [8]in demand.
The USCIS filled those petitions on a first-come, first serve basis until
April 30 that year. That may change this year.
Five: Congressional support for visa
Lawmakers have moved the cap up and down before and they will do it again.
Congress will increase the cap this year or next and may make it
retroactive as well. Had an immigration bill been approved last year the
cap would have been 115,000. The open question is whether the H-1B visa
will be reformed as part of a cap increase. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa) last year pushed for a reform that set a limit on how the
visa is used [9]. One rule set a limit that no more than 50 percent of the
U.S.-based employees at a company using H-1B workers can be visa holders.
It was a measure aimed at making the India offshore firms a little less
nimble and raising it as a trade issue for India.
Links:
[1]
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&ar
ticleId=9068126
[2] http://lamarsmith.house.gov/read.aspx?ID=1036
[3]
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143475-c,techrelatedlegislation/article.ht
ml#
[4]
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&ar
ticleId=9053947&source=rss_news10
[5] http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/releases/2004/111904pr.asp
[6]
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&ar
ticleId=9067638&intsrc=hm_list
[7] http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/H1Bfy08CapUpdate041307.pdf
[8] http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/H1Bfy08CapUpdate050407.pdf
[9]
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&ar
ticleId=9020941
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Workers’ rights group disbands
The outsourced, the offshored, the downsized organized T.O.R.A.W.
By Mary Ellen Godin
Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN -- The past six years have been a wild ride for John Bauman.
The man who organized and founded a workers’ rights group, lobbied
more than 100 members of Congress in a weekend and found himself a
frequent guest on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" has ended the battle, although the
war rages on.
Bauman, an information technology worker and consultant, founded The
Organization for the Rights of American Workers -- T.O.R.A.W. -- after he
and a few colleagues found themselves without jobs. Bauman was a consultant
for Northeast Utilities when he was laid off in 2002 with 200 employees
and about 30 other consultants.
Bauman and the other core members of T.O.R.A.W. noticed an exodus of
jobs going overseas or workers being replaced by foreign workers for less
pay. In some instances, he said, the U.S. worker was forced to train his or
her replacement, or risk losing severance pay.
"Seven years ago, the market absolutely dried up," Bauman said.
"T.O.R.A.W. just took off immediately and became a nationwide
organization. We didn’t realize how big it was."
The group picked up members from the manufacturing and insurance
industries, anywhere workers found their jobs being outsourced.
But T.O.R.A.W. membership has declined in recent months to about 30 from
about 400 in its heyday, and Bauman decided it was time to disband.
After six years of not working, and at age 65, Bauman and his wife
Jocelyn live off his pension from AT&T, part-time work, consulting, and
selling merchandise on eBay. Now that his Social Security benefits are
securely in place, he said, he can start looking for work as a IT
consultant.
There are several reasons T.O.R.A.W. membership dwindled, Bauman said.
Although the group managed to rattle a complacent public with the
reality of outsourcing, it saw little real change.
Members were successful in getting 3rd District U.S. Rep. Rosa
DeLauro, D-New Haven, Sen. Christopher Dodd, also a Democrat, and
former 5th District U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, a Republican, to champion
their cause. The lawmakers helped draft bills against the numbers and
lengths of foreign visas, and another bill that would give Americans the
rights to apply for open positions
"John Bauman and T.O.R.A.W. deserve high praise for their tireless efforts
on behalf of American workers."
-- U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., in an e-mail they might not
otherwise know about.
Dodd credited Bauman and his group for bringing the plight of outsourced
workers to the public.
"John Bauman and T.O.R.A.W. deserve high praise for their tireless
efforts on behalf of American workers," Dodd stated in an e-mail.
Unfortunately for the group, other lawmakers wanted to see the bills tied
to broader immigration reform -- and Bauman knows that Congress is unlikely
to come to a consensus on immigration reform anytime soon.
Members were also gravely disappointed about their inability to find
jobs in their fields, and took positions at home-improvement stores, as
truck drivers, in mortgage finance and anything that could support their
families. One board member went bankrupt; another is about to do the same.
"We had about 30 members before we crashed and burned," Bauman said. "A lot
of them gave up. You don’t get one call for jobs."
Members also faced retaliation for their involvement in T.O.R.A.W. and for
speaking out against their employers’ practice of sending their jobs
overseas or hiring foreign workers, Bauman said. He is confident that
his speaking out in local and national media stymied his own efforts to
find a job. Other members have reported similar experiences.
"I don’t regret anything I did," he said.
But Bauman’s proudest achievement is hearing the statistics coming
from T.O.R.A.W.’s research department being recited in speeches being
made on the Senate floor, or at a rally. He credits research director Donna
Kammritz, who died of cancer nearly two years ago, for her impeccable
research.
Bauman continues to tell people not to support businesses that outsource
jobs or replace a high number of American workers with foreign workers.
Today’s workers can expect maybe five or six different careers in a
lifetime, and should pick occupations that cannot be outsourced, he
said.
"Whether it was fighting against the outsourcing of American jobs to
another country or speaking out against flawed trade policies," Dodd wrote,
"John let it be known to the people of Connecticut that he would stand up
for their rights as workers. I am very grateful for his hard work and
diligence on these critically important issues, and I wish John much
success in the future."
mgodin@record-journal.com (203) 317-2255
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