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HARRIS MILLER ALERT!!!
"When Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense announced their RFID intentions, it changed the whole dynamic of the marketplace," Harris Miller, president of the ITAA, said during a break at the forum, held Tuesday at the J.W. Marriott in the District's downtown. "Even though we are still in the early days, we want to get out in front. People are so sensitive to privacy."
posted by gmminks
6/17/2004
link
CIO.com ran an article advising CIOs what to expect as anti-outsourcing legislation starts being passed.
Of course, our pal Harris Miller (president of Information Technology Association of America, representing 11,000 direct and affiliate member companies in the information technology (IT) industry [ ! IT workers ]...blah blah y'all know the spiel...) chimed in with his take of these bills working their way through our legislative bodies. Here is what the article has to say:
In light of these numbers, Harris Miller, president of ITAA, acknowledges that some legislation is inevitable. "Congress is going to want to say they did something," he says. Miller hopes that "something" will be restricted to job retraining benefits for white-collar workers, similar to the benefits that manufacturing workers now get when their jobs are sent overseas.
When these bills do, in fact, pass, business groups like ITAA will make an effort to blunt their impact. For example, the Dodd amendment that restricts how states can use federal funds was itself amended to exclude signatories to the World Trade Organization agreement on government procurement (including many European and some Asian countries, although not India and China), and makes the amendments subject to a review by the Secretary of Commerce.
"We're lobbying," says Miller. "That's what we get paid to do."
posted by gmminks
6/15/2004
link
In an article in the E-Commerce Times on the Labor Dept's report on how many jobs are directly replaced by outsourcing, Harris Miller says:
"the public's perception of offshoring is skewed by media coverage of the topic.
"There is so much hype, and most of it focuses on the examples, which are out there," Miller said. "The fact is the U.S. workforce, including the technology workforce, is growing and will continue to grow."
words escape me Mr. Miller. Honestly, they do.
posted by gmminks
6/14/2004
link
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Displaced Techies
allow american workers to participate in the global economy!
Monday June 28, 2004
Immoral
why does Mitt Romney love outsourcing
Maybe he believes "independent" economist Nariman Behravesh, of Waltham-based Global Insight when he proclaims:
"jobs sent overseas tend to be low-skilled and low-paying, and tapping the global economy to provide that service can save as much as two thirds in wages. He said politicians should be pressed to explain why taxpayers should pay more.
So what is the US population that is low skilled supposed to do if we strip these jobs from them?
Why is our governor listening to economist who are paid by the industry's biggest lobbying firm? Isn't he supposed to be protecting the people who voted him into office from such wolves?
I ask again, why does Mitt Romney love outsourcing?
09:27 pm
Monday June 28, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Candidate hand-picked by Romney loves outsourcing
Ken Chase, who will take on U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Malden just loves outsourcing.
According to the Winchester Star, Chase said:
"The outcry over the outsourcing of jobs was mostly unfounded....
The future does not involve working with our hands. We need to strive to a better educated workforce. Outsourcing is not a major problem in this country. It is good for political rhetoric, but it has no basis in reality."
If he likes outsourcing, it is a good bet that Mitt Romney loves outsourcing too.
09:15 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Help Overturn Romney's Veto!
As we reported Friday, Romeny vetoed a side item in the budget that would have made it illegal for the state to contract bids to companies for state work if the companies wanted to turn around and send jobs offshore.
What happened to Romney? Remember when he told us back in March:
“I am very concerned about outsourcing. The reality of today’s business climate is that a growing number of companies are sending their best jobs out of state,” Romney said. “Whether it’s the loss of one job or 100,000 jobs, it’s a very real issue for all of us. These common sense initiatives will help slow outsourcing and speed up insourcing.”
Now, he vetoed the outsourcing line item, saying:
I am vetoing this section because it could hurt taxpayers by increasing costs for future or existing administrative operations and make Massachusetts a less business-friendly environment.
We have to contact our representatives. Ask them to bring this up for a veto override vote. See this page for details
Start with your State Representative. Then talk to your State Senator. Do it today! Tell them that outsourcing state jobs makes no economic sense. Tell them we need to create jobs, not destroy them. Tell them how impossible it is for small businesses to compete with companies that have access to cheap labor pools overseas.
Use the following link to find your elected officials:
http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php
05:21 am
posted by gmminks
link
Call Centers in India unhealthy places to work
Interesting story on Expressindia.com about what the call center workers have to deal with to provide US companies with cheap labor:
"EATING disorders, insomnia, stress, relationships going awry — Pune’s nascent BPO industry is just about waking up to the perils of working on the other side of midnight. The gruelling schedules most call centre or BPO agents keep — ‘awake when the whole of India sleeps’ — are taking a toll on their health. "
Is it worth it for the workers? Managers say "‘‘Every coin has two sides. While stomach disorders, thanks to eating at odd hours and too much caffeine, are common, the job has opportunities to grow.’’
That's up for debate, as a psychiatrist reports " Typically, you join as an agent, then aim for supervisor, team leader, work leader.... Of 20 agents, may be two or three get to become team leaders"
05:11 am
posted by gmminks
link
"US INC" behind new H1B bill
According to Rediff.com, "Compete America, a coalition of over 200 companies, universities, research institutions and trade associations, has called on the US Congress to support a legislation to exempt foreign nationals with master and Ph.D. degrees from the US universities, from the current H-1B visa caps."
NASSCOM's chief proclaimed:
"The US government and companies collectively contribute billions of dollars to universities to support cutting edge research. Much of that work is done by graduate students, many of whom are foreign nationals. These foreign nationals, with a large percentage of them being Indians, add tremendous value to the US companies and the economy. They must have H-1B status to remain in the US."
So, if you would beleive what Kiran Karnik is preaching, the only reason our universities are cutting edge is the work done by foreign students. I guess the US students contribute nothing to their own education.
05:01 am
posted by gmminks
link
Sunday June 27, 2004
Companies outsourcing core functions to India will be taxed
In India.
The Business Standard reports that multi-national companies who outsource core functions to India will be taxed in India.
It won't include things such as "answering sales queries over telephone or booking orders for goods and services to be delivered abroad, like insurance, credit cards or items like computers"
07:33 pm
Sunday June 27, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
What happens when Indian companies lose access to US visas?
They have to resort to hiring Americans
A report by Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Ltd (ICRA) reported the following problems in store for the BPO industry in India:
"Additionally, a Bill attempting to curb the use of L-1 visas was introduced on May 20, 2003, in the US House of Representatives, it said. One of the clauses of the Bill was that the employees coming to the US using an L-1 visa would not be allowed to work at the site of any employer other than the company applying for the L-1 visa.
The report concluded that this could potentially impact Indian companies that have been using employees with L-1 visas for onsite work.
"Also the Indian companies cannot now use the H-1B visa route instead, as the cap has been exhausted. This may result in a shortage of visas, forcing Indian companies to look at alternative avenues, including increasing local hiring in the US," ICRA said, but pointed out that despite the potential downsides, the growth rate of the Indian software industry is likely to be strong."
03:40 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Saturday June 26, 2004
Compete America begging for H1B increase
Compete America, a coalition of corporations, universities and trade associations, is urging Congress to greatly increase the cap on H-1B visas
"While the long-term solution is to reinvigorate primary and secondary education in this country, waiting while we turn our education system around is simply not an option," argues Sandra Boyd, of the National Association of Manufacturers. "Until we start adequately training and providing our teachers with the tools they need to engage the next generation of students in math and science, we must not close our doors to some of the brightest minds who have come to America to study, and who want to make the United States their home."
Um, where is the money coming from to fund the schools, to equip the teachers? Less jobs for US workers means less tax revenues for the schools. I know in our schools, the first teachers to get axed were the technology teachers.
07:45 am
Saturday June 26, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Why H1-B workers do better in layoffs
The legendary immigration lawyer Carl Shusterman participated in an online chat for immigration.about.com.
Read through the transcripts, and you will start to understand why H1-B visa holders usually fair better than US citizens & permanant residents during layoffs.
Some excerpts:
"Question #14: I am with a company that is about to lay off some H-1B workers. The company is interested in doing everything it can to protect the ability of the workers to stay here in status long enough to secure another H-1B sponsor. What are some things that we can do in this regard?
Carl Shusterman: Our law firm is finding that for every laid off H-1B worker, several job opportunities exist. If you are an employer and must terminate H-1B workers, it may be in your interest and certainly in the interest of your former employees to help them relocate to other employers who can sponsor them for H-1B status. In this way, you will be doing a service to these employees and, in addition, you will not have to be responsible for paying their travel expenses back home. "
"Question #4: I am currently working on a H1-B visa & will be laid-off soon. I have my EAD & it has been more than 180 days since my I-485 was filed. Can I work for a new employer by filing a H1-B transfer? (I don't want to use my EAD). Also what happens if I don't find a job for a month or two after lay-off? What would be my status? Can I file for an H1-B transfer after a month or two?? Please help. Thanks...
Carl Shusterman: The advantage of using your EAD to secure alternate employment is that you can start work immediately without having your new employer file an H-1B petition, and if you are unable to find new employment quickly, you will remain in legal status. However, as long as you remain in valid H-1B status, you can choose to have your new employer file an H-1B petition on your behalf. Under the H-1B cap law passed in October 2000, as soon as the new employer submits an H-1B petition on your behalf, you can being working with the new employer. "
If you are like me, you are wondering what the heck an "EAD" is. It's Employment Authorization Document. It's a work permit. Categories of immigrants who use the EAD are:
- asylees and asylum seekers
- refugees
- students seeking particular types of employment
- applicants to adjust to permanent residence status
- people in or applying for temporary protected status
- fiancés of American citizens; and dependents of foreign government officials.
So, if I am reading this correctly, companies can bring over folks on H1-B visas, but if the job doesn't last for the period that they told the visa holder it would last, the company is responsible to fly that person back home. That seems fair to me.
To get around having to pay for the tickets home, they make sure these folks stay in the country and transfer their H1b visas. Even if people who are citizens of this country, who have no place else to go back to, can't find a job.
That ain't right y'all. That just a'int right.
07:37 am
posted by gmminks
link
Friday June 25, 2004
Jobless rate for IT pros up
According to this article in Computerworld,
" Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA said the jobless rate for computer scientists and systems analysts in the U.S. went from 5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2003 to an all-time high of 6.7% in this year's first quarter."
08:33 pm
Friday June 25, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Outsourcing state jobs not cheap
08:30 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Romney to allow outsourcing of state projects
Even though Romney claims to be "very concerned about outsourcing", he vetoed a budget line item that would have banned granting to contracts to companies that would send the work offshore.
His reason?
"I am vetoing this section because it could hurt taxpayers by increasing costs for future or existing administrative operations and make Massachusetts a less business-friendly environment. "
Will our State Reps override this veto? Only if they know the truth about outsourcing.
We've got work to do...stay tuned.
And go see Fahrenheit 9/11! I'm going tomorrow afternoon if anyone else wants to meet up.
06:50 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Thursday June 24, 2004
Labor Quotes
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."
"All that harms labor is treason to America."
—Abraham Lincoln
"We live in the richest country in the world. There's plenty to spare and for no man, woman, or child to be in want. And in addition to this our country was founded on what should have been a great , true principle -- the freedom, equality, and rights of each individual. Huh! And what has come of this start? There are corporations worth billions of dollars--and hundreds of thousands of people who don't get to eat."
— Carson McCullers
"The labor movement means just this: It is the last noble protest of the American people against the power of incorporated wealth."
— Wendell Phillips
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."
— Plato
"Management has no divine rights."
"There is no power in the world that can stop the forward march of free men and women when they are joined in the solidarity of human brotherhood"
—Walter Reuther
"No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level --I mean the wages of decent living."
—Franklin D. Roosevelt
"You take my life when you do take the means whereby I live."
—William Shakespeare
via "The World's Most Dangerous Local"
08:56 pm
Thursday June 24, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Are we Disenfranchised?
disenfranchise verb {T} (ALSO disfranchise)
to take away power or opportunities, especially the right to vote, from a person or group
After reading an email from the Mass Software Council, I am inclined to believe that as a group, Displaced Techies are disenfranchised.
A copy of the email is stored here. Notice the email addresses....common citizens like you and I are relegated to a hard to use web interface to email the Governor, or a voice mailbox, but companies have instant access to a person. Do we not have the opportunity to have personal contact with the Governor that we elected into office?
Some highlights....
Well, the Mass Software Council has been advising the Governor about outsourcing. Here is where the disenfranchised idea comes in. Our state shed more jobs than any other during the IT bust. There is still a high rate of unemployment in this field. Has the governor spoken with any of his constituents? Has he contacted any of the WIND groups? The 495 NSG? Us? Is the governor only listening to the wolves, and not the hens?
The email that the MSC members were urged to send to the governor smelled like Harris Miller. For instance:
- This restriction on free trade is a bad precedent; already, other countries are considering prohibitions against US companies competing for international contracts.
- Companies must retain the flexibility to align operations and make workforce sourcing decisions as necessary to meet customer demands
[Governor Romney, this statement is completely opposite of what you have stated that you want to do.....i.e. bring more jobs to MA. "Aligning operations" and "making workforce sourcing decisions" are code words to all workers for layoffs
- Companies must have the flexibility to build the best products and services at the most competitive prices.
[This is a code for "companies need access to cheap labor"]
- We urge you to VETO Outside Section 21 -- "Prohibition Against Outsourcing Jobs", which would create barriers to growth, innovation and job creation in Massachusetts.
The last point is just silly. Currently, food stamp and Medicaid operations for the Commonwealth are handled in part by workers in India. These workers do not make anywhere near US minimum wage. I want to know:
- Do you think that the contractors who won the bid for these jobs are refunding the state for the difference in what they would have had to pay American workers and what they pay their Indian workforce?
- Is it fair to shut out local, home grown contractors from winning these bids since they do not have access to the cheap foreign labor, and must pay their workers minimum wage (at least)?
- Is it right for people who have to collect benefits from the state because they cannot make a living wage to be served by people who make even less? Why not keep those jobs here, and give people an opportunity to get off public assistance?
- Why are our tax dollars going to make companies from other countries rich?
Here is a challenge to Governor Romney:
You have been talking to the business interests. I challenge you to come out and talk to people who are affected by outsourcing. Come and talk to the Displaced Techies of the Commonwealth. Email gina (me). I will set it up.
Yeah, I know this is a long shot, but I am feeling disenfranchised and all, so I figure what the hell. It can't hurt.
PLEASE call Governor Romney. He needs to know that people are hurting over this issue. The best thing to do is call his office, leave your name and the town you are from. Tell him you VOTE. Tell him why allowing our tax dollars to be used to create jobs overseas is WRONG
State House
Office of the Governor
Room 360
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: (617) 725-4005
FAX: (617) 727-9725
TTY: (617) 727-3666
08:28 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Remember to Contact Governor Romney!
...moving this to the top so everyone sees it. The Governor has three more days to sign the budget.
Call to Action: Contact Governor Romney about Outsourcing and the State Budget.
Last week, the Massachusetts State Legislature approved a 2005 budget with a clause prohibiting the Commonwealth from hiring companies with outsourced operations. Governor Mitt Romney has until June 27 to endorse or veto this amendment. Romney has said he's against outsourcing in the private sector, having proposed incentives for companies that hire Massachusetts’s workers. His endorsement of this amendment would be a great way for the Governor to achieve his goal of stopping jobs from leaving the state.
>This Article< talks about the budget amendment.
One of the >contracts< that will be awarded in the future is for an overhaul of the state's Medicaid management information system and related systems, so the state can satisfy HIPAA requirements. The state also wants a data warehouse that is separate from the Medicaid claims functions and can hold data from other parts of the department and potentially other state agencies. The project is worth about $26 million and will enter the RFP phase in the second quarter of Fiscal 2004.
Awarding this contract to a firm that does not outsource would create job opportunities for Massachusetts and American workers and keep our tax dollars within the US.
Please contact Governor Romney and ask him to take the initiative to stop outsourcing and support the no-outsourcing amendment.
Tell him you support his position against outsourcing in the private sector and that he should take the same position at the state level. Tell him we should be creating employment opportunities for Massachusetts and American workers and you do not want your tax dollars supporting overseas outsourcing operations.
You can contact the governor using the information below.
By Web Form:
http://mass.gov/Agovwebmail/WebMailPageControl.ser?level=101
By Phone/Fax:
State House
Office of the Governor
Room 360
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: (617) 725-4005
FAX: (617) 727-9725
TTY: (617) 727-3666
05:08 am
posted by gmminks
link
More & more high skilled jobs outsourced to India
uhhh Harris Miller....why should kids get into technology if
- All entry level jobs are shipped overseas, removing the jobs that serve to give new grads much needed hands-on training, and
- Now higher skilled jobs are going away too?
05:06 am
posted by gmminks
link
Wednesday June 23, 2004
Bush administration approves of outsourcing
According to an article on newkerala.com, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca said:
"I don't have the latest numbers at my fingertips, and certainly India's not the only country to which the US companies outsources jobs.
"I think the US Trade Representative has made it clear that we do not oppose outsourcing. What we would like to see in exchange is an opening of markets in India and other countries, which in turn provide more jobs in the United States. That's sort of the way it's been formulated. But I don't think you've heard any India-bashing on the part of the administration with respect to outsourcing of jobs."
08:15 pm
Wednesday June 23, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Harris Miller sucks
I need a tshirt that says that, I swear I cannot stand that arrogant man.
OK. I am a woman, educated in tech. IT SUCKS for women in tech, still let me tell you. No really, one day ask me how a female co-worker and myself were treated when we attended LinuxWorld.
Even though many times women are treated as second-hand citizens, even though I have seen career opportunities in tech for anyone living in America virtually disappear as companies sought ways to manipulate the domestic IT labor market, I love what I do. I love that I can dig into the OS and write a shell script to make it do what I say. (mya ha ha I have the power). Even though I have to drive an hour and a half each way to be able to have a job in my field, I love my job.
So when I hear BS crap from Harris Miller such as "We're turning out more students with English and history degrees," Miller said, while countries like China, India and Taiwan are raising the quality of their own higher education institutions" I want to puke.
Statements like these drive me nuts:
"I think we have to find ways to excite kids [about those subjects] probably as early as elementary school," Phil Bond (search), under secretary of technology for the Commerce Department, said Wednesday, adding that girls, especially, should be encouraged to follow career paths in those fields. "We have to keep them going through the process — we're losing half the talent pool," Bond said.
Guess who were the first to go in mass layoffs as companies "restructured their global alignment"? Women, minorities, and older workers.
Harris Miller, you pompous overstuffed windbag, why the hell will students want to put themselves through the rigours of a technical education if the jobs are going overseas? I graduated in 2001. THREE YEARS AGO. I know people who were mid-career, people who have been out of school six or eight years who are still unemployed. American kids are not idiots. They will go to school for the majors that will help them get jobs.
Another reason that you "are not seeing the results we'd like" to encourage entrance into the high-tech sector" is because most local governments are facing a budget crises. Why? No jobs means no tax revenue, and that means less money for schools. That means teachers get laid off and programs that could excite kids into studying tech are cut.
You are just so full of shit I wonder how anyone can listen to anything you say with a straight face. Shame on you, you are no beter than a slave trader. Your pretty words and name dropping do not change what you really are.
Mama said it best, the scum always rises to the top. We see you for what you are Harris.
08:08 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Tuesday June 22, 2004
Contact Gov. Romney about Outsourcing and the 2005 MA Budget
Call to Action: Contact Governor Romney about Outsourcing and the State Budget.
Last week, the Massachusetts State Legislature approved a 2005 budget with a clause prohibiting the Commonwealth from hiring companies with outsourced operations. Governor Mitt Romney has until June 27 to endorse or veto this amendment. Romney has said he's against outsourcing in the private sector, having proposed incentives for companies that hire Massachusetts’s workers. His endorsement of this amendment would be a great way for the Governor to achieve his goal of stopping jobs from leaving the state.
>This Article< talks about the budget amendment.
One of the >contracts< that will be awarded in the future is for an overhaul of the state's Medicaid management information system and related systems, so the state can satisfy HIPAA requirements. The state also wants a data warehouse that is separate from the Medicaid claims functions and can hold data from other parts of the department and potentially other state agencies. The project is worth about $26 million and will enter the RFP phase in the second quarter of Fiscal 2004.
Awarding this contract to a firm that does not outsource would create job opportunities for Massachusetts and American workers and keep our tax dollars within the US.
Please contact Governor Romney and ask him to take the initiative to stop outsourcing and support the no-outsourcing amendment.
Tell him you support his position against outsourcing in the private sector and that he should take the same position at the state level. Tell him we should be creating employment opportunities for Massachusetts and American workers and you do not want your tax dollars supporting overseas outsourcing operations.
You can contact the governor using the information below.
By Web Form:
Click Here
By Phone/Fax:
State House
Office of the Governor
Room 360
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: (617) 725-4005
FAX: (617) 727-9725
TTY: (617) 727-3666
10:43 am
Tuesday June 22, 2004
posted by rickrob
link
Monday June 21, 2004
Article says IT Firms cashing in, not H-1B's
This article in the Economic Times uses the numbers from the Infosys and Satyam documents published by Washtech to explain to Indian Techies why their firms are making a fortune and they aren't.
It says
"The bottomlines of these companies are bloating as they not only offshore jobs to India but also recruit the H-1B holders which are very economical."
Exactly. Because they make a pile of money billing out workers for $60-$100 per hour, while the workers get $20.
"Stringent visa rules don't allow the H-1Bs to switch jobs very often. So, with a low attrition rate these workers are a dream come true for the US companies."
Well, I'd say the low attrition rate has less to do about how many times a worker can change jobs, and more about how much control a company has over the Visa. Let's say a H-1B worker loses their job because they complained about something (like working long hours for less pay)-- The moment that worker is no longer employed, he or she goes out of status and must leave the US. If the goal of an H-1B is to gain permanent residence (a Green Card), then that is a huge disincentive to say anything. And US companies know that.
It's been said before. Only a few are making big bucks-- Off the backs of American and foreign workers. It's all about cheap labor. Blah.
10:48 am
Monday June 21, 2004
posted by rickrob
link
Saturday June 19, 2004
Are IT Certifications worth it?
This article in article in CIO.com surprised me by what it had to say about CIOs that sign outsourcing contracts based on a consultant company's paper credentials.
The article's author is Michael Schrage. He is the codirector of the MIT Media Lab's eMarkets Initiative. (wow)
That's why I've been struck by the seemingly pathological need so many CIOs have for the certification of skills and accreditation of organizational performance. I find this craving misguided and pathetic. What does it really say when someone is Microsoft certified? Or has a certificate in "network engineering" from a quality university? Or if a development organization has a Capability Maturity Model Level 3 rating? Or is ISO 9000 compliant?
In many respects, these questions are as pointless and silly as asking, what does it mean to graduate summa cum laude from Harvard in English? Or, how good a lawyer will you be if you performed brilliantly on the multistate bar exam? Or, to be a total jerk about it, how superior an executive would you be if you had an MBA from a top-20 school?
Unfortunately, these silly and pointless questions are templates for the questions so many CIOs ask themselves when they seek to outsource development or weigh the quality of their own human capital investments. For reasons I fully understand but totally reject, many CIOs increasingly look to certification and accreditation standards as "market signals" indicative of professional quality and reliability. This represents the laziest and most dangerous kind of cover-your-ass thinking by C-level executives.
via /.
12:38 pm
Saturday June 19, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Framingham Panel sings the praises of Outsourcing
According to an article in the MetroWest Daily News, there was a lovefest between a Keane executive, a UMass professor, and the Nypro exec in charge of India and China at an event at the Newton Marriott yesterday thrown by the Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development.
The Keane guy thinks there is a "great misconception" in the marketplace, because "outsourcing, companies enhance their competitiveness on a global scale. It really comes down to competitive positioning" (ie its all about gaining access to cheap labor to increase margin).
With an explanation a 14-year old would give when cornered about questionable decisions after admitting that "20 percent of Keane's work force is "offshore,", the Keane guy exclaimed the decision to hire internationally is driven by his clients' needs. Yet his company is making alot of money off outsourcing. So much so that he feels the need to be on a panel defending the business strategy. It ain't their fault they hire overseas, the clients make them do it.
An economic professor actually used the DOL numbers that only 2% of jobs lost in the Q1 2004 proves that outsourcing is not a big problem. I am so glad my daughter did not want to go to UMass if that is the quality of faculty! Our ecomomy has been shedding jobs like crazy for 4 years at least.....and this educator of economics is going to point to a report for one quarter to say that outsourcing is not really having a big effect? And Mr. Professor of Economics, how did the DOL count jobs that were replaced by outsourcing? Replacing a job in the US with the same job in another country is not the only way outsourcing is done.
The UMass professor also talked about how insourcing is injecting money into the economy. But for who? Is insourcing creating new jobs for the millions of unemployed? Not according to the recent study that shows 3 out of 10 new jobs created goes to temporary immigrants.
Most interesting thing in the article:
This week, the state Legislature approved a 2005 budget with a clause prohibiting the commonwealth from hiring companies with outsourced operations. Gov. Mitt Romney, who in the past has frowned on outsourcing, has until June 27 to endorse or veto the proposal.
We need to get busy guys. More on that soon.
06:01 am
posted by gmminks
link
Million Worker March
Washington Sat, Oct 16
Who wants to go?
let me know
05:38 am
posted by gmminks
link
TATA feels pain from H-1B cap?
This article says the H-1B cap is likely to have an "adverse impact" on the future prospects of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS).
The article says over 60 per cent of TCS' revenues are from its businesses in US, through onshoring and offshoring, so I'm sure TCS is fighting like hell to get the cap raised.
They are a member of the ITAA, whose 'Compete America' division is going after the H-1B cap via lobbying and newspaper editorials for H.R. 4166 right now.
12:19 am
posted by rickrob
link
Friday June 18, 2004
Indian IT Firms don't like the H-1B portability rule
The new portability rule allows the H-1B to move from one employer to another provided the new employer files a LCA and a I-129 petition.
This would allow the guest worker to leave one company if another one makes a better offer. I suppose that's good for the guest worker because they are no longer held captive by their sponsor and can get a better job and maybe a little better pay if another company will sponsor them. It would be bad for the employer because they no longer have a six year indentured servant.
It's still bad for US workers. They still get displaced by cheaper labor.
This article talks about it.
The new rules, however, are a cause of much concern for the recruiting companies.
Says Prabha Saxena, an HR manager with an MNCs, “First we pay to the institute for per student recruited, then we invest so much time and money getting the H1B processed. We also arrange for the stay of the new trainees. But with new portability clause, what we get in the end is the new recruit leaving us just after two months in the US.”
So, you lose your investment. Too bad.
I'll bet they spend alot of time and money getting H-1B's processed. Those workers are cash cows. The IT firm can bill them out at $60-$100 an hour, but only pay the worker $20 an hour.
11:50 pm
Friday June 18, 2004
posted by rickrob
link
Thursday June 17, 2004
One person's experience with H-1B labor
I found > this comment < on the CIO Magazine article from the previous post on this page. The writer appears to have worked for a company using H-1B labor via outsourcing companies. It was interesting to read how the prevailing wage requirement is bypassed by undercoding the position on the LCA.
Note that he makes the claim that some H-1B's had their passports held by their employers. So, were these workers held hostage for the term of their visa? Nice.
The post speaks for itself.
I inherited and managed a group of mixed US-citizen and H-1B systems admins while in the Bay Area and I was very shocked and outraged when I realized the extent of H-1B abuse.
The requirement for equivalent wages is often corcumvented by under-coding the position in the actual DoL LCA application. Often times, the worker would be re-contracted 3-4 times and the figures in the article were accurate.
Here is an example: We were a global services arm of a company (lets call it HAL) and we provided IT services to a pharmaceutical and we were paid $130/hr per admin. I was given a budget of $95-$100/head/hr. This was paid to the consulting company that provided the worker and the company paid $72/hr... it did not stop there. The H-1B visa was held by another company. Out of the $72/hr that the H-1B hold ing company received, it paid the individual $40k/year.
A few of them also had their passports held by the H-1B visa sponsoring companies.
There is NO WAY that the prevailing wage rate for a sysadmin can be $40k/yr, especially in the Bay Area.
Fraud is also rife with these body-shops. We would receive hundreds of resumes for each open position and we screened each applicant with a standard 30-question questionnaire. The average score for H-1B visa holders was 3/30 regardless of the number of certifications indicated on the resume. Americans fared much better. The average score was 25/30.
Needless to say, I have NEVER hired an H-1B worker.
FYI, I'm an immigrant too.
AT
Managing Systems Architect
09:22 pm
Thursday June 17, 2004
posted by rickrob
link
US Chamber attacks SC senate hopeful
The US Chamber has called South Carolina Senate hopeful David Beasley on the carpet for making the following statement:
Free trade only works if it's based on fair terms, with an even playing field, with the same rules applied to all trade partners. Unfortunately, today, trade is neither free nor fair. Many foreign countries abuse their workers and subsidize their industries. They engage in predatory trade practices that destroy American jobs. They have few if any environmental regulations. And they pay slave wages to produce cheap products. To engage in free trade with such countries is a formula for disaster.
United States Chamber of Commerce Senior Trade Advisor Leslie Schweitzer insisted:
"It's easy for politicians to wave the protectionist flag during an election year and call trade a bad idea for South Carolina, but the facts prove otherwise," said Schweitzer. "Trade agreements are helping the local economies and people of the state by allowing South Carolina's farmers, employers and worker to be players in the global marketplace."
08:49 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Analysis of costs of H1B visa use/outsourcing
In an article for cio.com Art Jahnke asks "Is H-1B Work a Bad Business Deal?"
He did some quick analysis of the numbers disclosed in Microsoft contracts with exposed by WashTech. The documents show how much Microsoft is paying Satyam and Infosys to do outsourcing (sending work offshore) as well as insourcing (using H1B visas to perform the work inside the US).
Here's what he came up with:
"The hourly rate for a software architect...is $90, or more than $187,000 a year. The hourly rate for a senior software programmer is $72, or $149,000 a year, and the hourly rate for a software developer is $60, or $124,000 a year. According to the document, overtime pay for work done beyond 40 hours a week, was to be 1.5 times the regular hourly rate. At that rate, just two hours of overtime a week would push the price of a software architect over $200,000 a year—not exactly a bargain for Microsoft, or for Microsoft stockholders.
Now we all know from checking the LCA database that the folks here from India on H1B visas are not making that type of loot. In fact, Mr. Jahnke quotes Ron Hira and points out that the salaries paid by Indian outsourcers to their workers in the United States top out at about $40,000 a year. That would put the markup for labor contracted to companies like Satyam and Infosys at about 300 percent
Like I have been saying all along, there are only a very few people who benefit from exploiting cheap labor.
08:37 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Love this headline.....
US Inc. wants more H1B visas
Seeks Congress support to ease the legislation on the H1-B visas or relax the cap set on October 2003 at 65,000, which is already exhausted.
The story is about that crazy "Compete America" and the letter they sent to Congress supporting HR 4166, the bill that allows foreign nationals who get a master's degree or PhD in the US to be exempt from the H1B visa cap. Why does Compete America feel the need to open up the H1B visa cap?
"Corporations are having "difficult challenges in getting the right talent for key professional positions".
All this while 3 in 10 jobs already go to temporary immigrants? When is Compete America going to allow Americans to Compete?
05:31 am
posted by gmminks
link
Wednesday June 16, 2004
Over 25% of new jobs go to temp immigrants
According to the Seattle Times, a new report says that three in ten new jobs created in the US goes to a temporary immigrant.
The report by the Pew Hispanic Center found that workers who are not U.S. citizens claimed 378,496 jobs out of a net increase of 1.3 million from the first three months of 2003 through the first three months of 2004.
According to the report's creator, Rakesh Kochhar, "Thus, the political impact of job gains may be dampened by the fact that non-citizens are benefiting disproportionately from the turnaround in the labour market
Roberto Suro said the "turnaround is being fueled to a substantial extent by the demand for immigrant labour. And as a result, a substantial chunk of the new jobs are going to people who are not voters".
This report proves what we have been saying all along. Maybe there are new jobs being created here in the US, but they are not going to citizens. There is also a "demand" for temporary immigrant labor, in other words people who do not have the same rights as permanant citizens, people who can be intimidated or easily replaced.
08:36 pm
Wednesday June 16, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Compete America has lost their mind
According to this article in the Kansas City Star, not providing foreign students with H1B visas will negatively affect US competitiveness.
Lawrence Meyer, a spokesman for the coalition Compete America proclaimed:
“We have a serious shortage and lack of expertise in the American work force for high-tech jobs”
We need to waive the immigration cap for these foreign graduates who are receiving advanced degrees from U.S. colleges and universities so that they can stay in America and work here.”
The only way it negatively affects US competiveness is that companies don't have access to cheap labor. There is not a shortage of high-tech workers with expertise. There never has been.
05:34 am
posted by gmminks
link
Microsoft's
Washtech has posted an article on how Microsoft is outsourcing development.
If you remember, in 2001 Microsoft managers were told to "pick something to outsource". Well, they are using Satyam and Infosys to get this done. According to internal Microsoft docs obtained by Washtech, the rates they got for onshore and offshore work done by Infosys and Satyam employess were bargain basement.
What kills me is these companies blamed 9-11 for their financial woes and the tech bust. The tech bust seems like it was an excuse for companies to realign their labor force....it seems to me like the companies were willing to suffer in the short term to dramatically cut IT labor costs.
05:28 am
posted by gmminks
link
Tuesday June 15, 2004
Kennedy vows to pass AgJobs amnesty
I got this from Rescue American Jobs today. I will say that Senator Kennedy has helped tech workers in the past-- But what's up with this?
Kennedy & Craig Promise To Sneak Amnesty Amendment Onto Every Senate Bill
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Larry Craig (R-ID) have vowed to enact an amnesty program for millions of illegal aliens, even if it means holding every other piece of Senate legislation hostage to accomplish it. These senior legislators have promised to attach their Agriculture Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act (AgJOBS) to every Senate bill for the remainder of the year. Their first target is the Defense Authorization bill now being debated in the Senate.
If you don't agree with this-- send a fax to the senate leadership here.
07:30 pm
Tuesday June 15, 2004
posted by rickrob
link
Offshoring reduces need for onshore expertise
According to this article in CertMag.com, "for the fourth quarter in a row, offshoring of IT labor is making onshore skills supplies somewhat less important----resulting in lower pay for IT workers in a number of positions."
This idea is actually scary:
"Applications development certifications have lost nearly 15 percent of their value in the past two years. “This is premium skills pay that has traditionally been used to retain and motivate workers. As more programming work is transferred offshore or at least directed away from IT full-timers, premium pay becomes unnecessary.
So, if you won't get paid, you don't bother investing in the certifications....does this also mean that as a nation we are losing these skillsets?
07:08 pm
posted by gmminks
link
How to Buy American-Made products
While visiting the Union Jean Company today, I found this site, which contains info how to buy American-made products.
They have a product database here
From their home page:
Why Buy American?
Forty-percent of the world is in recession. New records have been set for both personal and corporate bankruptcies. America's trade deficit continues to escalate to historic levels. The savings rate has turned negative, as the average consumer spends $1.10 for every dollar they earn. Real wages for working Americans have plummeted 19% since 1972 - about the same time we entered into a so-called "global economy." We only vote for our representatives every two or four years, but we vote with our wallets and checkbooks every day!
11:01 am
posted by rickrob
link
watch the traffic!
boston.com traffic
A commuter's best friend. That and Dunkin Donuts coffee.
nice!
05:39 am
posted by gmminks
link
Outsourcing Backlash to go away by 2006
That's what Gartner says.
Craig Baty, group vice president, Gartner's Global Tech Industries Group, declared:
"The idea that jobs will be lost through offshoring is the most emotional topic of outsourcing," he said. "But it is in fact an insignificant issue that will go away."
05:35 am
posted by gmminks
link
NYC Teachers need political help
The City of NY's Department of Eduaction says:
"Political lobbying by both city education officials and advocates is necessary to resolve the visa dilemma currently facing some 200 Caribbean teachers."
According to Hard Beat News, Attorney Winston Tucker "proposed that city congressional and senate representatives be pushed to present legislation urging that the teachers be granted residency and the labor certification process be bypassed in this instance."
05:32 am
posted by gmminks
link
Monday June 14, 2004
What does this remind you of?
From the book The Peculiar Institution: Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South, page 7:
[ed note: This book was written in 1956, and I have not attempted to modify the language. I collect these sorts of books as a reminder of how Americans acted towards each other only a short time ago.]
"According to tradition, Negroes had to be brought to the South for labor that Europeans themselves could not perform. "The white man will never raise--can never raise a cotton or a sugar crop in the United States. In our swamps and under our suns the negro thrives, but the white man dies." Without the productive power of the African whom an "all-wise Creator" had perfectly adapted to the labor needs of the South, its lands would have remained "a howling wilderness""
So, the argument that there are not enough Americans to do the work needed to support our country's economy is not new. Harris Miller brought it back to hand the Florida growers enslaved labor a few years back, and he was able to brainwash companies that only Indian and Chinese workers have the capacity to code, and that it's ok to pay them less than US workers.
Perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun.
09:15 pm
Monday June 14, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
more H1B only ads
This one is on the US Moster site (and y'all wonder why you can't get jobs!)
US-NY-Long Island-For USA-.net framework, VB.net, Asp.net, C#, SQL Server 2000. Biztalk Server Developers
Northshore Technologies is a Sister Concern of SVAM International Inc
SVAM International is a New York based IT firm which provides technology services ranging from turnkey Solutions to providing IT consultancy and staff augmentation to Fortune 500 clients across the country.
SVAM is planning to recruit technical people with the following skills :
.net framework, VB.net, Asp.net, C#, SQL Server 2000. Biztalk Server or MS Content Management Server (MS CMS) is a plus.
Since the Current year's H1 quota is due to open in Oct 2004, SVAM is planning to file H1Bs for selected candidates immediately and bring them over to USA around Oct-Dec, 2004.
Additional Information
Salary: USD 50,000.00 to USD 55,000.00 per year
Plus benefits
Position Type: Full Time, Permanent
Ref Code: JavaJ2EE
Contact Information resumes@svam.com
Additional Information
Salary: USD 50,000.00 to USD 55,000.00 per year
Position Type: Full Time, Permanent
Contact Information
resumes@svam.com
Svam International Inc
US-NY-Long Island-For USA- C++, Java, Unix, Sybase, Shell Scripts. Financial or Banking domains Preferred
Northshore Technologies is a Sister Concern of SVAM International Inc
SVAM International is a New York based IT firm which provides technology services ranging from turnkey Solutions to providing IT consultancy and staff augmentation to Fortune 500 clients across the country.
SVAM is planning to recruit technical people with the following skills :
Java, J2EE, JSP, XML, XSL, XSLT, Weblogic, Sturts and related Web technologies.
Since the Current year's H1 quota is due to open in Oct 2004, SVAM is planning to file H1Bs for selected candidates immediately and bring them over to USA around Oct-Dec, 2004.
[same salary, contact info]
Different company...posted to the alt.computer.consultants.ads newsgroup:
Position Title : Data Architect
Onsite Location : Atlanta , GA
Experience : 5 Years and Above ( In Primary Skills )
Primary Skills : MF.Db, DB2-400, MF.Db.IDMS,MF.Db.SQL400
Secondary Skills :MF.OS&CL.MVS; Psoft.HRMS.GlobalPayroll; Unix.Var.AIX
Experience : 2 years and Above ( In Secondary Skills )
Visa Type : H1B
All the skills are mandatory. Please send your resume, only if it is
matching to our requirement.
Please mention "Main-Atl-GA Experience>" in your mail subject column.
Thanks
Pramod
contact info, in case you qualify...ooo wait they want someone with an H1B visa...isn't that discrimination in hiring based on national origin?
mainframe_hp_jobs@yahoo.com
Can't anyone (SENATOR KENNEDY) do something about this mess?
07:52 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Job Ads in India for US jobs
I held off on posting this because I wanted to give the employers a chance to respond to emails that I sent them. But since they ain't wanting to talk...here goes.
I have been searching the Monster job board for India. GO ahead, click the link. And put in these search terms:
Here is some of what you will discover:
IN-KT-Bangalore-Calling Business Objects Datawarehousing Developers to USA…
A Leading US Based IT Consulting Company Based at New Jersey is looking for Business Objects Datawarehousing Professionals.. The Client Offers best of the Remuneration with 401K Plan.H1B would be processed and travel for family would be provided.
The Specs of The Requirements are as follows:
a.Number of Positions:3.
b.Education : Professional Qualification is a BIG PLUS.
c.Experience:
Minimum 4+ Years to Maximum 10 Years.
Expertise:
Essential:
Strong Hands on Experience in Business Objects Datawarehousing Development.
Good Expertise in ETL TOOL : Informatica is a MUST.
Desired:
Strong Development Expertise in Oracle on UNIX ( Any Flavour ) is a Welcome Factor.
Development Expertise in BFSI / Retail Domains is a ADDED ADVANTAGE.
Certifications in the relevant SKILL SET is BIG PLUS.
Others:
Good Interpersonal Skills, Fluid English communication, Good Presentation Skills, Dynamic and Collaborative team player.
The Positions are very much immediate; Interested Candidates can mail their resumes to sukumar@hitechrecruits.com
Else Talk to Sukumar @ Bangalore @ 98456 22088 for clarifications.
Hitech Recruits, Bangalore and Chennai.
BANGALORE: 98456 22088 / Off: 080-25427105/6.
Off:044-26447403/4.Mobile 98410 73455.
Additional Information
Position Type: Full Time, Permanent
Ref Code: Hitech-BOI-June9
Contact Information
Sukumar Govindharajan
sukumar@hitechrecruits.com
Hitech Recruits
Ph: 98456 22088
IN-KT-Bangalore-SOFTWARE ENGINEER
ASTRA MANAGEMENT is one of the 15 LEADING RECRUITING FIRMS in Bangalore, having its head office in Bangalore.
It has its branches in Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Having its specialist in software recruitment from past 5 years it has also ventured in other area like technoliges, IT , technical ,Finance and Telecom marketing.
It has its network not only in India but also in Europe, U.S, Middle East and The Eastern Countries.
REQUIREMENT :We have a requirement for US with Valid H1B Visa holders.
WE NEED CANDIDATES IN THE FOLLOWING DOMAIN :
Java / J2EE
Testing / QA
Microsoft Technologies (.NET)
Datawarehousing Tools
Hyperion Essbase
All positiions are 2+ years.
Additional Information
NO BAR
Position Type: Part Time, Temporary/Contract/Project
Ref Code: INTERNATIONAL-JUNE10
Contact Information
SRINIVAS
admin@astrajobs.com
Astra Management
MALLESHWARUM
BANGALORE KARNATAKA 560003
Ph: 080- 23318620
and my favorite.....
IN-KT-Bangalore-SUN SOLARIS ADMINISTRATOR
SUN SOLARIS ADMINISTRATORS.
Our Client in the US requires high calibre Sun Certified Systems Administrators to work in the US on a H1 B visa.
BE graduates with 4 - 6 years experience with the following skills:
· Install and configure Solaris Server
· Administer file and disk systems
· Commands to control and monitor hosts in a networked environment
· Support installation of devices using service access facility
· Set-up, configure and use NFS and NIS
· Configuration of Syslog
· Administration and Configuration of CDE
· Configuring NTP server and client
· Configuring and adding Domain name server
· Configuration of DHCP
· Installing and setting up monitoring tools
· Clustering of servers
· Knowledge on atleast one monitoring / management tool
Please forward your resume to meenakshipnv@vsnl.net
Additional Information
Position Type: Full Time, Permanent
Ref Code: Sun Solaris Administrator.
Contact Information
Meenakshi Rajeshwar
P N Venugopal & Associates
Now I emailed the folks advertising the jobs I qualified for, and asked if they would accept a resume from a qualified American. No one responded to my queries.
So here is the deal.....the H1B visa category is supposed to recruit foreign talent with specialized skills to be used when no qualified US workers can be found. For the non-techies reading this.....THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF US UNIX ADMINS OUT OF WORK
Try plugging in keywords from the job ads on the Monster India job board into the US Monster Board. These jobs that are being performed in the US are not being offered to Americans. That ain't right!
And it has been going on for years! At zazona.com, they have been tracking zazona.com/ShameH1B/Library/Archives/H1BJobAds.htm">ads for US jobs that exclude American workers for four years. I am not the first to complain about the fact US workers are not even allowed to compete for jobs inside our own country. This article on techrepublic.com outlines why you see job ads with such finely tuned job requirements.
Look, it should be getting obvious to my fellow displaced techies that there are plenty of loopholes in the H1B visa laws that are preventing highly trained Americans from getting jobs. I don't even know who to try and complain to about this anymore.
Anyone have any ideas?
07:10 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Indian call center agents deal with upset Americans
Acccording to this article on rediff.com, the agents at the call centers in India seem to be suprised the Americans don't want to do business with the companies that are outsourcing.
I found this quote interesting:
Vipin Prabhakar, a customer care agent agrees with Rajiv that even in the US there are varied accents and says, "We are comfortable with the accent in general but while talking to someone like a Latin American, language barrier becomes prominent."
"A time comes when one gets frustrated speaking in the imported accent, the customer still does not understand what is being said. That is when I start talking in my natural accent."
I wonder if that person works in one of the call centers that services one of our state's food stamp or welfare programs?
Funny, but this Sify article says that Americans refusing to do business with the call centers in India really amounts to abuse. ok...
They really do not get it do they? It's not that you are from India, it's that you are representing companies that are using you to get cheaper labor, but don't tell us, their customers, what is going on, let alone pass the savings that they gain from the labor differential to us.
It's not abuse, it's the free market at work.
05:45 am
posted by gmminks
link
Friday June 11, 2004
EVERYONE desrves life's basic necessities
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
07:39 pm
Friday June 11, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Thursday June 10, 2004
Cognizant in Business Week
"What's a Nice Indian Tech Company like this doing Stateside"
There is an article in the Business Week issue of June 7 that talks about Cognizant I read it at the Dr's office....and here are some highlights.
Cognizant, based in Teaneck NJ with $67M in earning last year, has 193 US clients, including:
- JP Morgan Chase
- ADP <-----to me this is pretty scary...thank god my checks are processed in New Orleans!
- First Data
- Nielson Media Research
- Philadelphia Stock Exchange
The CEO, Lakshmi Narayanan (formally of Tata), had this to say about his company:
"We essentially converted what was a 100-person Indian company into a US-based company so we could be closer to customers and build relationships"
30% of their employees are based in the US.
Here are the numbers I came up with:
In March 2004, the reported total headcount was 9000.
30% of that number, or the US headcount = 2700
According to the LCA database, Cognizant has 2719 approved LCAs for H1b visas.
So, they have transformed themselves into an American company, but they do not hire Americans. NICE.
No wonder "Cognizant's US sales force gives an edge in outsourcing software, programming and web design to India". Of course they will sell services back in their home country.
Unfortunately for the workers in India, they are becoming too expensive. Cognizant is busy setting up shop in China, so as not to lose their competitive advantage.
08:45 pm
Thursday June 10, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Immigration stats
According to the Economic Times:Economic Times:
Wipro
1,491 L1 visa-holders
1,130 persons on H1B visas in the US till the end of 2003-04.
Infosys
700 L1 visa-holders
3,200 persons on H1B visas
08:02 pm
posted by gmminks
link
L-1 legislation upsetting people in India
“My company needs specialised people for networking in San Francisco. I worked for two years to obtain my Cisco and MCSE specialisation so that I can work in the US. But this new bill attempts to dampen all my dreams. I feel like crying.”
So someone who wants to immigrate to the US feels like crying because he spent two years taking classes to pass Cisco and MCSE exams, and now the US is trying to be sure that temporary visas are not displacing US workers.
Tough. You are from India. Work in India. Your company should be hiring workers in the country it does business.
Another sad story from someone expecting to use the L visa as a way to immigrate permanantly to the US:
"The boy whom I intended to marry, went to America on a business visa two years ago. There he changed his status from a business traveller to that of an intra-company transferee and received L-1A status. We had planned that after the L1 status, which was granted for one year is extended, he would travel to India, get married to me and then he will travel to US on L-1 visa and I as his wife would travel on L-2 visa. My parents had agreed to the marriage if he settles in the US. But the new rule threatens to destroy our lives
The article warns that if the bill passes, even those who profit from the trade of humans...err I should say "immigration consultants", will be affected:
The immigration consultants are also in a fix. ”We are maintaining a close watch on the Bill as most of the students going for the US to study want to settle there. This will surely affect our business,” said one south Delhi-based immigration consultant.
07:51 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Companies still on hiring spree in India
According this article in The Times of India:
- IBM is planning to scale up to around 25,000 BPO professionals in India over the next five years.
- EDS plans to hire 3,000 people in India over the next three years.
- Accenture plans to hire 10,000 people over the next couple of years
- Convergys plans to get its headcount to at least 15,000 people.
Some current levels of other companies:
- GE 20,000
- Citibank 10,000
- HSBC 10,000
05:36 am
posted by gmminks
link
Update on NYC teachers
Advocates lobbying on behalf of approximately 200 Caribbean teachers caught up in a visa snafu, say they intend to let their voices be heard at City Hall today
05:28 am
posted by gmminks
link
7-11 outsourcing story
This article doesn't say who does the work for them.
05:26 am
posted by gmminks
link
Tuesday June 8, 2004
Microsoft laying off in the US
They are closing their Solomon Product Headquarters in Ohio
That facility is home Microsoft Business Solutions' Solomon team, but also includes other members of the server and tools, field service, and operations teams.
Didn't I just say that they are hiring in India? Maybe the people getting laid off will have the option to relocate?
via f'ed company
08:59 pm
Tuesday June 8, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
GE Capital Hiring
in India
08:55 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Party in Chicago....
Qualified media and analysts are invited to attend ICCM International, the premier customer management and call center conference and exposition in North America, August 9-12, at Chicago's Navy Pier, featuring the all new IP Telephony & Voice Technology Conference
also see www.iccm.com
08:48 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Are you threatening me?
(not sure why this reminded me of Beavis and Butthead)
The Times of Indiareports that Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said the following about anti-outsourcing laws at the US-India Business Council's 29th Annual meeting:
"This is unfortunate. It is ironic that countries which used to be in the forefront of free, open and liberal trade are now even passing legislations to hinder BPO"
He then went on to blah blah blah about how outsourcing is a win-win situation.
"If something is mutually beneficial, it would be irrational to block it. BPO is not the only emerging area for India 's strengths, there are a host of other sectors where we welcome to invest and we can focus on"
The article goes on to say that the Indian government is holding its tongue until after the elections.
08:45 pm
posted by gmminks
link
Another really bad article
This article from the Economic Times is just awful!
Throwing up some interesting revelations, the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs, observed that 54 per cent of Americans said they would buy a higher-priced US-made product over a cheaper, foreign-made one. Forty per cent went on to say that they would buy the lower-priced product made elsewhere
I would wager that the 54% that said they would buy higher price American made products are the ones of us who can afford to pay more. It isn't fair to blame the millions of working poor amoung us for saying they will buy what they can afford.
Just over two-thirds said they think sending jobs overseas hurts the U.S. economy. And almost that many said they think outsourcing is mostly caused by the greed of corporate executives, not by the necessity for companies to compete
Is anyone listening?
08:39 pm
posted by gmminks
link
"The non-threat that is outsourcing"
This article from the Business Times Asia is really pretty lame.
EVERY decade or so, developed countries develop a crisis of confidence: if jobs keep migrating overseas will there be any jobs left at home? For example, in the United States in the 1980s, it was fear of Japan
more blah blah from a very condescending article, and a really awful circa 1980s press photo.
08:34 pm
posted by gmminks
link
HARRIS MILLER ALERT
The META group (out of CT)has a new study out claiming IT workers with "with general skills are more likely to experience stagnant wages than those whose expertise is in demand. The survey also found that 19 percent of the companies polled outsource IT work to foreign countries. Of those, the majority send jobs to India".
heh my friends at a local technology giant must all have general skills......I guess I do too if you look at my wages.......
right..............
But not according to Miller.....he claims:
''People who do enterprise architecture, program managers, people who have multiple language skills are still in demand," Miller said. ''A lot of them are seeing their salaries continue to increase, but those with more standardized skills are seeing their salaries flatten out."
Maybe I can get Miller to talk to my boss? Maybe Miller can point me to where these skills are valued more?
05:50 am
posted by gmminks
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Call Centers changing culture in India
A priest in India explains that call centers are having a negative effect on the youth in India. The lure of money from the centers causes kids to drop out of college.
The hours call center workers must keep to pretend to be American also are taking their toll on family life.
05:45 am
posted by gmminks
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NYC explains their side of the teacher story
Apparently about 100 teachers were able to get H-1B visas, the others could not navigate the paperwork process.
05:42 am
posted by gmminks
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Monday June 7, 2004
Carribean teachers not eligible for H1Bs
Someone really needs to define this visas for immigrants and US citizens at large.
IF YOU GET A J or H CLASS VISA YOU ARE A TEMPORARY IMMIGRANT
YOU DO NOT HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS CITIZENS OR PERMANANT RESIDENTS
That is why big business loves using these visas. They can work you like a dog, and if you complain, they just deport you. They pay you less and work you much more than they could a citizen, which is why they don't hire citizens.
Someone should convey this fact to the activists supporting the teachers who had been working on J-1 visas in NYC who were unable to get an H-1B visa after their year on the J visa was up.
Those college kids never had rights to stay and teach, because of the way those visas work.
05:54 am
Monday June 7, 2004
posted by gmminks
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Wages on the rise in India
The Financial Express in India is reporting that wages are rising for IT workers in India.
The article is confusing to me. On one hand, it says that India has to offer more high end business....which takes experience and depth that is not widely available in India. Then, it still claims that the folks in India are the smartest and best in the world.
That is really such a horrible way to put things, and then expect to work cooperatively with people from all over the world.
05:48 am
posted by gmminks
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Are we really giving advertising to BPO firms?
I have read several articles like this one that claim that the anti-outsourcing movement in the US is actually providing free advertising to BPO firms in India (according to this article to the tune of $89 million in free advertising).
This article also claims:
"more than one BPO company told Business Standard that there is a longer queue of American companies in front of their offices than ever before wanting to outsource work to India"
I don't know, but this almost seems like some sort of reverse psycology to get us to stop fighting. After all, the same companies spend tons of money trying to influence our elected officials to continue to allow the explotiation of labor both in the US and in India. It must really burn them up to see that not all of our officials are buying their bs.
05:44 am
posted by gmminks
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Sunday June 6, 2004
I knew this was what they were up to...
When I read the two articles in the Boston Globe and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel titled
A visa shortage
and
Removing a cap on a Visa
My first thought was that they were written to help get H.R. 4166 passed.
Now this article in the Rocky Mountain News is out:
Ballot plan needs economics lesson
So, I went to 'Compete America' and found this Link to their page on H.R. 4166. Now, Isn't that special?
Of course, Compete America is all for it. With the ITAA as a member, it would have to be.
Here's their press release
How much you wanna bet that Harris Miller had something to do with those articles in the three papers?
Note that the American Immigration Lawyers Association is a member too. Now why would they be so interested in H.R. 4166? ;)
This has NOTHING to do with Advanced Degrees. It is about getting more cheap foreign labor.
Look at what Corporate America will do to get it. It's Amazing. They must be suffering from withdrawl. Gotta get that fix.
Corporate greed at it's finest. Brought to you by these member companies of Compete America.
ABB Inc.
Actel Corporation
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
AeA
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
American Council on Education
American Council on International Personnel
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Angel Investors LP
Applied Materials, Inc.
ASML Holdings
Auriga, Inc.
Avici Systems, Inc.
Baxter Healthcare Corporation
Bechtel Corporation
Bose Corporation
Broadcom Corporation
Business Roundtable
CapNet
Caterpillar Inc.
Cisco Systems
Computer & Communications Industry Association
Computer Task Group, Inc.
Conexant Systems, Inc.
Consumer Electronics Association
Cummins Inc.
Cymer, Inc.
Deere & Company
Divco West Properties
DuPont
DynamicCity
EDS
Electronic Industries Alliance
Eli Lilly and Company
Environmental Systems Research Institute
FileNET
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
Genentech
Global Personnel Alliance
Guidant Corporation
Halliburton Company
Harmonic, Inc.
Hewlett-Packard Company
HR Policy Association
Information Technology Association of America
Ingersoll-Rand Company
Intel Corporation
Keane, Inc.
KLA-Tencor Corporation
Lam Research Corporation
LSI Logic
Macromedia, Inc.
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Micron Technology, Inc.
Microsoft Corporation
Motorola
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
Nalco Company
National Association of Manufacturers
National Gypsum Company
National Starch and Chemical Company
National Semiconductor Corporation
Novellus Systems, Inc.
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Oracle Corporation
Procter & Gamble
PTC
Qualcomm
Rasky/Baerlein Strategic Communications
RSA Security, Inc.
Rubber Manufacturers Association
SAS Institute Inc.
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International
Semiconductor Industry Association
SkillSoft
SkyStream Networks
Society for Human Resource Management
Software & Information Industry Association
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Synopsys
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
The McGraw-Hill Companies
The Technology Network (TechNet)
Teradyne, Inc.
Texas Instruments
Uniqema
UOP LLC
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Veeco Instruments Inc.
Western Digital Corporation
Xilinx
Zebra Imaging
05:07 pm
Sunday June 6, 2004
posted by rickrob
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Friday June 4, 2004
Worker shortage claim rears its ugly head again
"The Detroit Regional
Chamber, along with its partners the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and
Accelerator Group, today released a study assessing the effects on Michigan
manufacturing of offshore outsourcing.
"According to the study, the attention on offshoring instead of workforce
has been misplaced," noted Chamber president and CEO, Richard E. Blouse, CCE.
"The anticipated worker shortage is striking."
see the study at http://www.detroitchamber.com/MPC/
08:24 pm
Friday June 4, 2004
posted by gmminks
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What Indian execs say about the backlash over outsourcing
This is from the British reporter who has gone to India to report on the issue:
A Wipro exec (Sudip Banerjee, president of enterprise solutions at Wipro)told him:
" UK companies are struggling to fill these jobs [that are outsourced] anyway. "It is not as if people are queuing up to take these jobs. And they do it in a disinterested manner. They don’t see it as a career," he said."
A NASSCOM rep (VP Sunil Mehta} said:
"There is a growing recognition there is a demographic issue in Britain. By 2010 there will be a shortage of people within the working age group."
Dai Davies, communications director at Unifi takes a different slant on the issue:
"We're already seeing marketing angles coming from companies not offshoring, seeking to create a competitive edge. It is not a racist nationalist issue, it's a consumer choice issue,"
The reporter also is talking about the immense class difference he is seeing in India. Seems like outsourcing is not good for everyone over there, either.
05:32 am
posted by gmminks
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did GOP go to India?
They say no, a conservative paper in India says they did.
This story in the Washington Post took a swipe at getting to the truth.
05:19 am
posted by gmminks
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Thursday June 3, 2004
They're Pushing the Education Button Again...
The Boston Globe editorial titled "A Visa Shortage" calls for an increase in the H-1B cap and reads like an advertisement for H.R. 4166 – “The American Workforce Improvement and Jobs Protection Act”, which would allow up to 20,000 exemptions to the cap on H-1B for foreign workers holding advanced degrees from a U.S. school, and reinstates the 1000 dollar per visa fee.
We all know that the H-1B program, originally intended to compensate for shortages of specialized workers when there were no American workers to fill the need has become nothing more than a source of inexpensive labor for US industry.
We also know this program has problems with fraud and abuse. It’s protections for US workers are not enforced and companies routinely do not pay the prevailing wages to guest workers. There are a number of studies showing that H-1B workers are paid between 15 to 33 percent less than US workers.
And, we're all aware that many IT and High-Tech workers have been displaced by lower paid H-1B guest workers, as their companies implement programs with names like "Knowledge Transfer"--Also known as "Train your Replacement".
What the Globe is doing is "Pushing the Education Button" in an attempt to convince us that we need to increase the cap on the H-1B program. They argue that our universities are not producing enough US-born scientists and engineers with advanced degrees, which implies that U.S. students have a lack of interest in advanced science and engineering programs.
This draws attention away from the fact that many H-1B's are employed in high-tech as computer programmers, not engineers. In 2000, 28% of all information technology industry hires requiring at least a Bachelor's degree were H-1Bs.
As of 2002, fewer than 1% of these computer-related H-1Bs have a PhD, and only 7.5% have a Master's Degree.
The majority of jobs in the computer fields where H-1B workers are employed do not require an advanced degree.
A quick search in the LCA database for a local Boston company currently shows 42 of 96 H-1B's in their employ as programmer/analysts, software developers or software engineers. The remaining 54 were business analysts, financial analysts, accountants and IT systems administrators.
These are hardly the "specialized" positions the H-1B was created for, and none of them would require an advanced degree. Increasing the cap will only assure that more H-1B’s are used to fill jobs like these that could go to unemployed Americans.
There have been similar claims made by industry trade groups since the late 90's that American students are not interested in Computer Science programs either—But according to the Computing Research Association (CRA), computer science enrollment at the Bachelor’s level increased by 5 percent in 1995-1996, and by 40 percent nationwide in 1996-1997, and then by another 39 percent in 1997-1998. In March 2000, the CRA reported that computer science enrollment was down one percent, because of a shift to computer engineering, whose enrollment was up 12 percent.
The Globe article says:
"For the fiscal year that began last Oct. 1, Congress authorized 65,000 of the specialized H-1B visas for foreign scientists, engineers, and workers in a handful of other fields such as chefs and fashion models. The quota was filled Feb. 17, and it wasn't because of a sudden demand for sushi chefs."
Actually, the quota was filled because there is a tremendous shortage of highly skilled fashion models.
The quota of 65,000 was filled so quickly this year because companies were still processing applications from last year, and they were trying to get as many Labor Certification Applications (LCA’s) approved as they could before the cap kicked in.
The Globe also fails to mention that the cap has been 195,000 for the last three years. The high numbers of H-1B’s allowed during that time correlates to the high numbers of unemployed High-Tech and IT workers in the US today.
Currently there are more than 500,000 unemployed or underemployed High-Tech and IT workers in the U.S.-- but they argue that we should allow more H-1B’s into the country because we need more scientists and engineering graduates with advanced degrees, even when many jobs H-1B’s fill in the US don’t require them. And they want to do this even as US High-Tech workers are being slammed by offshoring.
The cap on the H-1B program should not be increased. It should continue it’s decrease to 58,000 next year, which will help create new opportunities for our Computer, Science and Engineering graduates and unemployed U.S. workers--many of them being High-Tech and IT professionals.
And don't forget to tell your congressman to vote against H.R. 4166...
11:00 pm
Thursday June 3, 2004
posted by rickrob
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need an H1b visa?
You didn't really think you had to wait for a labor shortage in order to get your H1B visa did you?
No way, go to http://h1base.com/, the "World's Largest Portal Dedicated to the H1 Community"
You can post your resume, sign up for an express service to get your visa, and more.
According to the site:
An Immigrant USA Visa is for someone who intends to live and work permanently in the USA (typically on a H1B Visa).
A Nonimmigrant USA Visa is for someone to come temporarily to the USA for a specific purpose, such as tourists and students.
This is of course wrong. H1Bs are non-immigrant visas.
And there are secret H1b keywords for the job boards? hmm
09:40 pm
posted by gmminks
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Microsoft is hiring
in India
09:21 pm
posted by gmminks
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Official at Indian Consulate admits our gov't is bought
Lee Brudvig, the Economic Minister-Counselor of the US Embassy in India, is over in India saying that the bills being introduced by US lawmakers aimed at protecting US jobs are "hero bills" (bills that seek to make political heros out of their authors).
This article at rediff.com claims that Brudvig said that "there was 'tremendous pressure' from the corporate US in having the bills withdrawn.
''The demand cannot be ignored, especially in the times of corporate funding of election campaign,'' he said."
So, is he actually admitting that our elected officials are being bought off by US corporations? WTF? When is someone gonna step up to the plate and put an end to this nonsense.
09:18 pm
posted by gmminks
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Wednesday June 2, 2004
Proposed Indian law to tax outsourced services dies
The Indian government had proposed a law that would allow them to collect tax on the portion of a foreign company's income that is directly derived from BPO activity. In other words, all the back office stuff that has been outsourced to India.
Nasscom, ITAA's wicked stepsister in India, stepped up to the plate to call the proposed law "a harassment and uncertainty":
"Nasscom says, the country needs a tax regime that encourages foreigners to start BPO operations, not frighten them away.
Geez that sounds familiar.
05:43 am
Wednesday June 2, 2004
posted by gmminks
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India Software Exports Soar
According to rediff.com:
"Software exports from Bangalore registered a 46 per cent growth to touch Rs 18,100 crore (Rs 181 billion) during 2003-04, against Rs 12,350 crore (Rs 123.50 billion) in 2002-03."
"In addition to the strong software exports, the Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) companies have achieved a 21 per cent growth to touch Rs 1,700 crore (Rs 17 billion)." (This will grow higher when a plant opens to produce Nokia handsets)
"In addition to software exports, Bangalore is fast catching up in the BPO/ITES space and this segment has registered a 126 per cent growth to touch Rs 2,237 crore (Rs 22.37 billion) for 2003-04 from Rs 988 crore (Rs 9.88 billion) during 2002-03."
(BPO = Business Process Outsourcing, ITES = IT Enabled Services)
Even more disturbing:
"About 110 companies with 100 per cent foreign equity are registered with an investment of around Rs 1,970 crore (Rs 19.70 billion), which is significantly higher than last year. Around 168 software exporting companies and 5 new electronic hardware exporting companies registered with STPI during 2003-04."
05:37 am
posted by gmminks
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Are you a displaced techie in NJ?
If your job has been offshored (or you know someone whose job has been offshore) AND you live in New Jersey, the CWA wants to hear from you.
Contact Tony Daley at tdaley@cwa-union.org
Contact me directly if you want Mr. Daley's direct contact information.
05:30 am
posted by gmminks
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Tuesday June 1, 2004
Full Court Press to Increase H1B Cap is on
The high tech industry is doing its damn best to convince Congress and the American public that there are not enough trained technical people to fill all of the unmanned technical positions now availble in our country.
We have the article in the Boston Globe entitled A Visa Shortage, which reads like an ad from an immigration attorney. The article insists:
Employers say they would be happy to employ US-born scientists and engineers if they could find them, and they point to regulations requiring them to pay prevailing wages and full benefits to H-1B workers
The Indian press is boasting that "H-1B visa hopefuls have rediscovered their old ally: Corporate America. This time, universities and research institutions are also lending their support
The Indian press is talking about "Compete America", a coaltion of 200 corporations, universities, research institutions and trade associations pissed off that there is not unlimited access to H1B visas. The group sent a letter to Congress urging support for pending legislation that would exempt foreigners who earn an advanced degree from the H1B visa cap.
What can be done? Send this blog to everyone you know. Contact your elected officials. Sure, 200 of the nation's top employers have decided to spit in the face of the over 1 million unemployed US techies. But there are more of us than there are of them. Write letters to your editors, let our elected officials see that we are watching what they do concerning this issue.
Inform yourself as well.
more info to come....but this cannot go unanswered y'all.
08:42 pm
Tuesday June 1, 2004
posted by gmminks
link
Sometimes there is justice in the world
Better be careful what's on your PC if you're a CEO. It could come back to bite you in the butt if you mess with your IT staff. (Don't forget--We know all your passwords too.) ;)
Well, what goes around, comes around.
From this article at The Register.
Porn-surfing bank supremo Michael Soden was caught with his browser down last week by the very same staff he outsourced to HP at the start of his reign at the Bank of Ireland.
Soden hit the headlines last year in Ireland when staff took industrial action in protest of the department's shift to Hewlett Packard. Staff were unhappy about the prospect of becoming HP employees, as they had enjoyed considerable perks at the Bank of Ireland: favourable mortgage and loan deals for instance. Now it seems that he has been forced to resign thanks to the very department which he sent merrily on its way.
Staff informed the bank that they had discovered pornography on Soden's machine on Wednesday last week, during routine maintenance. Soden resigned his post on Saturday, after the internal investigation into the discovery was leaked to the local press.
It would be disingenuous to suggest that the "routine maintenance" was anything other than that, but it's clear that Soden's machine was thoroughly attended to.
The outsourcing move was Soden's second high-profile decision after his appointment as chief executive. His first was to update the acceptable use policy that prohibits staff from accessing porn using company equipment.
03:59 pm
posted by rickrob
link
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