Connect with other Boston region residents for political and/or legal action to recover our jobs and occupations.

email us:
contact at displacedtechies.com


Need to know the facts?

H-1B visa primer
L-1 visa primer
How-to search the DOL's LCA database


links

Techsunite
Zazona
Information Technology Professionals Association of America
CWA's Outsourcing Blog
T.O.R.A.W
NoSlaves.com
Lou Dobbs' List
F'ed Company
American Joblog
Rescue American Jobs
Metafilter
BoingBoing
Politech
Subterranean Homepage News
Big Blog Tool



HARRIS MILLER ALERT!!!



archives

2006
June
January

2005
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2004
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March

More March
February
January

2003
December
November
September
August


No Sweat Apparel.com

Displaced Techies

allow american workers to participate in the global economy!


Friday June 30, 2006


Laid Off again


Yesterday I was laid off again. In the wrong group during a re-org, basically. So, if you are in my local area and have opportunities...shoot them my way.


The one thing I do want to say is that as workers, we all need to work at making personal connections in our workplace. I truly believe that if workers connected with each other...no matter where you are from....we could start standing up when we are treated like cattle.


Think about it, most IT workers no longer expect to be at a job for a prolonged period of time. However, all of us want that security. We want to know we have money to have shelter and food. That is why we allow our employers to treat us like cattle, driving and prodding us along. We bite our tongues and refuse to make waves when we see injustices occur (even if they are happening to ourselves!) because we don't want to be the troublemaker...the crazy cow that they get rid off first.


This point was driven home to me yesterday while I was cleaning out my cube. My entire group, and several other work colleagues, were pretty sure what my 4:00 meeting would be about. So, everyone came to talk to me as I packed up. The HR rep shooed them away, telling them they could NOT talk to me. Then she told me that I could not talk to them, not even to say goodbye!


So, even though I was let go from no fault of my own, I had to behave as if I had no connection to these people at all. As if now, since I was being herded down a different shoot, I would forget all about the rest of the herd.


Everyone mobbed me when I was leaving and hugged me and said goodbye, which made me proud and happy.


When we make these personal connections, and create communities in our workplaces, it makes it harder for management to treat us like pawns. Their goal is to redeploy their "resources" (us) however they see fit, even if that means chucking them. They want a workforce that will work whenever (and wherever) they say, without so much as a "moo". If we build communities at work, it makes it harder for them to do that.


So, no matter what your nationality, get to know the people you work with. Go to lunch with them. Ask how their families are. Understand how being on a visa affects them. Understand how being an American worker in today's IT world affects them. Most of all, stop allowing employers to treat us as cattle.
06:30 am
Friday June 30, 2006
posted by gmminks
link

Sunday June 18, 2006


Hire Frequencies to discuss immigration Monday


Hi Everybody,
Hope you can join us for Monday's Hire Frequencies. Immigration and
immigration reform has become one of the most controversial and
divisive issues facing our country today. This week we will examine
the affects of immigration (both legal and illegal on our workforce).
Do immigrants entering the workforce lower wages for the rest of us?
Or do immigrant workers add to our quality life? To debate this issue
we will be joined by former Diplomat Jack Martin, Special Project
Director of the Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and
Christian Weller Sr Economist from the Center of American Progress.

So please join me (Dave Abrams) and our career coach Dan King Mondays
at 6PM on WBNW 1120 AM (Boston) and WPLM 1390 AM (Plymouth). You can
also catch us live on the web at www.hirefrequencies.com while the
program is broadcast. We can be reached at 888-205-2263 with your
comments questions, and as always you can email us at
hirefrequencies@yahoo.com .
Hope you stay tuned!
Dave

09:05 am
Sunday June 18, 2006
posted by gmminks
link

Wednesday June 14, 2006


Harris Miller lost!!


YAY
07:16 pm
Wednesday June 14, 2006
posted by gmminks
link

Tuesday June 13, 2006


Outsourced jobs SUCK


Ipods are made in China, by women who work 15-hour-days in a police-guarded building.


They make 27 pounds (about $50) a month.
06:38 am
Tuesday June 13, 2006
posted by gmminks
link

Monday June 12, 2006


Miller the Job Killer


gotta love Webb's campaign (pdf link)
05:36 pm
Monday June 12, 2006
posted by gmminks
link

Saturday June 10, 2006


Harris Miller v. JIm Webb


Harris Miller is running for the SENATE against Jim Webb in VA.


Harris Miller should not be an elected official. He is a sell-out, he does not care for the working class in this country. If you are in VA, don't vote for him. Voting Republican would be better than voting for Harris Miller.



Webb got it right, Miller is the anti-christ of outsourcing.

watch the video
04:27 pm
Saturday June 10, 2006
posted by gmminks
link


Email Congressional staff direct


Ever wonder if the emails you send to your Congressional Reps get read (by someone other than an intern)?


Wish you could email a more senior staff member?


Well, your wish is granted.
04:24 pm

posted by gmminks
link


BofA requires laid off workers to their replacements


According to this article in the San Francisco Chronicle, internal tech support people in the US are being laid off, and are being required to train their replacements to collect severance.




According to the article, Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton explains the bank's reasoning:

"...while workers aren't being explicitly told they have to train their replacements or risk losing severance pay, they are being instructed that severance pay is contingent on satisfactorily completing their jobs.

Completing their jobs, in turn, can include training replacements from India, she said.

"I know that's parsing things a bit," Norton acknowledged. "What we ask associates to do as part of getting severance is that they stay on the job until the job is transitioned.

"It's a common practice when your job is being transferred from one person to another that you train the new person," she added. "We expect our people to stay until their jobs are consolidated." "


The new folks either do the job in India, or in the US as a contractor for Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services. That means they are most likely here on an L1 (inter-company transfer) visa, and they are getting paid in Indian wages, not US wages.


Basically, that puts the US worker out of work, and screws the people brought into the US to work out of a US wage. Great for the consultants and BofA, bad for all workers.


I hope people take all this into consideration when they are chosing banks..DO NOT USE BANK OF AMERICA!


04:20 pm

posted by gmminks
link

Buy American!


Union Jean Company
Union Jean Company
Onshore Alternatives

www.buympc.com

rss
XML

Listed on BlogShares



Support Bloggers' Rights!
Support Bloggers' Rights!


contact us
want to suggest an article?
want to complain?
admin at displaced techies.com