AP Investigation: Banks sought foreign workers

Yahoo ^ | 2/1/2009 | FRANK BASS and RITA BEAMISH

[Red in Blue PA]

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Banks collecting billions of dollars in federal bailout money sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers to the U.S. for high-paying jobs, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.

The dozen banks receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.

The figures are significant because they show that the bailed-out banks, being kept afloat with U.S. taxpayer money, actively sought to hire foreign workers instead of American workers. As the economic collapse worsened last year — with huge numbers of bank employees laid off — the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP's analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in fiscal 2007 to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.

[Red in Blue PA]

The arrogance of the Bank CEO's knows no bounds!

[Sioux-san]

They needed people to help them launder that drug money from Mehico.

[WellyP]

Look at what Vail Resorts does by bringing in so many foreign instructors! The internationals get almost ALL the top clients and the long bookings. They SCREW even the FULLLY CERTIFIED the American instructors!

[autumnraine]

Hey United States, we screwed up our business, so give us billions of your dollars so we can import other people and you can remain unemployed.

Oh yeah, we need more money.

SUCKERRRRR

Oh, sorry bout that

Thanks,
Stupid Banks

[blam]

Anybody but White males.

[razorback-bert]

Foreigners are attractive hires because companies have found ways to pay them less than American workers.

I wish it was explained just how it is done.

[Barnacle]

Incredible!

[big'ol_freeper]

Says a lot about the failure of the public school system in this country too that they feel they need to go outside the country...not for cheap labor..but for high-paid talent.

[Man50D]

It’s not just the banking industry. the same has been occurring in Information Technology for years.

[WellyP]

The foreign instructors and the American instructors are paid about the same. That isn't the biggest problem. The biggest difference is that the imports make MUCH more relative to what they make in their home countries and will put up with a lot more BS just to stay here. If a US instructors complains he or she can get fired and put on the Vail Resorts “Do Not Rehire” black list!

[EnglishOnly]

I never knew that before today. Thanks for the info.

I’ll make it a point to avoid Vail, & spread the word out there.

[Enterprise]

I was wondering if in addition to a “buy American” clause they could add a “hire American” clause. Naw, what was I THINKING!

[org.whodat]

A couple of years back there was that video of the attorney telling clients how to rig the application.

[EdReform]

BTTT

[org.whodat]

Fount it:http://blog.oregonlive.com/atwork/outsourcingoffshoring/

[WellyP]

Most of Vail Resorts instructor hiring looks like this: They hire as many "full-time-part-time" American instructors as they can and then cry that they can not have enough "full-time" instructors. They bring in the internationals on H-2B visas or now on the very questionable Q-1 visas and guarantee them work to "fill the gap". Vail Resorts also use the J-1J student visa system. Most of the young people that are brought in are not fully certified and they tend to work in the 3 to 6 and 7 to 14 kids program and not in the Adult and Adult Private section of the ski school. Almost without exception they are great! The South American girls do a WONDERFUL job with the youngest kids! I can not speak highly enough about them!

[jjw]

Foreigners are attractive hires because companies have found ways to pay them less than American workers.

I wish it was explained just how it is done.


the only trick to paying them less is to put a smaller number on the line of a check that begins with '$'. there is no regulation.

[AuntB]

“The arrogance of the Bank CEO’s knows no bounds! “

And what about the politicians who provided them with this labor while knocking out Americans? Who were they? They weren’t all democrats.

[coon2000]

In the I.T. industry, Indian firms bring in Indians, put 6 or 8 in an apartment meant for 2, then pay them just enough to live. The Indian I.T. workers accept this and put up with it so they can get their green card. They cannot quit and get a new job because if the employer does not transfer the H1-B visa to the new employer, they have to start the process all over again. The Indian firms who are the employers will never transfer the visa. They are in effect indentured servants working on contract at American Fortune 500 companies. They also keep Americans out of jobs.

[WellyP]

That is not how it is done. Let us say that a first year fully certified instructor makes a base of $15.00 per hour. The pay rate will go up as you teach more hours and put in more years and top out at about $24.50 per hour. (which is not bad)

In a resort town it is HARD to live on $15.00 an hour when a single room rents for $650 a month and food is no less than $75.00 per week. Not to mention the cost of your car and your part of health insurance. You can almost forget more than one bottle of wine a week!

The internationals are guaranteed work so they can plan on “X” Dollars a month At the base rate that is about $2250 per month. (A full cert that I know from Bulgaria (hi is GOOD!) was offered $1025 per month back home so there you have it!

You add the value of the Dollar “back home” and then pack several internationals into the same room in company housing, where they don't have to have a car, give some of them travel money and you can start to see how internationals can afford to be here and Americans struggle.