[Centurion2000]

For instance, the controversial H-1B and L-1 visa programs exacerbate the situation by importing foreign IT workers, placing them in direct competition with American workers for jobs. This, by far, is the most disturbing discovery to me. Abuse of these programs is obvious, and their necessity escapes me.

BUMP ..... why this program still exists is beyond me.

[willieroe]

I've had classes with the author of this article. I wish him luck. He would be a tremendous asset to any business.

[templar]

Wonder where the author was (along with all the other IT people) while the American industrial workers watched their jobs being shipped overseas. First the lower and semi-skilled jobs, then the highly skilled jobs, then managerial jobs when there was no one left to manage.

NAFTA and GATT have made corporate profitibility more important than domestic employability. That's the way it is and the way it will stay. Learn to be more versatile and expect less if you want to survive in the future.

[Willie Green]

Taking these things into account, I am convinced that the IT industry is being undermined.

The truth is, Donald, that federal government policy is to undermine ALL domestic industry. Unless your standard of living is based on inheritance, dividends and capital gains, you've been targetted for salary, wages and benefits at the global subsistence level. You can thank the "free" traders for that.

[Bobber58]

I never got the whole thing about the computer science, IT stuff...once you have a program that does the job you want it to as fast as you want it to,why would you pay someone to change everything?...guy shoulda been a plumber...

[FourPeas]

I went through a similar experience after I graduated with honors in computer science in 1986 shortly after several area employers laid-off large numbers of technical employees. At one time I had a file folder of 350+ rejection letters. Even when I did finally find a job, the company went belly-up in three months. It was a long and rocky road.

[Porterville]

Washington, where living expenses are high and the pay is low

Who says you have to live in the city??? Plenty of jobs for the educated in smaller towns away from the coast.

Financial managers, pharmacuetical sales, teachers, cops, firemen, Marines....suck it up, (I don't care)..I look for jobs daily and work part time teaching. I drove ten hours for one interview last week and I'm still sending out my resume and fixing my house to sell this summer. Yeah, it isn'y ideal, but there are shortages that need to be filled in this economy that pay very well.

[Natural Law]

How is this any different from the Manufacturing Industry and its professionals and workers? There has to be a way to promote Made-in-America content.

[Vortex]

Yep, H1B as it is, sucks.

My main gripe is I don't think corporations should able to use residence (if not citizenship) as a perk to attract everyday talent. If were talking top of their field guys that's one thing I suppose, but average talent, no way.

As for Donald's plight, even without H1B or the sagging economy, the programmer market is unusual in that anyone (who has the $ and desire) can get a PC, buy a book and a relatively cheap compiler (if not free) and teach themselves. Even after he get's his first real IT job, he'll have to keep re-training to keep up with the latest stuff or risk being pushed aside by someone who has. You basically have to make your own oppotunities and even more so in the current environment.

As someone mentioned, maybe he should've been a plumber. Once you learn $#it runs down hill, you've got it, right? No offense to that profession intended ;-)

[Joe_October]

The writer left out some details. Were his grades inflated like the majority of schools? Did he realize that a BS degree is not enough anymore because they have dummied it down to get more students into the program? Why did he switch from Engineering to Computer Science? Money or interest?

He could open his own business and offer to fix computers for people. You could work all day long at great wages if you know how to fix things. What actual skills does he have other than what the professor told him?

I'm an engineer who can program. I'm worth more to a company by a long stretch because I can do both. No need to translate from Engineering to computer speak. Just tell me what you want and I'll get it done.

And, I do have a 3rd prize genius award from the Cub Scouts that really would stack my resume.

That said, I have sympathy for this fellow. They were lying to you when they said you would get millions making web pages. Get your master's degree, adjust your expectations and get up and do it.

[VOA]

bump

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

made to train their replacements.

I'm never sure who is more idiotic. The person who would train someone to take their job or the person who would ask them to do it.

[fso301]

Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 8:08 AM
Subject: Fw: For Bob Shepardson IT Director Siemens
ICN Lake Mary,FL - regarding your "American worker replacement program"

FYI . . .

Heard is was sent to everyone in the Building 1 this
morning. It makes for interesting reading.

-----Original Message-----
From: Emmons, Michael T.
[mailto:usaworker@hannatroup.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 5:41 AM
To: Shepardson, Bob; Nolen, George C;
president@whitehouse.gov; vice.president@whitehouse.gov; bernie@mail.house.gov
Cc: Newsroom Boca Raton News; Delray Editor Boca
Raton News; Greetings Boca Raton News; Letters Editor Boca

Raton News; Photography Boca Raton News; Society Boca Raton News; Sports Boca Raton News; Advertising Boca
Raton News; Classified Boca Raton News; Governor Jeb Bush; Senator Lee Constantine
Subject: For Bob Shepardson IT Director Siemens ICN
Lake Mary,FL - regarding your "American worker replacement program"

Bob,

As you now know, I have been quite vocal over the past 5 months, vocal against your "American worker replacement program". Actually, I looked forward to the day you found out about my efforts so I could go public and let America know of your injustice to your American employees. I am so against your program that replaces your staff with foreigners, specifically Indians from India in OUR country on L-1 "intra-company transfer" visas; the infamous L-1 visa, your "American Worker Replacement Visa".

That is, Intra-company transfer from Tata Consulting India to Tata Consulting USA. These Indians are then sold off as "consultants" to American businesses. Siemens ICN in this case. I spoke to Representative John L. Mica(FL) and he told me the intent of the L-1 visa is to NOT REPLACE American workers. But, you chose to go against the intent of the law and use this work visa to dispose of your staff.

My goal, to make sure that Siemens ICN and as many Americans as possible know how you USED your staff, the staff that worked for your department from 3 to 32 years. You used the Americans to TRAIN these Indians to do their jobs so YOU could lay them off in OUR Country.

Under the L-1 "intra-company transfer" visa Foreigners 1. can come into our country 2. to take our jobs(while management mandates we train them) 3. and send their kids to our schools 4. while we are sent to the unemployment line 5. and our Congress created this visa flawed law

Yes, under the L-1 visa they can bring their families to our country and send their kids to our schools. I have seen documents on Siemens shared drives that list the children of our replacements. And some of those children are of school age.

Under this visa, Our PROPERTY TAXES pay to send the children of our replacements to our schools while we are sent to the unemployment line! Downright amazing that our Congress would do something so stupid as this. But this poorly written visa law allowed Mr. Shepardson the ability to replace his staff of Americans.

Here are some comments from our Indian replacements. The project leader Sunil Kumbhare said "We have to get our money before the Chinese do". I guess he feels he had better take advantage of our Country while he has a chance. When I asked Amarpreet Singh and Swayambikash Panda if they were paying taxes the answer was "I don't know". Now how do you not know if you are paying taxes? Because they are probably not. My bet is they get their Indian salary plus travel expenses to be in our country. ...and their kids are free to go to our schools.

On the Siemens shared drive(\\lmyr2aaa\Data\TCS-Project Management ) there are hundreds of documents that describe how Mr. Shepardson chose to displace his American workers. There are also the "infamous" Knowledge transition documents. Knowledge transfer from Americans to Indians that document dates, times, attendees and discussions of how mandated Americans trained these foreigners how to do their jobs before they were laid off.

For those with knowledge of the situation, the only reason Tata Consulting has any Americans contracted at Siemens is because we raised such a stink with Representative John L. Mica(407-657-8080), Senator Bob Graham(866-418-9569) and Senator Bill Nelson(407-872-7161) and they somehow were able to stem the tide. Not well enough, IMO, since most of the Americans have been displaced and the Siemens Lake Mary, FL IT staff is composed of predominately Indians from India.

To the Siemens employees, watch your back. In my 5 months of battling for the rights of Americans to work in OUR country I have been contacted by many displaced citizens, displaced like us via the H-1b and L-1 visa programs. Individuals contacted me from Infineon San Jose, CA, and they contacted me from Siemens Automotive & Energy Atlanta, GA. And I cannot forget the deceit at Siemens Shared Services Lake Mary, FL where they used the L-1 visa program to import Indians and mandated the Americans in Accounts Payable to train the Indians. Then the Americans were laid off. The Siemens way is not an American way.

Watch your back, it is not just an Information Technology issue. Every American worker should be concerned.

To all other Americans, I urge you to contact your representatives and voice your opinion. http://www.congress.org , http://www.house.gov, http://www.senate.gov

To Bob Shepardson: I hope, for the rest of your life, when you lay down for bed each night that you remember how you treated YOUR own employees. You threw them out on the streets so you could import cheaper foreign labor that you hope will give you better financial numbers. And when you wake in the morning, hopefully you have those same thoughts. ...FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Can you live with that? And, you might wonder why I fought so hard. As a contractor at Siemens for 6 years I really have nothing to gain by standing up to this corporate corruption. Luckily, I landed a new job but I feel for all those Americans/Siemens employees you put out on the streets so you could import cheap foreign labor, right here in Lake Mary, FL USA. Maybe it is just in my blood, to fight for what is right in our country

I am a grandson of 3 star General Troup Miller JR Air Force, graduate of West Point I am a great-grandson of General Troup Miller Sr, Army, graduate of West Point I am a nephew of 4 star Admiral Means Johnston, graduate of Navy. My uncle commanded the entire Mediterranean during WWII

I am an ancestor of George Michael Troup, former Governor of Georgia 1823, Troup County Georgia is named after him. My brother is a pilot in the Air Force and a graduate of the Air Force Academy. He flew A-10's over Iraq. I guess my destiny in our heritage is to fight the corporate and congressional greed that this country has come to know.

I thank Lisa Vaas at eWeek magazine for reporting our story in the Jan 6, 2003 issue, page 46. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,809079,00.asp

You can read my documents at http://www.hannatroup.com:81/USA/tata/MyStory_20020918.html We will have much more information regarding Mr. Shepardson's "American Worker Replacement Program" in the future.

Michael Troup Emmons

usaworker@hannatroup.com

http://www.hannatroup.com:81/USA/tata/

http://www.hannatroup.com:81/

http://www.geocities.com/troup/

Rob, Please post this on the H-1b Hall of Shame http://zazona.com/ShameH1B/