Visa program robs U.S. technology workers of jobs, dignity

AP ^ | August 11, 2003 | Rachel Konrad

[sarcasm]

SAN JOSE, Calif.

[sarcasm]

ping

[agitator]

I don't know what these guys are worried about, let'm go get a job at McDonald's like everybody else. /sarcasm

[RaceBannon]

We should all just quit whining and start our own companies...or go back to school...again...or learn a new trade...again...

[sarcasm]

Seems like you have something against downward-mobility.

[kms61]

Ms Dundas is lying through her teeth.

[tkathy]

I have heard Rush Limbaugh ridiculing outsourcing, but to me, this is not the same as the recession in the 80's. This is an entirely different problem...

[OldPossum]

I wonder how many college students are changing their majors away from "computer science"? Those who see the handwriting on the wall certainly will.

[harpseal]

ping

on or off let me know

[FreedomPoster]

>>Tech bellwethers including IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, Oracle and Microsoft use L-1 workers but won't disclose how many they import.

This information should be publicly available from the INS.

[harpseal]

Outsourcing per se is not necessarily a bad thing as long as the work stays within the USA. For eexample Company A hires company B to provide janatorial services for its building. Now offshore outsourcing is a totally different animal in that the jobs move offshore.

[harpseal]

By the way this is an entirely different problem brought on by Clinton policies continued by GWB's administration.

[RaceBannon]

I am compiling a list of truck driving schools today, this afternoon after physical therapy...(sigh)

[RaceBannon]

At a local 2 year school, they told me they didnt place a single person from their IT courses in the last 2 years.

They also told me that all the people hired for Y2K for the insurance companies were let go...by June 2000...and most havent been heard from since...

[Paul Ross]

Ping.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

I agree, this is not like earlier recessions.
This offshoring of American jobs and the hiring of a million foreign guest workers in white collar professions, is unprecedented. Add the millions of illegals that have and are pouring over the Mexican border taking jobs from the bottom rungs and there are simply not near enough jobs for American citizens.

""They called it 'knowledge acquisition,' " the Wilmington, Del., resident said. "We got paid our normal salaries to train people to do our jobs. The market was so bad we couldn't really do anything about it, so we taught our replacements."
Laid off from a large investment bank in April, Mr. Kirwin, 36, sent out 225 resumes before landing a temporary position without benefits at a smaller bank and swallowing a 20 percent pay cut."

He's lucky and he has no health benefits. If one party convinces him that they will generate jobs with health benefits, chances are he will vote for that party. And, there are millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans.

[warchild9]

You won't be driving z truck for long: part of NAFTA Part II is to allow Mexican truck drivers free access to all U.S. highways, without special visas. Think of another line of work to go into...and NAFTA will have that covered, too. (I understand that over 400 "occupation catagories" are covered, allowing what they call "international contributions", which means Mexicans taking your job. The list is on the Web somewhere, I'm certain.) This was all public information revealed while you were more worried about football scores rather than reality.

[warchild9]

"z" truck. What the hey? Must be my 1/4 French blood coming out.

[warchild9]

Frankly, for my family, it would be a no-brainer. The choice is get raped by Party #1 who will give my family health benefits, or get raped by Party #2 who will not. Duh!

[MelBelle]

How many of you know who this has happened to? It happened to me June 1st. My company SAIC who supports BP's legacy systems just outsourced the legacy systems support to Satyam in India. We all had to train the Indian replacements, they traveled to LA and learned from us. The whole process was degrading. We all knew that shortly after we trained them our jobs would be lost. We didn't get anything but a nice little lunch. No big thank you's from the project managers (other than my immediate manager), no nothing. No extra incentive pay, no nothing. It was very demeaning especially after working for a company for 17 years and being a stellar employee.

I have to say, looking for a job is not exciting and I have received NO responses from my job searching this far. I've decided that I want to retrain in another field, but finding out what I would like to do is hard and the unemployement office does not make it easy when it comes to consulting with one on the possibilities.

The good news is ever since the weekend after I got laid off, my husband has received very exciting contacts for his band. He is the singer of a Christian hard rock band and the week after my layoff found out that he will be meeting with a major Christian record label in September...he just last week was nominated for Best Male Vocalist for the 2003 LA Music Awards show that will be held in November. I guess I should retrain in entertainment management. As a matter of fact I have been the one that has gotten them all of these contacts...huuummmmm does anyone think that singers are going to be offshored to India?? Sorry for the book, but reading these pings about offshoring every morning before I look for jobs is theraputic.