Arizona's Jim Kolbe still favors H-1B

Date: Friday, December 13, 2002 6:20 PM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

In view of the terrible mess the Arizona economy is in, Rep. Jim Kolbe's
recent statement in support of H-1B is astounding. Of course he probably
thought that nobody in Arizona reads the Washington Post. Kolbe's doltish
statement will be immortalized at:
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/PoliticalQuotes.htm

Notice that Kolbe could care less if the questioner doesn't vote for him, he
feels H-1B is more important.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/02/special/politics/sp_politics_kolbe101502.html

Election 2002: Immigration & Politics With Rep. Jim Kolbe (R - Ariz.)
Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002

Rockville, Md.: Immigrants are an enormous problem in our nation. If one
party would pledge to stop H-1B visas, student visas, and the illegal border
crossings, that party would have my vote.

Plus if that party pledged to put resources in prosecuting business owners
and execs whose companies hire illegals it would be great.

I was at a car-wash recently and witnessed an illegal (could not speak
English and had a bewildered look on his face) get hired. It really bothers
me because I know of a lot of good American kids in the area who would
appreciate the job.

Rep. Jim Kolbe: Well, I guess I wouldn't get your vote in Arizona. I do
favor guest workers, H1B visas and student visas. If there were so many
young local kids who wanted that job and could speak the language, don't you
think the manager (owner) would have hired them? It sure would make his life
simpler. The fact is, those kids want other, higher paying jobs. And they'll
get them

http://www.arizonarepublic.com/special37/articles/0301jobless01.html

Arizona jobless rate tops nation's

By Christine L. Romero
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 1, 2002

Arizona's unemployment rate in January moved past the national average for
the first time since January 2000, the state Department of Economic Security
reported Thursday.

A measure of how deeply the national recession has struck here, Arizona's
January unemployment rate hit 5.8 percent even as January's national average
dropped a bit to 5.6 percent.

The state unemployment rate is nearly 50 percent higher than it was a year
ago. More dramatic is the 5.5 percent January unemployment rate for the
Valley, which now is more than double its level at the start of 2001.

Arizona had a net loss of 52,700 non-farm jobs in January.

Manufacturing jobs, which span various industries from food to high-tech
production, took their biggest dip ever with a loss of 5,100 jobs. January
also marked the 13th consecutive months of losses in the manufacturing
sector.

On Thursday, the DES also adjusted its December unemployment rate for
Arizona to 5.8 percent from 5.6 percent.

Hotels continue to be affected by the slowing of business travel after the
Sept. 11 attacks. About 600 hospitality workers lost their jobs, creating 10
consecutive months of losses. Staffing in that industry now stands at 1996
levels.

http://www.arizonarepublic.com/business/articles/1207nojobs07.html

Job-seekers diversify in tough market

Cori Takemoto Williams/The Arizona Republic

"You've got to do what you've got to do," says Irma Gomez-Dominguez, who has
explored substitute teaching and opening a silk floral business since losing
her job in IT support at Motorola in February.

By Dawn Gilbertson
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 7, 2002

After she was laid off from Motorola in February, Irma Gomez-Dominguez
combed online job sites and classified ads daily in search of a new job.

Today, the 30-year-old Gilbert woman checks in just once a week.

"There's only so many times you can go on the Internet and look at the same
thing all over again," she said.

The listings aren't changing because the depressed job market isn't
improving. The freshest evidence: Friday's unexpected jump in the national
unemployment rate, to 6 percent in November. Arizona's rate was 5.7 percent
in October; November figures will be released Dec. 19.

Janet Lilly, a training specialist with the Maricopa Workforce Connections
Center in Mesa, has come to call herself the Harbinger of Doom because she
has to relay so many depressing reports on the economy at the start of each
career class she teaches.

Lilly said her classes, which, like other services at the center, are free,
are still standing room only. She's on the frontlines of the layoffs and
says she's still seeing new faces, mostly recently another batch from
Motorola, one of the Valley's largest private employers.

Gomez-Dominguez said she also noticed newcomers at a weekly networking
meeting of former Motorolans.

"That tells you how bad it is," she said.

Lilly said there is hope on the horizon, pointing to a forecast earlier this
week from Arizona State University that calls for job growth next year in
Arizona after a dismal 2002. The forecast calls for an additional 58,800
jobs, or 2.6 percent increase. This year, employment is on track to decline
1 percent.

"It made them smile," she said of her students.

Still, no one expects a flood of openings on Jan. 1.

Arizona is still in recession, and the projected number of new jobs is puny
compared to the booming 1990s, when annual job growth got as high as 6.8
percent. Also, economists expect much of the growth to occur in the second
half of the year.

So what's a laid-off worker to do?

If you're Gomez-Dominguez, everything short of staring at the want ads.

Even though her degree is in electrical engineering and she worked most
recently in information technology support, she's casting a wide net at this
point.

Motorola's semiconductor division recruited her out of college in Los
Angeles and relocated her to Arizona.

She started the process to become a substitute teacher over the summer and
recently received her fingerprint clearance card.

In January, Gomez-Dominguez will start free classes in project management,
arranged through Maricopa Workforce Connections that will result in a
certificate from Arizona State University. She'd like to get an MBA but
can't afford it.

She's also considering a silk floral bouquet business and had business cards
printed up.

"You've got to do what you've got to do," she said.

Gomez-Dominguez, who is married with no children, networks as often as
possible and presses friends and former colleagues to keep her in mind for
job openings.

A friend's referral led to an interview and possible job in California. She
didn't plan to move back so soon but realizes she might have to for a job.

A couple of weeks ago, she found out she made it through the first cut for
an IT job with the city of Mesa.

The number of other interviews has been scant, however. Gomez-Dominguez, who
made more than $45,000 a year at Motorola, said there simply aren't many
openings for mid-level positions.

"I'm not really fresh out (of college), and I'm not a senior level," she
said. "That's one of the problems I have."

She said she's willing to take an entry-level engineering job since she went
right into IT support instead of engineering out of college, but everyone
wants experience and a host of certifications.

Lilly said that's a problem she's seeing across the board. It's no longer
good enough to have the skills to do the job; you've got to have all the
requisite paperwork.

"Right now, it's the employer's market," she said.

Gomez-Dominguez, whose husband is a sales representative, said she tries to
stay upbeat after nearly a year out of work. But she admits it gets
depressing at times.

That's when she exercises.

"I just go walk and ride my bike," she said.

Help to Keep ZaZona.com Online

Donate to the Cause at
http://www.zazona.com/Donations.htm
To Subscribe or Unsubcribe send an email to

Back to archives