Shortage Shouting Getting Louder
Shortage Shouting Getting Louder
Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 12:12 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1555 -- 09/13/2006 >>>>>
The media campaign to bolster the Skil Bill is accelerating. Most of the
news articles contain different variations of shortage shouting, calls for
more H-1Bs or green cards, or scare stories that we need more foreign
students to remain competitive.
A Lou Dobbs transcript is included just for balance. Dobbs proves that not
all journalists are idiots!
A PR release by the organization "Immigration Voice" is quite interesting.
IV is a political action campaign (PAC) run by Indian H-1Bs. They are
meeting with members of our Congress to push the Skil Bill and other types
of legislation like Social Security totalization. After 16 years of H-1B
Americans haven't organized a single PAC or lobby group that concentrates
exclusively on H-1B/L-1, and outsourcing. American workers have no voice
working on Capitol Hill unless you count the small handful of elected
politicians that occasionally do the right thing. While Americans are in a
Fox News induced stupor the H-1Bs are organizing and lobbying Congress. How
pathetic is that?
This is an interesting exchange that occurred in the San Fernando Valley
Business Journal. First they quote a CEO that is very blunt about the fact
that he hires Chinese H-1Bs because they are cheap. The very next paragraph
the reporter interjects with a commentary that contradicts the CEO. Could
it be that the reporter was so stupid he didn't understand what the CEO was
saying?
Diodes, Inc., a Westlake Village semiconductor supplier, finds
its foreign workers through subsidiaries in China, Taiwan and
Hong Kong and doesnt actively seek out foreign workers to
come to its U.S. headquarters.
"We weigh the cost benefits of whatever we can do to get the
job done," said Chief Financial Officer Carl Wertz.
[Reporter commentary]
However companies recruit foreign-born employees the reason they
do so is the same - the inability to find the qualified candidates
in the United States.
This one from the Wisconsin State Journal set my BS alarm in the red zone:
The shortage of H-1B visas could make it more difficult for Rod
Sears of RMT Inc. of Madison, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp.,
to retain qualified engineers who know coal-fired boiler
technology. Sears said he often hires foreign students studying at
U.S. universities.
"A lot of our people have dual Ph.D.s," he said. "A lot of them
truly are rocket scientists."
I got a little suspicious when Sears said he had rocket scientists with
dual PhDs to work on coal fired boilers.
One look at the LCAs that his company filed raises doubts that he has ever
hired a rocket scientist.
http://www.h1b.info/lca_job_list.php?name=ALLIANT+ENERGY+CORP&company=Alliant+Energy&city=&state=&year=ALL
Sears pays his "rocket scientists" between $33K and $50K a year, while some
managers take down $72K a year. Most job titles are for things like Graphic
Arts Designer, IT programmer, and Maintenance Engineer.
Here is the real belly buster: one H-1B is listed for "Associate Combustion
Research". That must be his coal-fired boiler guy. Salary is $43K a year.
Is that any way to treat a rocket scientist who has dual PhDs?
Tech companies aren't the only ones on a rampage for cheap labor. There is
more to this Sacbee article than meets the eye. Farmers are griping that
the US government is cutting off their supply of illegal aliens to work on
their farms. If they are having problems finding laborers, it's more likely
because the illegals can get better paying jobs in construction. One thing
for sure is that the flood of illegal immigration hasn't slowed down, so
the laborers are going somewhere.
This year, though, agricultural employers say the labor market
seems to have gotten tighter, a change that they attribute to
tightened border controls.
Shortage shouting by farmers would be funny except for one thing - farm
lobbies are going to join the fight for more guest worker visas. This
almost sounds like Harris Miller's infamous "vegetables rotting on the
vine" statement.
Overripe pears are rotting in Sacramento and Lake counties,
peaches went unpicked near Fresno, and according to one
industry group, at least a few farmers are contemplating a
move to Mexico, where cheap labor is plentiful and legal.
In this case they are probably talking about pushing for S. 2611, which of
course contains the entire Skil bill. Tech workers will be collateral
damage if farmers get their way.
With harvest time having arrived, state agricultural leaders are
preparing to join their counterparts from around the country this
week for a major lobbying push in Washington, D.C.
I couldn't resist including the last article even though some of you might
argue it's off topic. The title is: "Journalists Surveyed on Inaccurate,
Misleading News". The article from Australia is also worth reading just to
show that the propaganda doesn't stop at our borders.
Articles Used in this Newsletter
Article 1:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A401187
PR release by Cornyn in Austin
Article 2:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-edcol_
Visa policies rob U.S. of a valuable labor source
Article 3:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0609/08/ldt.01.html
Lou Dobbs transcript
Article 4:
http://www.pr.com/press-release/17347
Immigration Voice Draws Lawmakers Attention to Legal Skilled Immigrants
Article 5:
http://www.sfvbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=847623602.1843268.1361178.8436681.9090403.023&aID2=104697
Local Group Pushes for Hike in Foreign Tech Worker Limits
Article 6:
http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=98265&ntpid=1
It's not easy to import talent
Article 7:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5334878.stm
Australian welcome for Indian migrants
Article 8:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5334878.stm
Australian welcome for Indian migrants
Article 9:
http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/20431.html
Farmers scurry to recruit workers
Article 10:
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2006/05/mongerson.html
Journalists Surveyed on Inaccurate, Misleading News
1. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A401187
Immigration is good, as long as the immigrants are highly skilled
engineers and scientists, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn told audiences in North
Texas last week. Even as members of the House -- including U.S. Rep.
Michael McCaul -- held hearings around the country warning against the
evils of immigration, such as drug smuggling and gang violence along the
border, Cornyn was hitting high tech forums in the Dallas area to talk
about expanding H-1B visas to keep high tech graduates, and highly coveted
foreign scientists, in this country. Cornyn's bill, Securing Knowledge
Innovation and Leadership, would exempt foreign master's or Ph.D.
candidates from the annual caps on green cards and H-IB visas, float the
number of H-1B visas from 65,000 to 115,000 a year, allow workers to begin
work who are waiting for a green card, and streamline the process for
employers who are securing visas. "My argument is that we need an
immigration policy that reflects our national interests, and our national
interests are clearly higher caps and greater access to foreign students,"
Cornyn said. -- K.R.
2. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-edcol_07met.ART.North.Edition1.2bcf0d6.html
James M. O'Neill:
Visa policies rob U.S. of a valuable labor source
06:03 AM CDT on Monday, August 7, 2006
Pretend for a moment that you own a company in Dallas. Pretend you need
skilled employees. Pretend you have a cousin Vinnie in Seattle. You say,
hey Vinnie, come to Dallas, we'll get you trained in our fine training
facility. Vinnie takes the offer.
You train Vinnie. He develops skills that are key to the success of your
company. But then, pretend that a year later, the state of Texas says, hey,
Vinnie, you can't stay here. You have to go home.
So Vinnie goes back to Seattle. With his new skills, he lands a great job
there and helps his new company -- a competitor of yours -- skyrocket to
success. You, meanwhile, have lost a skilled worker -- and all the effort
that went into training Vinnie. And your company loses ground.
You might think: What a nutty thing to do. You'd be right.
And yet, that's exactly what the United States is doing through its visa
policies.
When a foreign college student wants to study in the U.S., we give him an
F-1 student visa, which lets him stay until he completes his degree. Then
we give him a year to work in his field. Then we say he has to go back to
his own country.
So we train him, but then lose the benefit of his skills in our workforce.
It makes no sense. It's the opposite of good sense. We should actually be
requiring him to stay in our country and work here if he got an education
at an American university.
Sometimes, foreign students can get another type of visa after their
student visa runs out. The H-1B visa lets highly skilled foreigners stay
and work at U.S. companies in fields where there are shortages of qualified
American-born workers, such as engineering and technology.
But the government caps the number of these visas each year, and the cap --
65,000, plus another 20,000 for those who earned advanced degrees from U.S.
universities -- has already been hit, not just for 2006, but also for 2007.
Talk about an equation that doesn't add up.
We have a huge need -- companies here seeking skilled workers. We have a
potential solution -- skilled foreign students who have been educated in
our top universities.
But we have a bizarre federal policy that sends the solution to other
countries.
"The worst part is these people come over, get degrees, they want to be
here, but they take all their great ideas and energy and innovation away
with them," said Clare Emerson, executive director of the Dallas chapter of
AeA Texas Council, formerly the American Electronics Association, a trade
group representing technology firms.
"So we lose," Ms. Emerson said. "We lose the knowledge, the innovation, the
employee."
Some might argue that adding more visas for foreigners would take jobs from
Americans.
But U.S. universities are producing only 49,000 computer science grads each
year, even though U.S.-based companies need 135,000 new computer
professionals a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as cited
recently by The Wall Street Journal.
And, as so many educators and business leaders lament, too few American
students are choosing to study math, science and engineering, while the
U.S. Department of Labor predicts that between 2002 and 2012, there will be
2 million openings in these fields.
"It takes decades to change the K to 12 education system," said Jerry
Wilcox, director of the international office at the University of Texas at
Austin. The visa issue, he said, must be addressed. "There's a multiplier
effect for our country when smart people are here doing great things" -- as
opposed to doing those great things in a competitor nation.
Some might argue that we need to keep a tight rein on visas to protect us
against terrorism in the post 9/11 era.
But consider -- the federal government and universities have spent millions
of dollars recently to build and strengthen SEVIS, a database of
information on all foreigners who come to the U.S. on student visas.
The universities must report whenever a student changes address, changes
major, drops out for even a semester or falls below the required course
load. They report when the students graduate.
As a result, the government has far more detail on student visa holders,
and therefore a far greater ability to monitor them than people here on
tourist visas.
Some might argue that foreign students are a drain on the resources of our
public universities. There were 47,367 international students studying in
Texas colleges in 2004-05, primarily at UT, Texas A&M University, the
Houston Community College system, UT-Arlington and the UT-Dallas, but they
remain a very small proportion of the total student population -- 10
percent or less at each school.
And yet, they often pay far more in tuition than most domestic students.
Their presence is also a boon to the local economy. According to
information supplied by NAFSA: The Association of International Educators,
those international students contributed $856 million to the Texas economy
in 2004-05.
The issue of high-skilled immigrants has been far overshadowed by the
ongoing debate in Washington over illegal immigration. But Ms. Emerson and
others point to a bill introduced in May by Sen. John Cornyn, called the
SKIL bill (Securing Knowledge, Innovation, and Leadership), which would
exempt from the annual H-1B cap any professional who has earned a
post-graduate degree from a U.S. university. It would also raise the
general H-1B cap.
Perhaps Congress could step out of its self-made quagmire of a debate over
immigration for a few minutes to focus on a piece of legislation that would
surely benefit the country.
E-mail joneill@dallasnews.com
3. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0609/08/ldt.01.html
DOBBS: A new study says the U.S. Senate will decimate this nation's
technology workforce with its so-called comprehensive immigration reform
legislation. That bill would give technology firms unprecedented ability to
hire cheaper, foreign workers at the expense of, you guessed it, American
workers. An entire generation of Internet technology jobs at stake. Bill
Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Under the Senate's immigration
reform bill, known as 2611, the door would be open to flood the market with
foreign high-tech workers.
A new study done by Georgetown University shows that it could devastate the
job market for American citizens. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a
need for 1.25 million more computing and engineering workers over the next
decade. The Georgetown estimate of how many new high-tech visas that would
be created by the Senate bill in that time, is almost 2 million.
LINDSAY LOWELL, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: What is really troublesome,
potentially, is we could really bring in many more that strict demand
suggests we need. And when you do that, you set in play, potentially, a lot
of consequences you don't want to see.
TUCKER: The most obvious consequence when supply exceeds demand is cheaper
labor. But while that may be good for business, it's not necessarily good
for America.
CARL MACK, NAT'L. SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS: A country who was built on
technology, you know, that's how we became a world super power. Our
solution to this shortage of engineers is to now bring in foreign-born
talent versus to grow our own? I cannot for the life of me understand that.
TUCKER: Students weighing career choices do understand exactly what's at
stake. And at a time when the president is promoting careers in science and
technology, the Senate is sending those students a clear message.
VIN O'NEILL, INST. OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS: Students are
watching the job markets and are watching compensation, and engineering is
a pretty tough row to hoe, so in many cases, bright kids, seeing what's
going on might elect to go into business or medicine or law as an
alternative to engineering.
TUCKER: The study by Georgetown was commissioned by the Institute of
Electrical & Electronics Engineers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: And, Lou, the engineering group is opposed to the Senate's
so-called Immigration Reform Bill, because they say it contains no
significant job protections for American workers.
DOBBS: I think the U.S. Senate and the Republican leadership of the U.S.
Senate have a lot of explaining to do to the American people. Every senator
who voted for that bill, Republican and Democrat, should be held
accountable, in my estimation, at the polls.
Because it is absolutely the most, to me, absolutely negligent disregard of
the interests of American workers and their families, that's ever been put
forward. Senator Kennedy, Senator McCain, should definitely be held
responsible
4. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.pr.com/press-release/17347
Immigration Voice Draws Lawmakers Attention to Legal Skilled Immigrants
Washington, DC, September 08, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Immigration Voice member,
Shilpa Ghodgaonkar participated on a panel on Immigration at the Indian
American Republican Councils fall conference in Washington DC on
September 7th.
The speaker list constituted prominent leaders from the Republican Party -
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Senators Brownback, George Allen, as
well as U.S. House Representatives, Speaker Hastert, Ros-Lehtinen, Ed
Royce, Bobby Jindal and Joe Wilson.
Speaking at the event, Shilpa called for more focus on legal highly skilled
immigration and urgent reform of the antiquated employment-based
immigration system, adding that loss of talent to other countries was not
in Americas interest. Ms. Ghodgaonkar observed -- immigration debate
included illegal immigration and H-1B quotas, but the issues faced by the
legal educated foreign workers working in the US and seeking permanent
residency were largely ignored.
Noting that 255,000 employment-based applications pending at the DOL (April
2006) and 170,000 to 230,000 applications pending at the USCIS translated
into unconscionable delays, she elucidated the impact of bad bureaucracy on
the lives of individuals: "During the long wait, highly skilled foreign
workers are wary of buying homes, cannot accept promotions or change jobs
for fear of losing their position in the green card queue -- particularly
because their job description is tied to the green card. Highly qualified
doctors, scientists, engineers... etc. cannot utilize their skills to the
fullest potential. Individuals cannot innovate and start companies that
would create new jobs" lives are on hold. More importantly, employers share
the same frustration, as they cannot access the talent pool available here
in the US.-"
Illustrating how Canada, UK, Australia, etc. are competing to welcome
creative talent, and citing reasons for shortage of skills in the US, Ms.
Ghodgaonkar added that America direly needs to attract talent to sustain
technological leadership. "Of the total legal immigration in 2004 and 2005,
only 7.5% and 10.2% respectively went to highly skilled principal
applicants. 2004-2005 figures from Australia indicate that their migration
program comprised of 60% skilled immigrants-".
"The last time the quota for skilled immigrants was debated in congress was
in 1990. That was 16 years ago," said Ms. Ghodgaonkar. Stating that
high-skilled immigration created a net benefit to the country, she urged
lawmakers to address immigration in a piece-by-piece manner, and pass
sensible legislation that would retain talent in the country. "This is
basically a symbiotic relationship, which if nurtured well will bring rich
rewards to the US as well as the immigrants who are contributing here.-"
Commending Senator Cornyn and Representative Shadegg for introducing the
SKIL Bill in the Senate and the House, Ms. Ghodgaonkar concluded "The US
can continue to remain the shining city on the hill, if it attracts
high-skilled workers who will be great assets to this country-".
Immigration Voice is a non-profit national grassroots organization
committed to feasible solutions to a broken employment-based immigration
process. Immigration Voice is advocating for technical changes that will
improve the quality of life of several individuals that are stuck in the
backlogs/delays, and help the system to work as it was intended.
###
Contact Information
Immigration Voice
Ashish Sharma
626 226 8088
ashish@immigrationvoice.org
www.immigrationvoice.org
5. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=98265&ntpid=1
It's not easy to import talent
MARV BALOUSEK
608-252-6135
September 10, 2006
Ana Garic-Stankovic is far from the stereotype of an unskilled worker who
sneaks illegally across the border into the United States.
A researcher at UW-Madison's department of nutritional sciences, she came
here legally from Macedonia, and she and her husband overcame several
hurdles to stay and become U.S. citizens.
"I do feel it's not fair that some illegals come here," she said. "It's not
fair to me and my husband. We never attempted to stay without valid visas."
The plight of professional and skilled immigrants has been lost in the
current political debate over border security, said Grant Sovern, a Quarles
& Brady lawyer in Madison specializing in immigration law.
"There are a lot of employers who want to hire these people and a lot of
people who want to come, but until we fix the system, it's not going to
happen," he said.
Conflicting legislation in the U.S. Senate and House this year led to a
deadlock on immigration reform. The Senate passed a comprehensive bill, and
the House hasn't acted on legislation that would crack down on illegal
immigrants, but would not address issues of immigrant professionals.
Sovern said H-1B visas are often sought by companies to allow their
professional foreign employees to work. Although 65,000 of these visas were
allocated for the current federal fiscal year, they ran out in May and none
will be available until October of next year.
Sovern said the shortage of H-1B visas will hurt employers seeking
specialized professional workers, but may encourage meaningful immigration
reform.
Turns to students
The shortage of H-1B visas could make it more difficult for Rod Sears of
RMT Inc. of Madison, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., to retain
qualified engineers who know coal-fired boiler technology. Sears said he
often hires foreign students studying at U.S. universities.
"A lot of our people have dual Ph.D.s," he said. "A lot of them truly are
rocket scientists."
Student visas allow foreign graduates to work for up to a year. After that,
Sears said, companies can help their immigrant employees obtain H- 1B visas
or pay the legal and other fees to help them secure green cards. Green
cards allow immigrants to work legally in the United States. Green-card
holders can become permanent residents and, eventually, U.S. citizens.
Costs of a visa
Critics say that adding more H-1B visas will drive down wage levels and
discourage American citizens from pursuing technical careers. But Sovern
said employers are required to pay prevailing wages to employees with H-1B
visas and some pay even higher wages to stay ahead of the regulations.
Getting an H-1B visa costs more than $4,000, including about $2,000 in
legal fees and $2,190 in government filing fees. A green card costs about
twice as much, Sovern said. In both cases, employers must be the official
sponsor.
Before seeking a work visa for an employee, companies often go through
Sunday newspapers and Internet postings to prove that a U.S. citizen wasn't
available for the job.
"What employer wants to pay more than $4,000 to hire someone that they
could avoid unless they were having a hard time filling the job or found
someone particularly well- qualified?" Sovern said.
Skilled immigrants are crucial in filling many scientific and technical
jobs, said Nicole Ralph, a Merrill Lynch financial adviser in Madison,
whose husband is British.
"We (Americans) don't have a monopoly on the best skills in the world and
we certainly don't have a monopoly on the best employees," she said.
In April 2005, Ralph founded the International Professional Association, a
Madison social and networking group for foreign nationals and widely
traveled area residents. She said she decided to start the association
after she faced adjustment problems similar to those of immigrants when her
family returned to the United States after living in England for seven
years.
Language issues can add to the adjustment problems, said French immigrant
Chris Hollard, a member of the IPA.
"You go into depression sometimes," he said. "In six months, you start to
understand what your colleague is telling you."
6. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.sfvbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=847623602.1843268.1361178.8436681.9090403.023&aID2=104697
Local Group Pushes for Hike in Foreign Tech Worker Limits
By Mark R. Madler - 9/11/2006
San Fernando Valley Business Journal Staff
The Los Angeles chapter of the American Electronics Association has taken
an active role in trying to persuade federal lawmakers to increase the
number of foreign workers allowed in high-tech jobs in the United States.
Employed with H-1B visas these workers have earned advanced degrees in
fields needed by technology companies. These skills are often difficult to
find in American workers.
The main problem is there arent enough of the visas to go around.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reached the 65,000 quota for
fiscal year 2007 in May. Companies must wait until April before applying
for the H-1B visas for fiscal year 2008.
"Its difficult for us," said Tim Jones, vice president of human
resources with Ixia. "We are caught between a shortage of qualified workers
and the quota."
The speed at which the visas are snatched up is why the AeA wants to see
the number increased to 115,000 and why JoElla Lapiana, the executive
director of the Los Angeles chapter, is reaching out to Southern
Californias congressional delegation to make its position known.
Lapiana and a group of executives from Los Angeles area companies using
H-1B workers have met with Rep. Jane Harman and plan to meet with Rep.
Henry Waxman, of Los Angeles, and Rep. Lois Capps, whose district includes
part of Ventura County.
A response to a meeting request with Rep. Brad Sherman, whose district
includes much of the San Fernando Valley, had not yet been received,
Lapiana said.
In May, the Senate passed an immigration bill that included hiking the
number of H-1B visas. The House version of the bill, however, does not
include the increase.
H-1B visas are good for six years and require the employer to show they
attempted to fill vacant job positions with American workers and meet
federal wage guidelines.
Time and money
The time and cost involved in hiring a foreign employee make it a decision
that a company does not make lightly.
When working for Apex Voice Communications, Lapiana said she hired 25
workers under the H-1B visa program. At that time five years ago, the cost
per employee could range from $3,500 to $5,000 just to get through the visa
process, Lapiana said.
Ixias Jones estimated that for the six year life of the visa, a company
could shell out close to $20,000 for a foreign worker. Another $15,000 can
be added in if that employee applies for a green card, he added.
Both Ixia and Fulcrum Microsystems, a Calabasas semiconductor company, use
outside attorneys familiar with the complexities of the visa process and
the requirements companies need to comply with.
Officials describe the process as lengthy and detail oriented but one
thats necessary to find the best employees.
"When we find candidates that will qualify then were definitely willing
to go through the process because we know they will satisfy our
expectations and meet our needs," Fulcrum human resources director Khalilah
El-Amin said.
How companies go about getting their H-1B employees varies among companies.
Fulcrum goes after students pursuing advanced degrees and then converts
their student visa status to the H-1B status.
Ixia also recruits on campuses, especially Caltech, but also prizes
experience in the workers brought in to fill technical engineering
positions. The company currently has 50 H-1B employees.
Diodes, Inc., a Westlake Village semiconductor supplier, finds its foreign
workers through subsidiaries in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and doesnt
actively seek out foreign workers to come to its U.S. headquarters.
"We weigh the cost benefits of whatever we can do to get the job done,"
said Chief Financial Officer Carl Wertz.
However companies recruit foreign-born employees the reason they do so is
the same the inability to find the qualified candidates in the United
States.
Fulcrums job requirements and the level of expertise needed make it
tough for the company to find employees.
Where it may take a company a month to fill a technology job, a similar
position at Fulcrum may take three to four months, el-Amin said.
At Ixia, meeting the skill sets needed for the companys products can be
tough and the company gets put in a difficult spot when another avenue to
get qualified employees, such as the H-1B visas, is closed off, Jones said.
7. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=98265&ntpid=1
It's not easy to import talent
MARV BALOUSEK
608-252-6135
September 10, 2006
Ana Garic-Stankovic is far from the stereotype of an unskilled worker who
sneaks illegally across the border into the United States.
A researcher at UW-Madison's department of nutritional sciences, she came
here legally from Macedonia, and she and her husband overcame several
hurdles to stay and become U.S. citizens.
"I do feel it's not fair that some illegals come here," she said. "It's not
fair to me and my husband. We never attempted to stay without valid visas."
The plight of professional and skilled immigrants has been lost in the
current political debate over border security, said Grant Sovern, a Quarles
& Brady lawyer in Madison specializing in immigration law.
"There are a lot of employers who want to hire these people and a lot of
people who want to come, but until we fix the system, it's not going to
happen," he said.
Conflicting legislation in the U.S. Senate and House this year led to a
deadlock on immigration reform. The Senate passed a comprehensive bill, and
the House hasn't acted on legislation that would crack down on illegal
immigrants, but would not address issues of immigrant professionals.
Sovern said H-1B visas are often sought by companies to allow their
professional foreign employees to work. Although 65,000 of these visas were
allocated for the current federal fiscal year, they ran out in May and none
will be available until October of next year.
Sovern said the shortage of H-1B visas will hurt employers seeking
specialized professional workers, but may encourage meaningful immigration
reform.
Turns to students
The shortage of H-1B visas could make it more difficult for Rod Sears of
RMT Inc. of Madison, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., to retain
qualified engineers who know coal-fired boiler technology. Sears said he
often hires foreign students studying at U.S. universities.
"A lot of our people have dual Ph.D.s," he said. "A lot of them truly are
rocket scientists."
Student visas allow foreign graduates to work for up to a year. After that,
Sears said, companies can help their immigrant employees obtain H- 1B visas
or pay the legal and other fees to help them secure green cards. Green
cards allow immigrants to work legally in the United States. Green-card
holders can become permanent residents and, eventually, U.S. citizens.
Costs of a visa
Critics say that adding more H-1B visas will drive down wage levels and
discourage American citizens from pursuing technical careers. But Sovern
said employers are required to pay prevailing wages to employees with H-1B
visas and some pay even higher wages to stay ahead of the regulations.
Getting an H-1B visa costs more than $4,000, including about $2,000 in
legal fees and $2,190 in government filing fees. A green card costs about
twice as much, Sovern said. In both cases, employers must be the official
sponsor.
Before seeking a work visa for an employee, companies often go through
Sunday newspapers and Internet postings to prove that a U.S. citizen wasn't
available for the job.
"What employer wants to pay more than $4,000 to hire someone that they
could avoid unless they were having a hard time filling the job or found
someone particularly well- qualified?" Sovern said.
Skilled immigrants are crucial in filling many scientific and technical
jobs, said Nicole Ralph, a Merrill Lynch financial adviser in Madison,
whose husband is British.
"We (Americans) don't have a monopoly on the best skills in the world and
we certainly don't have a monopoly on the best employees," she said.
In April 2005, Ralph founded the International Professional Association, a
Madison social and networking group for foreign nationals and widely
traveled area residents. She said she decided to start the association
after she faced adjustment problems similar to those of immigrants when her
family returned to the United States after living in England for seven
years.
Language issues can add to the adjustment problems, said French immigrant
Chris Hollard, a member of the IPA.
"You go into depression sometimes," he said. "In six months, you start to
understand what your colleague is telling you."
8. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5334878.stm
Australian welcome for Indian migrants
By Phil Mercer
BBC News, Sydney
Indians have emerged as the fastest-growing group of migrants entering
Australia.
They are now the third-largest immigrant group behind the British and New
Zealanders.
The Indians bring with them the expertise that Australia's booming economy
desperately needs, amid a chronic skills shortage.
Engineers, accountants and health professionals are all making the move as
India's reputation for producing a talented workforce continues to grow.
Shantanu Chakraborty moved to Sydney from Mumbai five years ago and is
having the time of his life in his adopted homeland.
"They do value me (at work) because within two years of joining them
they've given me a partnership offer in the firm, which is brilliant," the
32-year-old IT expert told the BBC. "If you are good at your work,
opportunities are there."
It can be hard, though, for migrants to climb the career ladder.
Shantanu's wife, Nishita Bhansali, is a designer who has found it tough
getting on at work.
"The interior design and architecture field here is fairly saturated.
There's always someone out there who's maybe not as skilled but willing to
work for less money," she explained.
Global competition
Most Indians find it easy to settle here. Many of the newcomers spent time
studying in Australia before applying for permanent visas.
Australia vies for their skills with other western nations.
Former government adviser and newspaper columnist Gerard Henderson says it
is vital that Australia does well in this global competition for skilled
labour.
"The word has got out that Australia's looking for well-educated migrants
with good English, and Indians fit that. So the question is whether those
who want to leave India want to come to Australia or the United States or
Britain or Canada," said Henderson.
"There's almost full employment in most parts of Australia and we're after
workers for key industries."
Trade unions have complained that importing so many foreign workers does
not address the root causes of Australia's skills shortage.
Dr Amanda Wise from Macquarie University says recruiting migrants might not
be a long-term solution.
"There is some argument from the unions that it's actually a bit of a quick
fix, that the government should be investing in Australian residents," Dr
Wise explained.
"Should we just be going overseas to import skilled workers which is the
cheap way for an employer to do it rather than training and education?" she
asked.
'Motivated'
Indians make up around 10% of new settlers here and that figure is expected
to rise. They are now surpassing the Chinese and the Vietnamese as well as
the Italians and Greeks.
Dr Prabhat Sinha from the United Indian Association believes there are
simple reasons why so many immigrants from India have done so well in
Australia.
"Indians are very motivated people, it doesn't matter what profession they
are in. Even in (the) business sector they're doing very well," he
stressed.
"They are very understanding about the needs of a country, may it be
business or whatever field it is."
Researchers point out that this can, however, be a lonely place for new
migrants from India.
Social isolation and discrimination at work can pose problems. But for most
newcomers the migration experience is a positive one.
The fact is Australia's vibrant economy simply cannot do without them.
Nishita and Shantanu are shining examples of the type of people Australia
would like to attract.
"I think Australia's a great place to live and moving here is probably one
of the best decisions we've both made in our lives," said 30-year-old
Nishita enthusiastically.
"Absolutely," agreed her husband. "I don't think I'm going to go back
unless there's something drastic happening on the other side of the world
but now I'm here for life."
9. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/20431.html
Farmers scurry to recruit workers
Growers blame immigration-law impasse and tight border controls, but other
factors may play role
By Jim Downing - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, September 10, 2006
All year, California farm groups have complained that congressional
inaction on overhauling immigration laws, coupled with tightening border
controls, would lead to a critical shortage of labor.
With harvest time having arrived, state agricultural leaders are preparing
to join their counterparts from around the country this week for a major
lobbying push in Washington, D.C. They have been gathering anecdotes
describing what they say is a damaging labor crisis in the state:
Overripe pears are rotting in Sacramento and Lake counties, peaches went
unpicked near Fresno, and according to one industry group, at least a few
farmers are contemplating a move to Mexico, where cheap labor is plentiful
and legal.
So far, however, state surveys show no discernible drop in total farm
employment for May, June and July, though an uptick in farm wages suggests
a tighter labor supply.
Weather also has influenced the demand for labor. Late spring rains
combined with July's heat wave shifted harvest times for some crops,
disrupting picking schedules. And finally, in anticipation of a tighter
labor market, many of the state's farmers have been keeping more staff on
the farm year-round and replacing hired hands with machines where they can.
Industry leaders, as a rule, concede these points. Still, overhauling
immigration laws remains their top priority, and they will press Congress
this week to take up stalled legislation that would expand the agricultural
guest worker program and provide a path to legalization for immigrant
workers. California's $32 billion agricultural economy, they say, is at
stake.
"Either we're going to have a domestic food supply with foreign labor, or a
foreign food supply with foreign labor," said Barry Bedwell, president of
the California Grape and Tree Fruit League.
Looking only at state agricultural employment data, though, there's little
sign of farm jobs going unfilled. The market usually varies seasonally,
with about 300,000 jobs in the winter, rising to roughly 430,000 jobs from
May through September. This year -- at least through July, the latest
figures available -- was little different.
Those numbers alone, though, don't tell the whole story, said Philip
Martin, an agricultural economist and migrant labor expert at the
University of California, Davis.
He noted that average farm wages began to rise last summer, and by March of
this year, stood at $9.93 an hour, 6.5 percent higher than at the same
point in 2005. That trend suggests farmers are having a more difficult time
filling jobs and the pool of available labor is shrinking, he said.
The agricultural labor market in California differs from other industries
in that the total number of laborers in any year is typically much larger
than the number of jobs.
A state study based on 2001 data found that while the number of farm jobs
averaged 388,000 through the year, about 1.1 million different people
filled those jobs. That indicates that many workers are employed for only a
small part of the year and that the market has flexibility to react to
sudden demands for labor.
This year, though, agricultural employers say the labor market seems to
have gotten tighter, a change that they attribute to tightened border
controls.
Stockton-based labor contractor Joe Bautista said that this year, as usual,
he hired 140 workers to pick cherries, apricots and pears.
The difference this year, he said, was that he had to look harder to find
workers, since about 30 percent of his usual crew members didn't return
from winter trips home to Mexico.
Bautista also said he found it very difficult to add workers on short
notice -- something that turned out to be a problem when the Delta-region
pear harvest ran several weeks late, a result of unusual weather earlier in
the year.
Bautista was scheduled to take his crews to Lake County -- where a huge
crop ripened just a few days later than usual -- but he said his crews and
several other ones had to postpone the work.
Pears must be picked in a three-week window, and Lake County growers
reported that they were unable to find replacement workers on short notice.
With labor shortfalls of as much as 75 percent, growers reported crop
losses of 30 percent and more.
Weather anomalies, of course, can cause problems for farmers in any year.
In the long run, Martin said, the best way to judge the seriousness of any
reduction in the farm labor supply is to watch how farmers adjust their
operations.
"If you talk to (farmers) and they're saying that ... they are taking steps
to respond to it -- that's the important message," he said.
At Manna Ranch in Acampo, as the wine-grape harvest proceeded last week,
some signs of adjustment are already apparent.
Supervisor Matt Manna whose father, Mike, runs the operation, said that it
has become harder to keep workers on hand, and so his company has for the
last three years offered pickers a dollar-an-hour bonus to stay on through
the harvest. A person who drives a grape-harvesting machine gets a $2
bonus, on top of a $14.50 an hour pay, he said.
"You've got to take care of them, or they're going to be gone," Manna said.
Hand-picking of grapes is declining statewide because of the widespread
adoption of grape-harvesting machines. Even taking into account the capital
cost of $250,000, a mechanized harvester can pick grapes for about $270 an
acre, just over half the price of manual laborers, Manna said.
In the Lodi area, about 80 percent of wine grapes are now harvested by
machine. Raisin growers in the San Joaquin Valley are following a similar
trend. As a result, the number of grape-harvesting jobs in the state has
been dropping steadily -- from 56,700 workers in 1995 to 41,700 last year,
even as the harvest tonnage has remained relatively stable.
That trend, Manna said, contributes to a different kind of labor supply
problem.
"It's easy to find a person to pick grapes -- it's hard to find a person
that'll treat a piece of machinery like it's their own."
Mechanization is far from a cure-all. Most old grapevines must be harvested
by hand because of the need for special pruning, for instance, and a
cost-effective machine to pick delicate pears may never be invented. Even
so, farm groups say there's significant scope for reducing the amount of
labor required on farms, both through further mechanization and through
management changes.
"I think we're seeing a lot of small steps that will allow us to get by
with the expected shortages," said Jack King, manager of national affairs
for the California Farm Bureau Federation. "But there's a lot of concern, a
lot of worry out there as to where we're going."
10. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2006/05/mongerson.html
May 9 | Research
MEDIA CONTACT: Wendy Leopold at 847-491-4890 or w-leopold@northwestern.edu
Journalists Surveyed on Inaccurate, Misleading News
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- While they admit that the public is losing confidence
in newspaper reporting, seven of every ten daily newspaper editors and
reporters more frequently point to factors beyond their control as opposed
to their own newspaper's actions as the cause, according to a study
released today (May 9) at the National Press Club. At the same time, more
than half say a problem with unethical or unprofessional behavior occurred
in their newsroom in the past five years.
These and other findings are the results of a survey of 527 randomly chosen
journalists working at 218 daily newspapers across the country about
inaccurate, misleading or fabricated news. Conducted by researchers at
Northwestern University's Medill School, the 2006 Survey of Newspaper
Editor and Reporter Attitudes -- available online at www.mongersonprize.org
-- was released at the awards presentation of the Mongerson Prize for
Investigative Reporting on the News.
"Many journalists believe that the recent sins of other newspapers and
media taint their own newspapers and contribute to the public's diminished
confidence in newspapers generally," said Mary Ellen Shearer, assistant
dean of the Medill School and co-director of the Medill News Service. She
is co-author of the report with Medill Associate Professor David Nelson and
researcher Steven Rolandelli.
Widely reported incidents of plagiarism in national media overwhelmingly
accounted for the "taint" on newspapers generally, according to the survey.
Newspaper journalists say problems in television news, on Web sites and
blogs, and even in tabloids and shopper publications all have a deleterious
effect on the credibility of newspaper journalists. In addition, almost one
in five say that criticism of media by politicians erodes readers' trust.
More than half of the surveyed journalists report working with a peer
involved in fabrication, plagiarism or other deliberate misconduct. "We
found that the majority of journalists show strong support for their
newspaper's standards and policies, and almost 90 percent say they would
report suspected unethical behavior by a peer to management," said Nelson.
A battery of questions designed to measure whether and when respondents
were involved either directly or indirectly in an incident involving
newsroom mistakes, unethical behavior, or perceptions of such mistakes or
behavior reveals that almost all respondents have experienced at least two
such situations. Twenty percent say that bad behavior should be punished
more rigorously.
More than 70 percent say they themselves have been accused of bias in the
past 12 months and often blame poor editing as contributing to inaccuracy
in their articles. Sources -- anonymous or otherwise - also are viewed as
problematic and potentially leading to factual errors.
The same number of journalists report experiencing source-related problems
in the last year. Thirty-nine percent say they suspected a source was
deliberately misleading them; 31 percent discovered that they had been
misled by source; 35 percent learned that one of their published stories
had contained false information provided by a source; and 33 percent had
concern about a source that caused them to review a story with their
newspapers' legal counsel.
The Survey of Newspaper Editor and Reporter Attitudes is made possible by
the Mongerson Prize for Investigative Reporting on the News. The Mongerson
Prize was established in 2001 through a grant from Paul Mongerson, an
engineer, businessman and author interested in media. Designed to improve
news credibility and based at the Medill News Service, the prize honors
those who set the record straight and promote high news standards so the
public can get the best, most reliable and most accurate information
possible.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has provided support to the
prize. The Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and
invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned
newspapers. One of its signature programs is Journalism Initiatives. Since
its creation in 1950, Knight has approved more than $275 million in
journalism grants. For more information, visit http://www.knightfdn.org/.
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