U.S. Tech Workers Fight Back
U.S. Tech Workers Fight Back
Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 4:17 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1772 -- 10/17/2007 >>>>>
The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is on the
defensive, thanks to the Programmer's Guild. Check out PG's website at:
http://www.programmersguild.org/
Unfortunately the PG probably will not score a knock-out punch because they
played right into the hands of the IEEE. Kim Berry's position isn't that much
different than the IEEE who wants to expand the green card program.
Why do high-tech worker organizations like PG insist on slitting their own
throats? This isn't the first time the PG has come out in favor of increasing
the number of green card visas:
Kim Berry, president of the Programmers Guild. "We are not opposed
to all efforts for green-card expansion, but giving green cards to
graduates will flood the job market with more workers and handicap
U.S. workers."
Berry understands that handing out green cards causes labor arbitrage, but it
seems to only be an issue for PG if it's for programmers with advanced degrees
that lose their jobs. That kind of narrow tunnel vision on specific categories
of workers is used by the cheap labor lobby to pit one class of worker against
another. It's called "labor arbitrage".
To understand more about H-1B vs green cards, go to the following links:
http://www.jobdestruction.info/ShameH1B/H1BvsGreenCard.htm
H-1B vs. Green Cards Which is Better?
Debate between Rob Sanchez, Dr. Norman Matloff, and Paul Donnelly in the year
2002
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/PrevWage.pdf
Fixing Our Badly Broken H-1B Visa and Employer-Sponsored Green Card Programs
by Norman Matloff
Hopefully Berry didn't mean it this way, but his quote below is almost a
carbon copy of the stuff we have heard from just about every advocate of cheap
foreign labor you can think of -- it's the old "we would never hire an H-1B if
we could find a qualified American". Semantic differences aside, most people
will think the PG's position is almost the same as IEEE-USA, and unfortunately
they won't be very far off base in that judgment.
Don't get me wrong, I signed the PG letter because for the most part it's
worthy of support -- anything to jab a toothpick in the eye of the
organization that sold out my profession of electrical engineering!. I just
hope Bill Gates or CompeteAmerica don't notice this particular section:
"The Programmers Guild advocates that Americans should have
preference for American jobs, and that U.S. jobs should only
be filled by foreigners when no qualified Americans are
available," reads the letter.
In the previous newsletter I pointed out that the IEEE-USA wants unlimited
numbers of green cards so that foreign engineers can move into the U.S. at
will. Even though the president of IEEE-USA acknowledges that people have been
hurt by layoffs he isn't deterred from advocating for the importation of
foreigners so that companies replace US workers. Just why should Americans be
forced to play on a level playing field with countries like India that pay
1/10th the salary and have over 1.3 billion people? Has Meredith taken a poll
of IEEE-USA members to see if the majority want a flood of permanent workers
to compete with?
John Meredith, president of IEEE-USA, says that, "I'm not denying
we are going to have push-back; a lot of people have been hurt with
layoffs," says Meredith. "But a lot of the problems are caused by
the temporary guest worker program. We would like to see a more
permanent workforce so that U.S. and overseas workers will be on a
level playing field."
Businessweek has an obvious bias, but this is just not an excusable mistake by
a journalist, especially when it can be disproved with about 90 seconds of
googling:
The IEEE-USA, the largest country group, with 200,000 members,
historically has stayed out of the political crossfire since
its members can be on the opposite sides of a debate.
Fact is, the IEEE-USA has been active on H-1B since its inception in 1990
-- they actually used to oppose it because their American engineering members
wanted to keep their jobs. Imagine that!
IEEE-USA went to the dark side by 2000 when IEEE international started to
threaten to pull the funding away from the USA division unless they sold out
and became less protectionist and more globalist. Ever since then
IEEE-USA has kissed up to IEEE like a bunch of pigs in a trough.
Give the PG credit though -- their public exposure of IEEE's betrayal of its
own engineers is a major accomplishment. Unfortunately the notoriety that the
PG has brought to the issue may not amount to much. In the end, the
politicians will listen to the IEEE-USA while casually dismissing the PG.
Notice that Rep. Lofgren received both letters but she is only going to listen
to the IEEE-USA. I don't know if her avoidance of PG is an illustration that
money talks, or if it's because she sees no substantial difference in their
positions:
Both the IEEE-USA and the Programmers Guild addressed their
letters to congressional leaders including Representative
Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the House subcommittee on
immigration. Lofgren says she and the subcommittee plan to
meet with the IEEE later this week to discuss the proposal.
"It's a very serious proposal," says Lofgren.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2007/db20071015_302399.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_companies
Immigration Reform October 15, 2007, 10:53PM EST text size: TT
U.S. Tech Workers Fight Back
The Programmers Guild is issuing a rebuttal following calls for unlimited
green cards for some foreign workers. Can Congress reach a compromise?
by Moira Herbst
As employers and professional groups ask Congress to speed up immigration
reform for high-skilled workers, U.S. tech workers are fighting back.
The latest clash erupted after the U.S. chapter of the Institute of Electrical
& Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Semiconductor Industry Assn. (SIA) sent
a letter to congressional leaders Oct. 11 calling for any foreign student with
at least a bachelor's degree in technology or science to be granted permanent
residency if they get a job offer. The letter outraged U.S. tech workers who
feel displaced both by immigration programs and outsourcing (BusinessWeek.com,
10/10/07). In response, the Programmers Guild, which represents 1,500
technical and professional workers, has drafted its own letter to
congressional leaders, warning that such a policy would further disadvantage
American workers.
"We deem this [proposal] a disaster," reads the letter, which was signed by
several hundred U.S. tech workers and slated to be sent out late on Oct.
15. "The Programmers Guild advocates that Americans should have preference for
American jobs, and that U.S. jobs should only be filled by foreigners when no
qualified Americans are available," reads the letter.
An Indecent Proposal?
The clash comes as Congress is beginning to contemplate reform proposals for
skilled workers from overseas (BusinessWeek.com, 9/11/07). Efforts to overhaul
immigration laws (BusinessWeek.com, 6/8/07) for both high- and low-skill
workers foundered over the summer. But congressional leaders believe that laws
rewritten for a narrower group of workers from abroad may be easier to pass,
especially because they would sidestep the politically sensitive question of
whether to grant citizenship to the estimated 12 million undocumented workers
in the country.
The proposal from the IEEE-USA and the SIA has not reached Congress in the
form of a bill. But U.S. tech worker advocates are trying to dissuade members
of Congress in advance. The Guild's main issues with the proposal:
It would not require employers to try to hire Americans first, and it could
swamp the market with tens of thousands of additional workers, because it
would require only foreign workers to hold bachelors' degrees to compete with
Americans. "This proposal would throw supply and demand of the labor market
out of whack," says Kim Berry, president of the Programmers Guild.
"We are not opposed to all efforts for green-card expansion, but giving green
cards to graduates will flood the job market with more workers and handicap
U.S. workers."
Internal Strife at the IEEE
The issue is already creating divisions within the IEEE. Founded in 1963, the
group now has 360,000 members, making it the largest organization for
technical professionals in the world. The IEEE-USA, the largest country group,
with 200,000 members, historically has stayed out of the political crossfire
since its members can be on the opposite sides of a debate. The group's
unusual letter to Congress is already drawing fire. "I will not be renewing my
IEEE membership because of this misguided endorsement," says Chuck Hedrick, a
software engineer in Escondido, Calif., who signed the Programmers Guild
letter. "IEEE has become a political puppet."
Hedrick isn't the only one who feels betrayed by the leadership of the
engineering organization. "I am outraged that IEEE-USA would side with
advocates of cheap labor and sell out those they allegedly represent with this
ill-considered green-card scheme," says Gerard Wevers, an electronic engineer
in Reno, Nev.
John Meredith, president of IEEE-USA, says that allowing more overseas workers
will actually keep wages higher in the U.S., unlike the H-1B visa program,
which keeps workers tethered to employers in one position. "I'm not denying we
are going to have push-back; a lot of people have been hurt with layoffs,"
says Meredith. "But a lot of the problems are caused by the temporary guest
worker program. We would like to see a more permanent workforce so that U.S.
and overseas workers will be on a level playing field."
Taking It to the Hill
Both the IEEE-USA and the Programmers Guild addressed their letters to
congressional leaders including Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair
of the House subcommittee on immigration. Lofgren says she and the
subcommittee plan to meet with the IEEE later this week to discuss the
proposal. "It's a very serious proposal," says Lofgren. "The IEEE lays out in
stark terms that there is an obvious shortage of qualified U.S.
graduates, and it only makes sense to allow exceptional people the chance to
stay here and innovate instead of forcing them back to form startups in other
countries."
Lofgren says that U.S. workers will benefit from reform. "We are taking a look
at the whole program, permanent and temporary, to make sure interests of
American workers are well protected," she says.
Herbst is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in New York .
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