tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31741634173121401502024-03-13T22:30:41.977-07:00Programmers GuildThe Programmers Guild advances the interests of U.S. technical and professional workers in information technology (IT) fields, and opposes the transfer of U.S. jobs, technology, and infrastructure overseas.Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-83087050904905947042009-12-08T21:22:00.000-08:002009-12-08T21:57:58.765-08:00Programmers Guild response to the guy who calls us "Xenophobes Who Need To Go Back Into Their Caves"On December 5, 2009 Vivek Wadhwa posted "<a class="ext" href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/05/the-startup-visa-and-why-the-xenophobes-need-to-go-back-into-their-caves/" target="_blank">The Startup Visa And Why The Xenophobes Need To Go Back Into Their Caves</a>."<br /><br />The new “Startup visa” is sketched out here: <a class="ext" title="blocked::http://startupvisa.com/about/" href="http://startupvisa.com/about/" target="_blank">http://startupvisa.com/about/</a> .<br /><br />Vivek claims that this Startup visa <em>"is about creating American jobs and moving innovation here which would otherwise happen in other countries. We can boost the economy without any cost to taxpayers. It’s not about admitting H-1B visa holders who sometimes make Americans compete for high-paying jobs, but bringing in entrepreneurs who expand the pie for everyone."</em><br /><br />Vivek believes that everyone should see the benefit of his idea - and those who don't are "xenophobes": <em>“I was convinced that my last BusinessWeek column on the Startup visa presented such a compelling argument that even these poor souls [aka American tech workers] would support it.”</em><br /><br />He refers back to his <a class="ext" href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2009/tc2009121_842902.htm" target="_blank">December 2, 2009 commentary in BusinessWeek</a>, where he makes the case:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Here's how it would work. Suppose a talented engineer who is not a U.S. citizen has a great idea for a new type of search engine and wants to start a company. This entrepreneur wants to start that company in the U.S., where venture capital markets are the most mature, intellectual property laws are strong, and the talent level is high. It turns out that the would-be founder's search engine idea is actually very good. So a qualified U.S. investor decides to put real money—say, $250,000 to $500,000—into the startup. That investor could nominate the potential founder for a Founders Visa while also making a formal commitment to fund his or her company."<br /><br />“The idea and the founder's résumé would then need to pass muster with a government or industry-appointed board of venture capitalists, financiers, or technology experts. After passing, the founder would be granted a permanent resident visa.”<br /><br />“To open up visa slots, Ries, Feld and others propose altering an existing visa known as the EB-5, now for immigrant investors.”</blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Why Programmers Guild opposes the Startup Visa<br /></strong></span><br />1) <strong>The new visa category is not necessary</strong>. A startup company can already hire foreign talent to their venture via the H-1b and other visa categories. U.S. investors could form Yeehaw Search Engine venture and sponsor the “talented engineer who has the great idea.” (<a href="http://programmersguild.blogspot.com/2007/04/uscis-should-use-wage-to-determine.html">Programmers Guild opposes the H-1b lottery</a>. Instead we advocate that priority be given to the highest skilled workers – with salary being the best proxy for skill.) Currently the H-1b cap has not been reached, so nothing is stopping a startup from using the H-1b to accomplish the intent of Vivek’s proposal.<br /><br />2) <strong>The vast majority of start-ups fail.</strong> "A new type of search engine" is a great example - what are the odds that would succeed against the current search engine leaders? Most likely they would burn through the capital within a year. Then what? Vivek grants him a “permanent resident visa” – a green card. So, in spite of being an entrepreneurial failure, he will remain in the U.S. and search for a day-job, competing with 12 percent unemployed Americans.<br /><br />3) <strong>Often founders of ventures prefer to hire people that they already know</strong>. A "Founder" from another country is likely to want to bring over his buddies from the homeland. Currently there is no provision that any of the workers hired must be Americans. We already see thousands of cases of Indians starting companies and hiring exclusively Indian immigrants – from Infosys down to the smallest bodyshop.<br /><br />4) <strong>The Programmers Guild does not trust “government or industry-appointed board of venture capitalists, financiers, or technology experts.”</strong> We don’t want “unlimited H-1b” Bill Gates or “send the work offshore” <a href="http://www.carlyforcalifornia.info/">http://www.carlyforcalifornia.info/</a> making immigration decisions. It’s unclear whether the public would be allowed to review and comment on the actions of this board – or whether U.S. immigration decisions would be done by secret panels.<br /><br />5) <strong>The EB-5 Visa has been discredited as full of fraud and abuse</strong>, as reported by The Baltimore Sun “<a href="http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45b/129.html">INS insiders profit on immigrant dreams</a>,” February 20, 2000. At least the EB-5 required the person obtaining the visa to put up the funds. Under the Startup Visa the sponsored parties would have nothing vested. We believe that fraud and "shell ventures" would be rampant.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-76657772110383704802008-04-21T19:21:00.000-07:002008-04-23T02:51:48.507-07:00Development Design Group in Baltimore, MD, pays H-1b Architects $32,000 salary<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/SA1PXaXT99I/AAAAAAAAAec/-osDHYV2Ch8/s1600-h/ddg_logo.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191893209060734930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/SA1PXaXT99I/AAAAAAAAAec/-osDHYV2Ch8/s400/ddg_logo.gif" border="0" /></a> Monday, April 21, 2008 Washington post article "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/20/AR2008042002135.html"><strong>For Visas, The Demand Outstrips The Supply - Firms Say They Rely On Skilled Immigrants</strong></a>" profiled architectural design firm "Development Design Group" in Baltimore, MD.<br /><br />Chief executive Roy Higgs is quoted:<br /><br /><div><blockquote>"Some people think this is just about bringing in cheap labor, but it's not. We offer the same salaries and perks whether you're from Baltimore or Bangladesh . . . but we simply cannot find enough qualified U.S.-born staff to fuel our growth." </blockquote><br />The Washington Post failed to disclose the salary these H-1b workers are paid. But <a href="http://www.h1b.info/lca_job_list.php?page=1&name=DEVELOPMENT+DESIGN+GROUP+INC&company=Development+Design+Group&city=&county=&state=MD&year=ALL&sort=wage">according to the DOL's LCA database</a>, the <span style="color:#cc0000;">MEDIAN is about $42,000, while over 25% earn less than $35,000. <span style="color:#000000;">Now go to the</span> <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_12580.htm#b17-0000">Bureau of Labor Statistics website, </a><span style="color:#000000;">where one finds that the</span> mean wage for an architect in Baltimore is $69,210.<br /></span><br />What skills are required? <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/local/ddg-usa-jobs.html">Development Design Group's website does not list any "entry level" openings,</a> so we have to presume that their pending H-1b applications require these skills - including 3 to 7 years of experience:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><strong>PROJECT ARCHITECTS / DESIGNERS</strong><br /><br />Possess a thorough knowledge, understanding and experience in all phases of the design process including Concept Design, Schematic Design, and Design Development<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;">3 ~ 7 years experience</span> in a multitude of areas including but not limited to retail, mixed-use, entertainment, planning, urban design and residential<br /><br />Strong design and graphic skills and sketching abilities<br /><br />Excellent organizational skills<br /><br />Proficiency with AutoCAD / ADT, Photoshop and other software<br /></blockquote><br />We think the facts speak for themselves - Roy Higgs is a "typical" user of H-1b - enriching himself by securing skilled labor at blue-light special salary, shirking his obligation to hire Americans at a fair salary.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-13123429269978256362008-03-23T20:18:00.000-07:002008-03-23T20:28:24.834-07:00U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords targets U.S. tech workers for displacement<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R-ceQ_ezcYI/AAAAAAAAAd8/UuXFb_IrBH0/s1600-h/160px-GabrielleGiffords.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181143173580419458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R-ceQ_ezcYI/AAAAAAAAAd8/UuXFb_IrBH0/s400/160px-GabrielleGiffords.jpg" border="0" /></a>It is well documented that qualified U.S. workers are being displaced by H-1b workers, even at the current cap of 65,000. See the testimonials at HireAmericansFirst.org, for example.<br /><br />What is Gifford's solution? To double the cap to 130,000. I left a message for staff C.J. Karamargin 520-881-3588 (or 202-225-2542) on March 20th but C.J. did not return my call.<br /><br />According to the March 19th InfoWorld article "<a href="http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/14/Bill-would-double-cap-on-H-1B-visas_1.html">Bill would double cap on H-1B visas</a>," she introduced the bill just one day after Bill Gates had testified before Congress - and no representatives of U.S. workers were invited to rebut Gates:<br /><br /><blockquote><p>The <strong>Innovation Employment Act</strong>, introduced by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, late Thursday, would increase the cap in H-1B visas from 65,000 a year to 130,000 a year... Giffords sees the importance of H-1Bs because Southern Arizona has been growing as a hub for tech companies, Karamargin added. "There's a need to stay competitive and keep the momentum growing," he added. "That means making sure the talent is available to drive the local and national tech economy."</p></blockquote><br /><p><strong>QUESTIONS FOR C.J<br /></strong><br />In my voicemail I asked C.J., roughly:<br /><br />Can you name just two tech companies in Southern Arizona that cannot find qualified American tech workers, and failed to get H-1b workers to fill those positions due to the current H-1b cap or lottery?<br /><br />According to Arizona Central CareerBuilder job search, there are <a href="http://information-technology.careerbuilder.com/it.ic/Arizona_Phoenix/?sc_cmp1=JS_Sub_Loc_IT&lr=cbga_tap&siteid=gatap042">832 IT positions advertised</a>. But there are also <a href="http://sales-marketing.careerbuilder.com/sm.ic/Arizona_Phoenix/?sc_cmp1=JS_Sub_Loc_SM&lr=cbga_tap&siteid=gatap046">1840 sales and marketing ads</a>, and <a href="http://healthcare.careerbuilder.com/hc.ic/Arizona_Phoenix/?sc_cmp1=JS_Sub_Loc_HC&lr=cbga_tap&siteid=gatap039">2680 healthcare ads</a>. So how did Rep. Giffords determine that IT workers rather than healthcare, sales, and marketing workers are what are needed to keep Arizona's economy strong?<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/14/Bill-would-double-cap-on-H-1B-visas_1.html">InfoWorld article</a> states, "The bill would prohibit companies from hiring H-1B workers, then outsourcing them to other companies, he said. H-1B opponents have complained that outsourcing companies are among the top users of H-1B visas." Can you please show us in the bill where the top users of H-1b "InfoSys, TCS, Wipro..." would be limited in their use of H-1b? We can't find any such language.<br /><br />Why didn't Rep. Giffords arrange to hear from the U.S. IT workers who will be impacted by her bill before submitting it? Does she care more about the profits of multi-national corporations than about assuring that U.S. citizens have priority for U.S. jobs? </p><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-34948637222922074102008-02-05T09:00:00.000-08:002008-02-05T09:06:08.742-08:00BusinessWeek exposes how Industry really uses H-1b workers<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R6iWupPJdwI/AAAAAAAAAdk/jDyXP3ad-vU/s1600-h/0806_57pop.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163542700867811074" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R6iWupPJdwI/AAAAAAAAAdk/jDyXP3ad-vU/s400/0806_57pop.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R6iWf5PJdvI/AAAAAAAAAdc/jQFF_KWMC9o/s1600-h/0806_57pop.jpg"></a><p>Listening to <a href="http://www.competeamerica.us/">Compete America</a> one would think that H-1b workers are the "best and brightest" in the world, contributing to "U.S. global competiveness." But as the 1/31/08 BusinessWeek article "<b><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_06/b4070057782750.htm">Are H-1B Workers Getting Bilked?</a></b>" exposes, H-1b are being used by Indian consulting firms to bring in cheap labor, driving American consulting firms out of business, and displacing highly-skilled U.S. workers.<br /><br />First, Indian consulting firm Patni undercut American workers when DOL approved the labor condition applications for a "prevailing wage" of $44,000 per year. This is far below the <a href="http://www.yoh.com/yoh_about/yoh_news/press_releases/pr_54.htm">"$45 to $80 per hour" that the Yoh study found to be the average for U.S. workers</a> with "high demand" skills, such as "Database Administrator" and "Application Developer."<br /><br />What Patni didn't disclose was that the $44,000 "salary" presumed that their workers put in lots of overtime. Their base pay was only $11.72 an hour - they were expected to reach their "salary" by working overtime. But even with 23 days of overtime, one H-1b's annual pay worked out to only $35,305 in 2004.<br /><br />As State Farm in Bloomington Illinois was laying off their American staff, the <a href="http://tinyurl.com/3yk5ug">LCA Database reveals that Patni Computer Systems was bringing in hundreds of Indians on H-1b visas</a> - many placed at State Farm. As mandated by the U.S. Congress, the Department of Labor rubber-stamped these LCAs (labor condition applications) for wages as low as $27,000 for computer programmers. H-1b workers must have a minimum of a BS degree and specialized skills.<br /><br />Many of the LCAs were filed by Dayanand Allapur, Vice President HRD 617-914-8367. Patni's main number Cambridge, MA is 617-914-8000<br /><br />Among the Americans who lost their jobs was George Moraetes. He reports having "seen 4 - 5 H1-b's living in a one bedroom apartment" and that the same pattern of H-1b usage was employed by GE.<br /><br />Contrary to helping the U.S. remain "globally competitive," the top users of the H-1b program are Indian consulting firms. They are transferring U.S. jobs and technology back to India and increasing the U.S. trade deficit. Without the H-1b and L-1 visa programs much of this loss of U.S. tech leadership would not be possible.<br /><br />Patni is headquartered in Mumbai, India. Their website provides roadmaps for transferring manufacturing offshore: <a href="http://www.patni.com/">http://www.patni.com/</a><br /><br /><i>The U.S. Congress needs to wake up to the imminent threat posed to the U.S. economy by shipping our manufacturing to China and now services to India. Or economy cannot sustain this growing trade deficit and gutting of U.S. infrastructure.</i><br /></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-44889273766568651342008-02-03T18:42:00.000-08:002008-02-03T18:47:38.294-08:00Flaws in University of Buffalo Spectrum's call for H-1b increase<p>The original article is here:</p><p><a href="http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/article.php?id=35050">http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/article.php?id=35050</a></p><p>This is an image of the front page where it run in the printed edition.</p><p><a href="http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/images/frontpage/fp.pdf">http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/images/frontpage/fp.pdf</a></p><blockquote>ARTICLE: "Companies are very welcoming to international students because <b>they can pay them less money than the local workers</b>, even if their ability is equal," said Ping Lu, a sophomore management major from China</blockquote><p>FACT: Industry would dispute this, claiming that H-1b has a "<b>prevailing wage</b>" requirement. We thank Ping for setting the record straight: H-1b workers are often preferred because they are willing to work cheaper for the opportunity to stay in the USA - and the "prevailing wage" is a sham.</p><blockquote>ARTICLE: Henry Mok, a Malaysian student who graduated from UB with a B.S. in electrical engineering, <b>applied to at least 80 jobs</b> during his OPT in the Buffalo area. With only a few interviews and <b>no job offers</b>, Mok spent his summer perfecting his fishing skills at a friend's farm rather than his engineering expertise.</blockquote><p>FACT: U.S. graduates are facing a similar job market. Mok's inability to find a job after sending 80 resumes refutes claims by industry that the H-1b cap needs to be raised to solve a labor shortage.</p><blockquote>ARTICLE: Employers, in addition to being required by law to pay the fees, <b>have to prove that they could not find any better qualified domestic workers instead</b>.</blockquote><p>FACT: The H-1b has <u>no such requirement</u>. Employers can overlook a stack of resumes from more qualified U.S. applicants and hire the H-1b worker instead. The impact on U.S. workers is evident at:</p><p><a href="http://www.hireamericansfirst.org/members/h1b_harm_report.aspx">www.hireamericansfirst.org/members/h1b_harm_report.aspx</a></p><blockquote>ARTICLE: The final step is to apply for the visa by April 1 - the first day applications are accepted. Students with a bachelor's degree are competing with over 100,000 others for an allotment of <b>45,000</b> visas.</blockquote><p>FACT: The base cap is 65,000, not 45,000.</p><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-67259778770304033842008-01-20T12:11:00.000-08:002008-01-22T16:38:20.863-08:00Programmers Guild presents at Sloan West Coast Program on Science and Engineering Workers<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R5Or5ymMIAI/AAAAAAAAAc8/eG9poUHOQJw/s1600-h/matloff_berry_sloanwest_text.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157655007592194050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R5Or5ymMIAI/AAAAAAAAAc8/eG9poUHOQJw/s400/matloff_berry_sloanwest_text.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p>On Friday January 18, 2008 Kim Berry represented the "perspective of the U.S. worker" at the <a href="http://migration.ucdavis.edu/wcpsew/">Sloan West Coast Program on Science and Engineering Workers</a>, held at UC Davis. PowerPoints of the presenters are in the above link, and an <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/sloanwest_kimberry_programmersguild.htm">html-friendly version of my PowerPoint is here.</a> The conference was the first of several being sponsored by a Sloan Foundation grant.</p><p><a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/norm_matloff_newsletter_sloan_west_jan2008.htm">Norm Matloff's newsletter</a> gave this account:</p><blockquote>Kim Berry of the Programmer's Guild gave a really outstanding talk. I had seen his slides earlier, and they were fine, but his delivery greatly enhanced the content. Here was a real victim, speaking calmly yet with contained anger at the fact that all our respected institutions--both major political parties, the business community and academia--are complicit in maintaining that sham known as H-1B. His account of hiring decision meetings in which he participated, in which qualified American applicants were repeatedly rejected in favor of H-1Bs, ought to have been videotaped; his speech would have been just as effective the Cohen & Grigsby "TubeGate" videos.</blockquote><p>I wish the entire event had been videotaped. But since no one else was taking video, and since some people might not want to ask or respond to hard questions on record, I chose not to tape my presentation. But here are a few of my talking points:</p><p><b>SLIDE 2: H-1b Influx is independent from labor market – 2000-2004 record H-1b influx</b></p><p>There is talk about revising the current 85,000 visa cap to a "market-based" cap. We have already tried a market-based cap: In 2001-2004 we had a virtual market-based cap. As <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/9866921.htm">documented by the San Jose Mercury News</a>, during this period 25% to 50% of U.S. tech workers in Silicon Valley were pushed out of the job market. And during this same period H-1b influx was higher than at any time during the growth years of 1990-2000. How bad would the economy have to get before a "market-based" cap kicked in?</p><p><b>SLIDES 11-15 Americans are being displaced by H-1b’s lack of U.S. worker recruitment</b></p><p><a href="http://www.hireamericansfirst.org/">http://www.hireamericansfirst.org/</a> was launched on January 13, 2008. Already we have gathered dozens of testimonials of substantial harm by the H-1b program. These 5 slides summarized those testimonials.</p><p><b>SLIDE 25 Programmers Guild H-1b Reforms</b></p><p>The closing slide summarized the reforms that the Guild believes are necessary to add some level of protection for U.S. workers:</p><ul><li>True prevailing wage of at least what average Americans earn within the same job classifications. <li>H-1b and L-1 LCAs only approved after the employer has conducted good faith, transparent recruitment, and was unable to find any qualified U.S. candidates, at any price. <li>H-1b only granted to U.S. business entities with as direct hires - not to consulting firms (Indian or otherwise) to be re-shopped against American job seekers. <li>H-1b to include a $1,200 annual fee that would be used to fund $15,000 scholarships for American college students in STEM programs - consistent with legislation that Senator Sanders has introduced twice.</li></ul><p>I liked <a href="http://migration.ucdavis.edu/wcpsew/files/SSorscher.ppt">Stan Sorscher's graphs</a> showing how until about 1980 the economic gains of industrial advancements were shared at all wage levels "what's good for GM is good for America." But since then the gains have disproportionately gone to the top income levels (the elite? The CEOs?). He continued by speculating that globalization is a force that separates the good of business from the good of citizens (one of his last PPT slides).</p><p>Lisa Spiegel, immigration attorney Duane Morris had argued that America benefits from H-1b since the $1500 fee is used for training programs. During my presentation I asked how many people would sell their careers for $1500? No hands went up. <p><p><b>AMERICAN WORKERS DON'T WANT TRAINING?</b></p><p>As Norm reported in his newsletter, Jack Trumpbour of Harvard SEWP reported that Industry had told him that one thing they liked about workers in China is that 100% would take advantage of training programs, while in the USA only about 10% of workers were interested in training programs. I disputed this - in my experience at serveral companies, nearly 100% of workers were interested in and attended training programs when available. Jack Trumpbour stated that he would investigate this claim further. From <a href="http://migration.ucdavis.edu/wcpsew/files/J_Trumpbour.doc">PAGE 5 of Trumpbour's study</a>:</p></li><ul></ul><blockquote>However, many other managers in China implicitly faulted U.S. engineers by noting that 100 percent of Chinese engineers will take training programs offered by the company, while U.S. workers pursue these activities in puny single-digit percentages. IBM China specifically expressed disappointment about the low U.S. participation in company training, but other global companies in China soon confirmed this disparity.</blockquote><p>Based on my experience I do not believe these claims by IBM managers that only 10% of workers in the USA would take advantage of company training programs. But we need some specific examples.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-37384219298464212182007-12-18T06:21:00.000-08:002007-12-19T06:38:32.276-08:00NFAP's Stuart Anderson's dishonest use of H-1b statistics<p>According to a <a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/17/stories/2007121751800100.htm">December 16, 2007 article in The Hindu Business Line</a>, NFAP Executive Director Stuart Anderson has released a "study" titled "The impact of high-skill immigration restrictions on America." A key finding of his "study" is that "The 10 most cited outsourcing firms of:</p><ul><li>Wipro, </li><li>Infosys, </li><li>TCS, </li><li>Satyam Computer Services, </li><li>Patni Computer Systems, </li><li>Cognizant Tech Solutions US, </li><li>HCL America, </li><li>Deloitte and Touche LLP, </li><li>Accenture, and </li><li>MphasiS </li></ul><p>used "only" 14% of the total H-1b visas in 2006.</p><p>Anderson then makes the absurd leap to conclude that "The “vast majority of H-1B visas go to US high-tech companies, financial institutions, and US Universities.” <p>Anderson reaches these conclusions because he is paid by Industry to lobby to increase the flood of H-1b workers. Although he shows a total disregard for his fellow American citizens, he frets over the welfare of Indian companies. "“Any new restriction on high-skill immigration will hurt the US industry, as much as Indian firms." <p>In May 2007<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/table/0518_h1btable.htm">BusinessWeek published a list of the Top 200 H-1b users</a>. <p>This list reveals that there are many other outsourcing firms that are not in the top 10, pushing the use of H-1b by outsourcing firms well about the 14% represented by NFAP, for example: <ul><li>#11: <a href="http://www.polaris.co.in/aboutus/aboutus.htm">Polaris Software Lab Ltd</a></li><li>#12: <a href="http://www.covansys.com/what/outsourcing.htm">Convansys</a></li><li>#13: <a href="http://www.syntelinc.com/internal.aspx?lns=1&id=781">Syntel Consulting</a></li><li>#14: <span style="color:#006600;"><a href="http://www.htcinc.com/website/insidepage.asp?page_id=120">HTC Global Services</a></span></li><li>#15: (analysis in progress 12/19)</li></ul><p><table id="table2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" border="1"><tbody><tr><th class="">Rank</th><th style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Employer</th><th class="">H1-B Visa Count </th></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">1</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=INFY" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES </span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">4,908</span> </td></tr><tr><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">2</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=WIT" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">WIPRO </span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">4,002</span> </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">3</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=MSFT" target="_blank">MICROSOFT</a></td><td class="right">3,117 </td></tr><tr><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">4</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=TCS.BO" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES</span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">3,046</span> </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">5</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=SAY" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES</span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">2,880</span> </td></tr><tr><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">6</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CTSH" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">COGNIZANT TECH SOLUTIONS U.S.</span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">2,226</span> </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">7</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=PTI" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">PATNI COMPUTER SYSTEMS</span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">1,391</span> </td></tr><tr><td class="right">8</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=IBM" target="_blank">IBM</a></td><td class="right">1,130 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">9</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=ORCL" target="_blank">ORACLE</a></td><td class="right">1,022 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">10</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=LTOUF.PK" target="_blank">LARSEN & TOUBRO INFOTECH</a></td><td class="right">947 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">11</span></td><td class=""><span style="color:#ff0000;">HCL AMERICA</span></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">910</span> </td></tr><tr><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">12</span></td><td class=""><span style="color:#ff0000;">DELOITTE & TOUCHE</span></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">890</span> </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">13</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CSCO" target="_blank">CISCO SYSTEMS </a></td><td class="right">828 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">14</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=INTC" target="_blank">INTEL</a></td><td class="right">828 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">15</td><td class="">I-FLEX SOLUTIONS</td><td class="right">817 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">16</td><td class="">ERNST & YOUNG</td><td class="right">774 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">17</td><td class="">TECH MAHINDRA AMERICAS</td><td class="right">770 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">18</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=MOT" target="_blank">MOTOROLA</a></td><td class="right">760 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">19</span></td><td class=""><span style="color:#ff0000;">MPHASIS</span></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">751</span> </td></tr><tr><td class="right">20</td><td class="">DELOITTE CONSULTING</td><td class="right">665 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">21</td><td class="">LANCESOFT</td><td class="right">645 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">22</td><td class="">NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS</td><td class="right">642 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">23</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=ACN" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">ACCENTURE</span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#ff0000;">637</span> </td></tr><tr><td class="right">24</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=JPM" target="_blank">JPMORGAN CHASE</a></td><td class="right">632 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right"><span style="color:#006600;">25</span></td><td class=""><span style="color:#006600;">POLARIS SOFTWARE LAB INDIA</span></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#006600;">611</span> </td></tr><tr><td class="right"><span style="color:#006600;">26</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CVNS" target="_blank"><span style="color:#006600;">COVANSYS</span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#006600;">611</span> </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">27</td><td class="">PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS</td><td class="right">591 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">28</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=QCOM" target="_blank">QUALCOMM</a></td><td class="right">533 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">29</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=GS" target="_blank">GOLDMAN SACHS</a></td><td class="right">529 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">30</td><td class="">KPMG</td><td class="right">476 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">31</td><td class="">MARLABS</td><td class="right">475 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">32</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN</td><td class="right">437 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">33</td><td class="">UNIV. OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO</td><td class="right">434 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">34</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA</td><td class="right">432 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">35</td><td class="">THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">432 </td></tr><tr><td class="right"><span style="color:#006600;">36</span></td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=SYNT" target="_blank"><span style="color:#006600;">SYNTEL CONSULTING</span></a></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#006600;">416</span> </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">37</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=C" target="_blank">CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS</a></td><td class="right">413 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">38</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=BE" target="_blank">BEARINGPOINT</a></td><td class="right">413 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">39</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND</td><td class="right">404 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">40</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=KEA" target="_blank">KEANE</a></td><td class="right">386 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right"><span style="color:#006600;">41</span></td><td class=""><span style="color:#006600;">HTC GLOBAL SERVICES</span></td><td class="right"><span style="color:#006600;">382</span> </td></tr><tr><td class="right">42</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=IGTE" target="_blank">IGATE MASTECH</a></td><td class="right">378 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">43</td><td class="">HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES</td><td class="right">362 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">44</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=COF" target="_blank">CAPITAL ONE SERVICES</a></td><td class="right">362 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">45</td><td class="">COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">355 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">46</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=LEH" target="_blank">LEHMAN BROTHERS</a></td><td class="right">352 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">47</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=YHOO" target="_blank">YAHOO!</a></td><td class="right">347 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">48</td><td class="">U.S. TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES</td><td class="right">339 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">49</td><td class="">INTELLIGROUP</td><td class="right">336 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">50</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=HPQ" target="_blank">HEWLETT-PACKARD</a></td><td class="right">333 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">51</td><td class="">RAPIDIGM</td><td class="right">330 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">52</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=ML" target="_blank">MERRILL LYNCH</a></td><td class="right">329 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">53</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=GOOG" target="_blank">GOOGLE</a></td><td class="right">328 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">54</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=C" target="_blank">CITIBANK</a></td><td class="right">322 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">55</td><td class="">DIS NATIONAL INSTS OF HEALTH DHHS</td><td class="right">322 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">56</td><td class="">YALE UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">316 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">57</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=NOK" target="_blank">NOKIA</a></td><td class="right">314 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">58</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=TI" target="_blank">TEXAS INSTRUMENTS</a></td><td class="right">313 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">59</td><td class="">CAPGEMINI</td><td class="right">309 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">60</td><td class="">HARVARD UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">308 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">61</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=EMC" target="_blank">EMC</a></td><td class="right">305 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">62</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=SUNW" target="_blank">SUN MICROSYSTEMS</a></td><td class="right">303 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">63</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=RAD" target="_blank">RITE AID</a></td><td class="right">301 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">64</td><td class="">BLOOMBERG</td><td class="right">298 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">65</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=GE" target="_blank">GENERAL ELECTRIC</a></td><td class="right">292 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">66</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=AMGN" target="_blank">AMGEN</a></td><td class="right">289 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">67</td><td class="">McKINSEY U.S.</td><td class="right">286 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">68</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=LSM" target="_blank">MORGAN STANLEY</a></td><td class="right">285 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">69</td><td class="">STANFORD UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">279 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">70</td><td class="">WASHINGTON UNIV. IN ST. LOUIS</td><td class="right">278 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">71</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=VZ" target="_blank">VERIZON DATA SERVICES</a></td><td class="right">276 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">72</td><td class="">NYC-HHC HARLEM HOSPITAL CENTER</td><td class="right">276 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">73</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH</td><td class="right">275 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">74</td><td class="">INDIANA UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">273 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">75</td><td class="">OHIO STATE</td><td class="right">271 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">76</td><td class="">EVEREST CONSULTING GROUP</td><td class="right">269 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">77</td><td class="">UNIV. OF MINNESOTA</td><td class="right">269 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">78</td><td class="">AMTEX SYSTEMS</td><td class="right">268 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">79</td><td class="">UNIV. OF WISCONSIN AT MADISON</td><td class="right">268 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">80</td><td class="">SUNY-STONY BROOK</td><td class="right">262 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">81</td><td class="">AMAZON GLOBAL RESOURCES</td><td class="right">262 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">82</td><td class="">CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION</td><td class="right">256 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">83</td><td class="">DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT</td><td class="right">255 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">84</td><td class="">UNIV. OF CALIF. AT DAVIS</td><td class="right">254 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">85</td><td class="">NORTHWESTERN</td><td class="right">251 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">86</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=SYNT" target="_blank">SYNTEL</a></td><td class="right">250 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">87</td><td class="">UNIV. OF MISSOURI AT COLUMBIA</td><td class="right">247 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">88</td><td class="">GLOBALCYNEX</td><td class="right">247 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">89</td><td class="">KANBAY</td><td class="right">246 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">90</td><td class="">AMERICAN SOLUTIONS</td><td class="right">242 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">91</td><td class="">UNIV. OF FLORIDA INTL. CENTER</td><td class="right">240 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">92</td><td class="">UCLA</td><td class="right">239 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">93</td><td class="">DUKE UNIV. MEDICAL CENTER</td><td class="right">238 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">94</td><td class="">MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER</td><td class="right">236 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">95</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=BAC" target="_blank">BANK OF AMERICA</a></td><td class="right">236 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">96</td><td class="">SOFTWARE RESEARCH GROUP</td><td class="right">234 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">97</td><td class="">BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE</td><td class="right">234 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">98</td><td class="">MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL</td><td class="right">232 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">99</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CBR" target="_blank">CIBER</a></td><td class="right">232 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">100</td><td class="">VERINON TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS</td><td class="right">230 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">101</td><td class="">EVEREST BUSINESS SOLUTIONS</td><td class="right">226 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">102</td><td class="">VOLT TECHNICAL RESOURCES</td><td class="right">224 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">103</td><td class="">OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">223 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">104</td><td class="">COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP</td><td class="right">222 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">105</td><td class="">U.S. TECH SOLUTIONS</td><td class="right">221 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">106</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=SYMC" target="_blank">SYMANTEC</a></td><td class="right">220 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">107</td><td class="">JSMN INTERNATIONAL</td><td class="right">218 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">108</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=UBS" target="_blank">UBS</a></td><td class="right">216 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">109</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CVS" target="_blank">CVS PHARMACY</a></td><td class="right">213 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">110</td><td class="">THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">213 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">111</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON</td><td class="right">213 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">112</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=NT" target="_blank">NORTEL NETWORKS</a></td><td class="right">212 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">113</td><td class="">UNIV. OF CALIF. AT SAN FRANCISCO</td><td class="right">211 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">114</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF MASS. MEDICAL SCHOOL</td><td class="right">210 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">115</td><td class="">SPRINT/UNITED MANAGEMENT</td><td class="right">209 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">116</td><td class="">HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT</td><td class="right">209 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">117</td><td class="">PURDUE</td><td class="right">208 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">118</td><td class="">GLOBAL CONSULTANTS</td><td class="right">207 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">119</td><td class="">EMORY UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">207 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">120</td><td class="">UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER</td><td class="right">207 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">121</td><td class="">UNIV. OF COLORADO</td><td class="right">207 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">122</td><td class="">VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">205 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">123</td><td class="">OBJECTWIN TECHNOLOGY</td><td class="right">205 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">124</td><td class="">DIASPARK</td><td class="right">204 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">125</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=HBC" target="_blank">HSBC BANK USA</a></td><td class="right">203 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">126</td><td class="">EBUSINESS APPLICATION SOLUTIONS</td><td class="right">203 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">127</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=BRCM" target="_blank">BROADCOM</a></td><td class="right">203 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">128</td><td class="">PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY (MD.) PUBLIC SCHS</td><td class="right">203 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">129</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=MU" target="_blank">MICRON TECHNOLOGY</a></td><td class="right">202 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">130</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CFC" target="_blank">COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS</a></td><td class="right">198 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">131</td><td class="">TEXAS A&M</td><td class="right">198 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">132</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=AMAT" target="_blank">APPLIED MATERIALS</a></td><td class="right">195 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">133</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=SLB" target="_blank">SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY</a></td><td class="right">194 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">134</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF IOWA</td><td class="right">194 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">135</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=IBM" target="_blank">IBM GLOBAL SVCS. INDIA</a></td><td class="right">194 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">136</td><td class="">DELOITTE TAX</td><td class="right">194 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">137</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CMI" target="_blank">CUMMINS</a></td><td class="right">193 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">138</td><td class="">ITECH U.S.</td><td class="right">191 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">139</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CPWR" target="_blank">COMPUWARE</a></td><td class="right">189 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">140</td><td class="">INTL. STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS OFFICE</td><td class="right">186 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">141</td><td class="">UNIV. OF CALIF. AT SAN DIEGO</td><td class="right">185 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">142</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=WAG" target="_blank">WALGREEN'S</a></td><td class="right">184 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">143</td><td class="">HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE</td><td class="right">184 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">144</td><td class="">USC</td><td class="right">183 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">145</td><td class="">VISION SYSTEMS GROUP</td><td class="right">182 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">146</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=DT" target="_blank">T MOBILE USA</a></td><td class="right">180 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">147</td><td class="">MULTIVISION</td><td class="right">178 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">148</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=EDS" target="_blank">ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS</a></td><td class="right">177 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">149</td><td class="">MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY</td><td class="right">175 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">150</td><td class="">CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY</td><td class="right">174 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">151</td><td class="">CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV.</td><td class="right">173 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">152</td><td class="">UNC AT CHAPEL HILL</td><td class="right">173 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">153</td><td class="">UNIV. OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM</td><td class="right">172 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">154</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=DB" target="_blank">DEUTSCHE BANK</a></td><td class="right">170 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">155</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CAT" target="_blank">CATERPILLAR</a></td><td class="right">170 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">156</td><td class="">HALLMARK GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES</td><td class="right">169 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">157</td><td class="">CYBERTHINK</td><td class="right">169 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">158</td><td class="">CORPORATE COMPUTER SERVICES</td><td class="right">167 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">159</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=AMD" target="_blank">ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES</a></td><td class="right">167 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">160</td><td class="">MEGASOFT CONSULTANTS</td><td class="right">166 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">161</td><td class="">ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS</td><td class="right">165 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">162</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=FSL" target="_blank">FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR</a></td><td class="right">163 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">163</td><td class="">UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER</td><td class="right">163 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">164</td><td class="">FIRST TEK TECHNOLOGIES</td><td class="right">161 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">165</td><td class="">MICHIGAN STATE</td><td class="right">161 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">166</td><td class="">RESEARCH FDN OF THE STATE UNIV OF</td><td class="right">160 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">167</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CITP" target="_blank">COMSYS SERVICES</a></td><td class="right">160 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">168</td><td class="">VIRGINIA TECH</td><td class="right">160 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">169</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=JNPR" target="_blank">JUNIPER NETWORKS</a></td><td class="right">160 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">170</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA</td><td class="right">158 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">171</td><td class="">IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">157 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">172</td><td class="">UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA</td><td class="right">157 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">173</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=FDX" target="_blank">FEDEX CORPORATE SERVICES</a></td><td class="right">157 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">174</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=CS" target="_blank">CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON</a></td><td class="right">156 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">175</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=BMY" target="_blank">BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB</a></td><td class="right">156 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">176</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=VZ" target="_blank">VERIZON SERVICES</a></td><td class="right">156 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">177</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=EBAY" target="_blank">EBAY</a></td><td class="right">155 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">178</td><td class="">AJILON CONSULTING</td><td class="right">154 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">179</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=GM" target="_blank">GENERAL MOTORS</a></td><td class="right">153 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">180</td><td class="">CAMO TECHNOLOGIES</td><td class="right">152 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">181</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=MRVL" target="_blank">MARVELL SEMICONDUCTOR</a></td><td class="right">151 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">182</td><td class="">CMC AMERICAS</td><td class="right">150 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">183</td><td class="">UT M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER</td><td class="right">149 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">184</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=NVDA" target="_blank">NVIDIA</a></td><td class="right">149 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">185</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=T" target="_blank">AT&T SERVICES</a></td><td class="right">147 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">186</td><td class="">WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL</td><td class="right">146 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">187</td><td class="">AXIOM SYSTEMS</td><td class="right">146 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">188</td><td class="">WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY</td><td class="right">146 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">189</td><td class="">MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER</td><td class="right">146 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">190</td><td class="">NORTH CAROLINA STATE</td><td class="right">146 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">191</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=DNA" target="_blank">GENENTECH</a></td><td class="right">146 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">192</td><td class="">MAKRO TECHNOLOGIES</td><td class="right">145 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">193</td><td class="">SVAM INTERNATIONAL</td><td class="right">144 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">194</td><td class="">MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER</td><td class="right">143 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">195</td><td class="">NUTECH INFORMATION SYSTEMS</td><td class="right">143 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">196</td><td class="">XPEDITE TECHNOLOGIES</td><td class="right">143 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">197</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=ADP" target="_blank">AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING</a></td><td class="right">143 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">198</td><td class="">LOUISIANA STATE</td><td class="right">142 </td></tr><tr class="rowOdd"><td class="right">199</td><td class=""><a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=FNM" target="_blank">FANNIE MAE</a></td><td class="right">141 </td></tr><tr><td class="right">200</td><td class="">MINDTREE CONSULTING/TD></td><td class="right">141</td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-60457376229083198902007-12-10T10:54:00.000-08:002007-12-10T11:29:14.308-08:00Gary Scholten, CIO at Principal Financial Group Inc., pays H-1b programmers $43,000 while lobbying for moreAs reported in ComputerWorld: "<a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9051378&intsrc=news_ts_head">National tech policy battle plays out in Iowa as caucus nears</a>":<br /><blockquote>"Gary Scholten, a senior vice president and CIO at <strong>Principal Financial Group</strong> in Des Moines, . . . related his IT workforce concerns directly to three Democratic candidates: New Mexico Gov. <strong>Bill Richardson</strong> and Sens. <strong>Barack Obama</strong> and <strong>Christopher Dodd</strong>."</blockquote><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R12SqIMezsI/AAAAAAAAAcA/jfwYu_dohUw/s1600-h/Gary_Scholten.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142427601978969794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/R12SqIMezsI/AAAAAAAAAcA/jfwYu_dohUw/s400/Gary_Scholten.jpg" border="0" /></a>Among Gary's concerns is that the U.S. is not flooding in a sufficient number of H-1b workers, causing them to have to hire from the local community college, and to set up IT operations in Pune, India.</p><p>So what DIDN'T Gary tell the candidates?</p><p><a href="http://www.principal.com/global/index.htm">Principal Financial Group Headquarters are at</a>: 711 High Street / Des Moines, IA 50392-0001 USA. That is the same address as the <a href="http://www.h1b.info/lca_job_list.php?page=1&name=PRINCIPAL+LIFE+INSURANCE+CO&year=ALL&sort=wage">LCAs for Principal Life Insurance Company</a>. These LCAs reveal H-1B applications filed by Principal Life Insurance Company: </p><p>Approved H-1B applications: 110 Total jobs: 168<br /><br />Principal's H-1b usage includes many software development positions paying between $43k - $50k.</p><p>Gary likely didn't mention that many of these H-1b come through training programs, in the USA, that are closed to American Citizens, for example, through <a href="http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/3095617317/fetch/580233/">Premier IT Solutions Inc</a> - which cites "Principal Financial Group" among their top clients.</p><p>Gary also likely didn't mention that many of the "<a href="http://www.principal.com/careers/searchjobs.htm">HELP WANTED</a>" on their website are <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/youtube_media.html">PERM FAKE JOB ADS</a>, like THIS ONE - run solely to obtain green cards for their dozens of H-1b programmers: </p><p><em>Job Title: IT Application Analyst-(PeopleSoft)<br />Job ID: 208545<br />Location: IA - Des Moines</em><br /></p><p><em>B.S. in computer science, information systems, engineering or related field (or foreign equivalent) plus <span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>5 years experience in the job offered</strong></span> or in a related occupation such as Programmer Analyst or similar duties under a different job title. Experience to include ERP applications (PeopleSoft, Financial Suite, or HRMS suite), PeopleTools, and RDBMS.</em></p><p>THE PROBLEM IS APPARENT: Search for "IT" in Principal Financial Group's job openings. You'll find either positions for new graduates, or positions that require 3-6 years of experience in specific languages and applications. There are NO OPENINGS for Americans with BS degrees and several years of experience, but need the same "on the job training" that is extended to new graduates to get them up to speed.</p><p>And as long as employers can flood in H-1b programmers at $43,000, the market forces that would make that happen do not exist.</p><p>Shouldn't Presidential candidates get the full story?</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-90483711774562216382007-11-15T05:44:00.000-08:002007-11-15T06:00:11.823-08:00Lou Dobbs challenges Bill Gates to debate H-1b visaBill Gates has asked Congress for an "unlimited number" of H-1b visas. Watch Lou Dobbs ask Gates to discuss the matter. (We suspect that Gates will decline this opportunity to explain to the world his reasons for wanting an H-1b increase.) Lou Dobbs Transcript November 13, 2007 <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0711/13/ldt.01.html">IS HERE</a><br /><br /><object height="373" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9LXvGD5HgIg&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9LXvGD5HgIg&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="373"></embed></object><br /><br />BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is no shortage of students studying for careers in Math and Science. <span style="color:#cc0000;">There is a shortage of jobs.</span> That's the simply bottom line finding of a new study from the Urban Institute.<br /><br />The study shows that between 1985 and 2000 435,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents a year graduated with Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees in Science and Engineering. That's three times the number of jobs in Science and Engineering added per year, 150,000 during that time.<br /><br />Separately Michael Teitelbaum at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation told Congress last week that neither he nor a separate study by the RAND Corporation can find any evidence of worker shortages. These studies are not anomalies.<br /><br />VIVEK WADHWA, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Bottom line is that all of our research at Duke and now at Harvard shows the same thing. That there is no shortage of engineers; there's no shortage of scientists. Companies aren't going abroad because of skills. They're going abroad because it's cheaper.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-68482904235713986722007-11-11T09:41:00.000-08:002007-11-11T12:41:44.402-08:00Bias against American tech workers by Dan Miller and Juliana Barbassa<em>Eight firms used 87% of all H-1b applications in 2006 Harrisburg, PA – and all eight are owned and managed by Indian immigrants, with average salary around $45,000</em><br /><br />Dear Dan Miller and Juliana Barbassa,<br /><p>Please consider the Programmers Guild's objections to the bias in Dan's article <a href="http://www.pennlive.com/business/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/business/1194657051325850.xml&coll=1&thispage=1">Tech workers push for immigration reform</a> in today's Patriot News. Dan's article is leveraged from a prior AP article <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/industry/2007-10-28-techworkers_N.htm">Tech workers still looking for immigration change</a> by Juliana Barbassa.<br /><p>Note that I am quoted in the AP article, but in such a way that it appears that the Programmers Guild supports expansion of the green card quota, which we do not. Instead, as I had told Juliana on the phone, we believe that H-1b should only be granted in the rare cases where no qualified Americans are available - at any price. Then there would not be so many H-1b trying to use this temporary visa as a basis to obtain citizenship. (What I didn't say on the phone was that I don't believe a temporary work visa should even be a path to citizenship - it should only be used until an American can be located and trained to fill the job: If I took a job in Switzerland on a temporary work visa, I not would be so arrogant as to demand that I be granted Swiss citizenship.): <blockquote>Legal immigrants who feel squeezed by limits on the number of green cards issued each year are trying to separate their complaints from the protests by illegal immigrants. . .<br /><br />The green card application system is akin to ''indentured servitude,'' said Kim Berry, president of the Programmers' Guild, a group that opposes current work visa laws. ''It takes years for the green card sponsorship to happen, and they can't leave, can't ask for a raise unless they want to lose their place in line.''<br /></blockquote><p>The article states: <blockquote>"It gets too frustrating sometimes," said Sandeep Bhatia, a software engineer from Mumbai, India, who first applied for a green card in 2001. Since then, Bhatia has completed an MBA.<br /></blockquote><p>Of what relevance is getting an MBA? Is there a shortage of MBA holders in the USA? I've known several programmers who obtained an MBA at night school. Typically it has no value in the programming profession. Note that <a href="http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/sof/">none of the positions on the Harrisburg, PA Craigslist</a> cite MBA as even a desired qualification.<br /><p>The article states: <blockquote>American-born tech workers who criticize the visa system argue the annual influx of 65,000 foreign workers like Bhatia takes jobs from Americans and puts a damper on all salaries.</blockquote><p>Out of the entire article, that is the only sentence supporting the viewpoint of American Citizen (not "American-born") U.S. workers. Everyone that you quote in your article is a special interest - immigrant seeking citizenship, immigration attorney seeking to expand business, or business trying to maximize profit. You fail to interview a single U.S. worker or representative organization, nor evaluate whether the concerns are valid. <p>a) Please see the comments from the<a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/rebuttal_to_ieee_oct2007.html">290 signers of the October 15th IEEE rebuttal letter</a>. Many claim to have been directly harmed by H-1b, and many have indicated that they will speak to the media. <p>b) I have personally witnessed cases where qualified Americans were not hired solely because an H-1b applicant appeared to have slightly higher qualifications. But in every instance the Americans who were passed over were highly qualified to fill the positions. Bodyshops FIRST bring in H-1b workers, THEN they swamp job ads with the resumes of their H-1b staff. At that point it is ILLEGAL for employers to give any preference to Americans over temporary foreign workers. <p><strong>c) Here are the </strong><a href="http://tinyurl.com/2pla3s"><strong>H-1b applications for 2006 in Harrisburg, PA, sorted by number of employees sought.</strong></a> <p>We typically see that the largest H-1b users are Indian-run organizations that blatantly discriminate against workers who do not share their nationality, and pay below market wages. <p><strong>Bingo. The top user is Mphasis Corporation</strong> with 90 applications, all within a salary range of $42,000 to $47,382. And as expected, <a href="http://www.mphasis.com/aboutUs/executiveteam.asp">the management of Mphasis Corporation are Indians.</a> <p><strong>The second largest user is Fortune 500 Systems, Ltd</strong>, requesting 20 "programmer analyst," all at a salary of $40,000. <a href="http://www.fortune500systems.com/More_Candidate.htm">Here are the names of their software developers.</a>Would you agree that this suggests a bias against hiring Americans? Their website conceals ownership information. But the <a href="http://www.h1b.info/lca_job_details.php?oid=b1498529&page=1&sort=&name=FORTUNE+500+SYSTEMS+LTD&company=&city=Harrisburg&county=&state=PA&year=2006">LCA Records reveal</a> that the CEO is <strong>DNYANOBA (KEN) KENDRE</strong> - the same as the CEO for the fourth largest user, below.</p><p><a href="http://www.h1b.info/lca_job_list.php?name=IBUSINESS+SOLUTION+LLC&company=&city=Harrisburg&county=&state=PA&year=2006"><strong>The third largest user is iBusiness Solution, LLC</strong>, requesting 17 programmer analysts with salary ranges from $48,000 to $52,000.</a> They appear to be <a href="http://www.ibusinesssolution.com/Contact.asp">owned and managed by Indians.</a> The LCA was filed by <a href="http://www.h1b.info/lca_job_details.php?oid=b1373397&page=1&sort=&name=IBUSINESS+SOLUTION+LLC&company=&city=Harrisburg&county=&state=PA&year=2006">President Srivastava Pramod</a>.</p><p><strong>The fourth largest user is Global Heathcare Group</strong> - not IT related. CEO "<strong>DNYANOBA (KEN) KENDRE"</strong> is an Indian "from Latur district in Maharashtra" - same CEO as the second top user. <a href="http://www.globalhealthcaregroup.com/News.htm">Here he is shaking hands with the Governor Edward Rendell of PA, apparently getting congradulated for displacing skilled Americans with Indians earning $40,000 salary.</a> <p><strong>The fifth largest user is Satyam Computer Services, Ltd</strong>, a large Indian consulting firm, requesting 10 programmers with salaries ranging from $47,020 to $67,413. <p><strong>The sixth largest user is Prima Technologies, LLC</strong>, requesting 7 "computer programmer" for $48,000. The LCAs reveal that the owner is "Nagesh Chilakapati" - and <a href="http://primatechnologies.net/form.htm">the only street address on their website is in India.</a> <p><strong>The seventh largest user is CLUTCHPOINT,LLC</strong>, requesting 4 "system analysts" for salaries of $48k and $49k. The LCAs reveal that the CEO is SIVARAMA KARISHNA GOGINENI - sounds Indian to me. Google does not even find a website for them. Their LCA address is 600 North 2nd Street, Suite # 500. To avoid the risk of libel, let's just call these facts "<a href="http://www.kermitrose.com/econ200609.html#20060924">suspicious</a>." <p><strong>The eighth largest user is CYBRID, INC</strong>. requesting 3 "Software Engineer" for salaries of $60k to $65k. The LCAs reveal that president is "Kanthy Vaylay." <a href="http://www.cybridinc.com/">Their website conceals ownership and management information.</a> Google for their address "4807 Jonestown Road" suggests that this is a mail box drop. Their website is strikingly similar to <a href="http://www.independenth1b.com/">Independent H1B</a> which bills itself as a H-1b sponsorship bodyshop and with greencard services. <p><strong>THESE EIGHT FIRMS ACCOUNT FOR 167 OF THE 192 H-1B APPLICATIONS IN HARRISBURG, PA, IN 2006</strong> <p>Why is it that the vast majority of businesses in Harrisburg are able to meet all of their staffing needs without a single H-1b visa, but that eight Indian-owned businesses account for 87% of all H-1b applications in that city? <p>This sampling supports the Programmers Guild's contention that H-1b are underpaid and used disproportionately by Indian bodyshops that discriminate against U.S. workers that are not the same nationality as the owners. <p>The article states: <blockquote>Kelly Lewis, president and CEO of the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, estimated that workers holding H-1B visas make a small number of high-tech employees in the midstate. "We're probably just in the general Harrisburg area short 500 to 1,000 technology professionals right now," Lewis said.</blockquote><p>Indeed. <a href="http://www.tccp.weballies.com/gbdirectory.asp?BizCategory=8">TCCP represents several Indian-based bodyshops that would flood in as many H-1b consultants at $40k per year as possible</a>, giving them a competitive advantage against firms that hire Americans at market wage. <p>The article states: <blockquote>Tom Richwine is president of <a href="https://www.immigrationsupport.com/contactus/">Immigration Support Services</a>, a company in Silver Spring Twp. Richwine said his company helps about 1,000 employers nationwide process H-1B visas and green cards. H-1B visas represent just 0.7 percent of the nation's work force, "so it's not like we are displacing U.S. workers with foreigners," he said. Richwine said the federal government must provide more new H-1B visas and increase green cards available for high-tech workers. "We could easily absorb 150,000 [new H-1B visas] a year without any problem," he said. "We've got to provide a path to come to the U.S."<br /></blockquote><p>Tom is a biased in that he is probably getting rich on the backs of thousands of qualified American tech workers by processing H-1b applications. Given his bias, journalism standards suggest that an opposing interest should have been asked to rebut his claim. <p>FACT: H-1b are concentrated in the tech sector, which has about 3,600,000 workers. Over 500,000 H-1b have flooded into this sector since 2000, while the total number of jobs has remained flat. <p>FACT: Even the optimistic BLS projection for 2002-2012 project only 146,500 "[t]otal job openings due to growth and net replacements" annually "Computer and mathematical science occupations" (<a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2004/02/art5full.pdf">SEE PAGE 83</a>) <p>FACT: The tens of thousands of Americans graduating with BS degrees in this field are facing unfair competition with skilled H-1b workers willing to work for $40,000 in order to get out of their overcrowded countries. <p>FACT: There is no requirement to even consider qualified Americans before sponsoring and H-1b, and industry lobbyists are adamantly opposed to adding any such protection. If such a protection were added and enforced, the number of H-1b entering the U.S. would drop substantially, and the "Green Card Backlog" bemoaned in this article would not be a factor. <p>FACT: The <a href="http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/sof/">Craigslist postings for Software professionals</a> do not suggest that any special labor shortage exists. There are only a few posts per day, just as for the other occupational categories.<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-81292980435394976532007-11-06T20:47:00.000-08:002007-11-07T05:34:27.966-08:00Congress set to triple the H-1b quota in HR 4065!Author Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI] represents HR 4065 as <em>"To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of the immigration laws, to enhance border security, and for other purposes."<br /></em><br />However, <strong>section SEC. 1402</strong> contains a provision that would increase the H-1b quota from 65,000 to between 130,000 and 195,000 per year.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/oppose_hr4065_nov2007.pdf">Programmers Guild has sent this FAX </a>to the 10 sponsors.<br /><br />FULL TEXT of the bill <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-4065">IS HERE</a>.<br /><br />Congressman Sensenbrenner <a href="http://sensenbrenner.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=77770">HR 4065 Press Release on his website</a>. (It provides no explanation for the H-1b increase.)<br /><br />REQUEST: It is critical that you phone the following Congressmen and ask that they remove this H-1b provision, which has nothing to do with enhancing border security. <span style="color:#cc0000;">You </span><span style="color:#cc0000;">can reach them all toll free at 800-614-2803, and ask to be transferred to their office.</span> You might reference the Programmers Guild fax.<br /><br />1) Rep. Brian Bilbray [R-CA]<br />2) Rep. Howard Coble [R-NC]<br />3) Rep. David Dreier [R-CA]<br />4) Rep. Tom Feeney [R-FL]<br />5) Rep. Elton Gallegly [R-CA]<br />6) Rep. Robert Goodlatte [R-VA]<br />7) Rep. Daniel Lungren [R-CA]<br />8) Rep. Sue Myrick [R-NC]<br />9) Rep. Jon Porter [R-NV]<br />10) Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI]<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-78645607759395456322007-11-04T15:09:00.000-08:002007-11-04T15:34:31.489-08:00Ten questions for those who believe H-1B is about a shortage of American workers<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Ry5W1y53rgI/AAAAAAAAAbI/543LrCDHrPw/s1600-h/h1b_fact_fiction.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129132507819126274" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Ry5W1y53rgI/AAAAAAAAAbI/543LrCDHrPw/s400/h1b_fact_fiction.gif" border="0" /></a>James Murphy raises ten questions for those who believe the H-1B is about a shortage of Americans to do the job:<br /><br />1) If corporations get all the H-1Bs and green cards they want, can the long term consequence be anything other than total dependence on foreigners for technology?<br /><br />2) Is <strong>Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve</strong>, wrong? <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0708/01/ldt.01.html">He testified to Congress</a>: “Simply producing more engineers and scientists may not be the answer because the labor market for those workers will simply reflect lower wages or, perhaps, greater unemployment for those workers.”<br /><br />3) Is <strong>Vivek Wadhwa of Duke University</strong>, a supported of more foreign workers (he is one), wrong? <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0708/01/ldt.01.html">He says</a> “…the problem isn't the supply, it's the demand…we have enough engineers and scientists. The problem is that the salaries aren't there.”<br /><br />4) Why are law firms, like the notorious <strong>Cohen & Grigsby</strong>, holding seminars on how to legally avoid hiring qualified Americans? Lawrence Lebowitz’s famous quote explaining of the PERM application process to employers. "<a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/youtube_media.html">Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker, and that, in a sense, sounds funny, but it's what we are trying to do here</a>."<br /><br />5) Shortage at what price? My undergraduate economics professor made a big deal about it not making economic sense to claim a shortage without a price. For example, claiming that is a shortage of good five cent cigars makes sense. A claim that there is a shortage of cigars is foolish. There is no doubt that there is a shortage of college graduate programmers at $20,000 a year, is there a shortage at what the average American programmer makes? So the question is at what price?<br /><br />6) If there is a shortage why are real wages going down?<br /><br />7) Why is it that those employers who claim a shortage of American tech workers laying off so many of them?<br /><br />8) Is socialist <strong>Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)</strong> wrong? <a href="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0%2C1759%2C2179646%2C00.asp">He says </a>"What many of us have come to understand is that these H-1B visas are not being used to supplement the American workforce where we have shortages but, rather, H-1B visas are being used to replace American workers with lower cost foreign workers,"<br /><br />9) Is <strong>Nobel economist Milton Friedman</strong> wrong when he says the H-1B is a subsidy? <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/labor/story/0,10801,72848,00.html">He said </a>"There is no doubt, that the [H-1B] program is a benefit to their employers, enabling them to get workers at a lower wage, and to that extent, it is a subsidy."<br /><br />10) Why not end the H-1B and other work visas and allow a free market solution? An increasing wage will attract more workers to science and engineering and solve any supply shortage that MAY exist. Free markets do not have shortages.<br /><br /><i>James Murphy has more than 30 years engineering and programing experience and is currently unemployed.</i><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-65195714418743191052007-11-04T08:15:00.001-08:002007-11-04T08:32:17.951-08:00China's President vows computerized armed forces to win IT-based warfare<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Ry3xYi53rfI/AAAAAAAAAbA/LJ3N25d3I0A/s1600-h/china+flag.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129020954633547250" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Ry3xYi53rfI/AAAAAAAAAbA/LJ3N25d3I0A/s400/china+flag.jpg" border="0" /></a>IDG News Service reports that China's president Hu Jintao intends to "<a href="http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/071101chinadefense/index.html">build strong armed forces through science and technology.</a>"<br /><br />Hu explained, <em>"To attain the strategic objective of building computerized armed forces and winning IT-based warfare, we will accelerate composite development of mechanization and computerization, carry out military training under IT-based conditions, modernize every aspect of logistics, intensify our efforts to train a new type of high-caliber military personnel in large numbers and change the mode of generating combat capabilities."</em><br /><br />Are we crazy? We admit students from China into top U.S. universities and train them in the latest IT technology. We allow top U.S. tech firms to outsource and set up shop in China, providing on-the-job training to our military adversary. As we just reported, Cisco is helping to establish 300 vocational schools in China.<br /><br />Microsoft and IBM have moved development centers to China. And unlike the USA, the Chinese government is helping their tech workers gain current skills: "<a href="http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164904223">The [Chinese] government has established 35 national schools to provide software training, especially in technologies such as .Net, Linux, Java, and Web services. Its goal is to have 800,000 trained software pros by the end of [2005]</a>."<br /><br /><em>"Both military and civilian sectors in China are actively exploring the information warfare concept, which could be gradually developed into a corps of 'network warriors' able to defend China's telecommunications, command, and information networks, while uncovering vulnerabilities in foreign networks,"</em> according to <strong><a href="http://sinodefence.com/">Sinodefence.com</a></strong>, an independent China military-monitoring Web site based in the U.K.<br /><br />Meanwhile the USA sinks its resources into killing and maiming tens of thousands of America's "best and brightest," fighting mostly imaginary terrorists in Iraq, watching the U.S. dollar lose 30% of its value over the past two years.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-82998047117751359712007-11-03T21:19:00.000-07:002007-11-04T08:29:22.725-08:00Cisco working with government to open 300 vocational training centers - in China!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Ry1JqC53reI/AAAAAAAAAa4/QOifxd2QKSg/s1600-h/cisco.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128836537327791586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Ry1JqC53reI/AAAAAAAAAa4/QOifxd2QKSg/s400/cisco.gif" border="0" /></a>U.S. corporations argue for more H-1b workers in order to help America's "Global Competitiveness." So where is the outrage when U.S. corporations act contrary to U.S. interests?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.h1b.info/lca_job_list.php?page=1&name=CISCO+SYSTEMS+INC&company=cisco&city=&county=&state=CA&year=ALL&sort=wage">Cisco is a large user of H-1b in the U.S.</a>, but to our knowledge has not establed any training facilities to the U.S. to allow Cisco to hire more Americans. But Cisco is working the Chinese goverment to open hundreds to vocational training centers in that country.<br /><br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Ciscos-China-Investment-Mushrooms-to-16-Billion-60114.html">Cisco will put its capital to work in China in both direct and indirect ways</a>. It will work with the government to open 300 new vocational training centers across China to teach network skills, with Cisco donating $6 million worth of equipment to those schools, known as the "Cisco Networking Academies." Cisco had previously helped the government open 200 such schools, and the company said 90,000 people have been trained.</blockquote>It is hypocracy for U.S. companies to both be lobbying for more foreign workers in the U.S. under the guise of helping U.S. global competitiveness, while at the same time undermining our competitiveness by funding training opportunites for our competition.<br /><br />This economic treason against the USA is being facilitated by the UN:<br /><br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/digital_divide/ldc/">Following the G-8 Summit, Cisco Systems, Inc.,</a>United Nations Development Program, the US Agency for International Development (Leland Initiative/EDDI), and United Nations Volunteers (UNITeS), announced the formation of this strategic partnership to help train students in Least Developed Countries (LDC) for jobs in the Internet economy. </blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-54423312701929247922007-10-26T05:25:00.000-07:002007-10-26T05:43:22.630-07:00Yappy Headed YOH wage study is flawed again<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RiEDT4UBLlI/AAAAAAAAAB4/y3wz6TQK6Hc/s1600-h/yohit_logo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053323896955154002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RiEDT4UBLlI/AAAAAAAAAB4/y3wz6TQK6Hc/s400/yohit_logo.jpg" border="0" /></a>As <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202601552">reported by InformationWeek</a>, Yoh has prepared a <a href="http://www.yoh.com/yoh_about/yoh_news/press_releases/pr_74.htm">press release</a> that again proclaims that tech workers are being paid "near record wages."<br /><br />First Yoh unethically downplays that these wages are only contract wages, which could be as short as one day. They bear no relation to the wages paid to full-time employees, which are substantially lower. Yoh should make that more clear in the future.<br /><br />Yoh fails to disclose that their "all-time high" wage determination does not factor in inflation. They use a base of 100 in January 2001, reaching 113.60 in Week 36 of 2007, or a 13.6% increase in wages over 6.5 years.<br /><br />But according to this <a href="http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl">BLS calculator</a>, inflation during the same period would have raised 100 to 117.72.<br /><br />Thus when adjusted for inflation, the Yoh study actually finds that IT contract wages have continued to erode during this decade.<br /><br />Yoh's study is further evidence that H-1b are underpaid. While Yoh cited $50 and $80 per hour as only "average wages," The average H-1b programmer -- who presumably is being brought in because they have the "hot" skills -- is paid about $52,000, according to <a href="http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/back1305.html">a 2005 study</a>.<br /><br />Virtually NO H-1b LCA is for $50 per hour, and I've never seen an LCA for a software developer approach the "average" wage of $80 per hour.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.yoh.com/yoh_job_seekers/index.htm">Yoh's website fails to disclose salary ranges </a>for most of their positions. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/296gzm">Yoh's LCA filing for H-1b are here</a> - but most are not software development occupations.<br /><br /><a href="http://programmersguild.blogspot.com/2007/04/yappy-headed-yoh-index-reveals-dramatic.html">We had addressed the bias in Yoh's studies last April </a>- nothing has changed.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-7542282200926482272007-07-11T05:52:00.000-07:002007-07-11T06:31:43.539-07:00Microsoft propaganda falsely cites H-1b restrictions as basis for their Vancouver, Canada officeThe media has been buzzing with articles making claims like this in e-Commerce News - <a href="http://www.technewsworld.com/story/58187.html">Microsoft Steps Across Border to Sidestep Immigration Rules</a><br /><br /><blockquote><p>Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) will open a software development center in Canada by the end of the year, a move that will enable the software giant to hire more foreign workers <strong>without running up against the limitations of U.S. immigration law</strong>.</p><p>Microsoft cofounder and Chairman Bill Gates has been among the most outspoken critics of the current limits on foreign workers who can enter the country. Gates has repeatedly pressed lawmakers to raise the cap on the number of so-called H-1B visas, which are given out to "highly skilled" workers.</p><p>A bill that would have raised the current cap of 65,000 visas each year -- part of a sweeping immigration reform measure -- failed to gain enough votes to stay alive in the U.S. Senate last week, dashing hopes that more workers would be let into the U.S. in the near term. </p></blockquote>(Also See Paul McDougall's InformationWeek Blog <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/07/microsofts_cana.html">Microsoft's Canada Plan Highlights Need For Immigration Reform</a>.)<br /><br />But only a few are picking up that immigration is a red herring. CNET got it right in <a href="http://news.com.com/Microsoft+sings+O+Canada+amid+immigration+challenges/2100-1014_3-6195049.html">Microsoft sings 'O Canada' amid immigration challenges</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said that while the immigration issue was a factor, <strong>the company would be opening the center in Vancouver even if it were not for the immigration challenges.</strong> "</blockquote>Reuters included this fact also, albeit buried as a virtual footnote in an article that mostly discusses the H-1b visa - <a href="http://in.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2007-07-06T024747Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_India-283414-1.xml">Microsoft expands in Canada amid U.S. visa crunch</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Microsoft said in a statement that the Vancouver center will "allow the company to continue to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by the immigration issues in the United States." But company spokesman Lou Gellos said Microsoft's frustration with the U.S. government's visa policy wasn't the only reason for the expansion in Canada. It is part of a larger program to diversify software development outside of Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, Gellos said. . . "<strong>We would be opening this center in Vancouver even if this visa situation didn't exist</strong>," Gellos said.</blockquote><p>Furthermore it is not "news" that Microsoft is doing software development in Vancouver, Canada, as this <strong>1992 article</strong> reveals: <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NEW/is_1992_July_28/ai_12490819">Canada: Microsoft opens workgroup software R&D facility</a></p><blockquote>VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, <strong>1992 </strong>JUL 28 (NB) -- Microsoft has opened a workgroup software development operation here, the only Microsoft research and development facility outside the United States that will develop products for world markets.</blockquote><p>In short, Microsoft is pulling a PR stunt, timing this announcement to make it appear that it was related to failure of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform, which contained a massive H-1b increase provision. Industry raises similar false threats that they are offshoring due to a shortage of H-1b, when in fact H-1b is a primary tool in offshoring.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-67578458151669429572007-06-28T22:17:00.000-07:002007-06-29T06:49:37.706-07:00NASSCOM's claim that only "small Indian companies" abuse H-1b visa is absurdLast month U.S. Senators Durbin and Grassley <a href="http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=5380">wrote a letter to nine of the top Indian outsourcers regarding their use of H-1b</a>, such as their wages, age of workers, number of U.S. citizens on staff, and their efforts to recruit Americans. To our knowledge none of the receipients have responded to the questions posed in that letter.<br /><br />Instead the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) issued a statement that "<a href="http://www.nasscom.in/Nasscom/templates/NormalPage.aspx?id=51731">there is little evidence of such fraud, or that restricting the number of H-1 B visas . . . will have any effect on visa fraud</a>."<br /><br />NASSCOM is being less than honest to the U.S. Senate - they have ignored the questions and raised the Red Herring of "fraud." The <a href="http://www.nasscom.in/Nasscom/templates/NormalPage.aspx?id=5387">NASSCOM Executive Council is a "who's who" of Indian outsourcing firms</a>, comprised of leaders of I-flex, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, and Mr. N Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)<br /><br /><a href="http://grassley.senate.gov/releases/2007/062620072.pdf">TCS is the number one user of combined H-1b and L-1 visas</a>, with nearly 8000 applications in FY 2006.<br /><br /><a href="http://programmersguild.blogspot.com/2007/05/india-now-denies-their-prior-admission.html">We have already reported that TCS has boasted that it pays its H-1b workers 25% below market wages</a>, and this this underpayment was its competitive advantage against American firms and U.S. workers.<br /><br />While about half of TCS business is in the U.S., only about <a href="http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62021381,00.htm">1000 of their 90,000 employees are Americans</a>. (Meanwhile <a href="http://www.sda-india.com/sda_india/psecom,id,102,site_layout,sdaindia,news,18383,p,0.html">TCS is planning to hire 5000 workers in Mexico</a>, to assist with Perot's "giant sucking sound" of jobs.)<br /><br />We also know that the thousands of TCS employees on L-1 visas can work in the U.S. for up to a year while still getting paid their foreign wage - <a href="http://weblog.infoworld.com/realitycheck/archives/2007/06/senators_publis.html">$20,000 per year or less</a>. These Mexicans that TCS is hiring will provide them an additional source of foreign workers that TCS can rotate into U.S. jobs and continue to pay them third-world wages, without the expense of international air fare.<br /><br />Senators Durbin and Grassley have <a href="http://weblog.infoworld.com/realitycheck/archives/2007/06/senators_publis.html">compiled a 354 page list of L-1 visa users. TCS is on top. They are asking the top users about their usage</a>. We expect another Red Herring response from NASSCOM about "no fraud," avoiding whether they are displacing U.S. consulting firms that pay American wages by bringing in thousands of average skilled staff programmers on L-1 while paying them third world wages.<br /><br />Congress: How is it not unfair competition to allow consulting firms to pay third world wages at U.S. jobs sites by rotating in workers from foreign sites? Might this be creating an incentive to NOT hire U.S. workers for U.S. jobs?<br /><br />A large user of L-1 visa is Intel. During the same period that <a href="http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2006/09/11/daily13.html">Intel in Folsom, California was laying of its American IT workers</a>, I heard from multiple Indians on L-1 at Intel in Folsom that they and many other L-1 workers were not brought in for their skills. Instead they were new hires in India being brought to the U.S. for training, then would return to India to ramp up Intel operations there. U.S. training may be necessary since <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/16/intel_india_secondchance/">Intel blames the Bangalore division for botching the Whitefield Xeon processor project a few years ago</a>.<br /><br />Meanwhile the stress of being forced to lay off highly skilled Americans led to the <a href="http://www.faceintel.com/2003suicides.htm">suicide of a top manager at Intel Folsom in 2003</a>. As Intel brings in foreign workers, <a href="http://www.ecs.csus.edu/career/career-day/who-came.php">they do not even attend career day at nearby CSU Sacramento</a>.<br /><br />While under the “spirit of the law” TCS is a bodyshop, and thus all of its employees “provide labor for hire for unaffiliated employers," it appears that under the letter of the law TCS can continue to second-source L-1 workers by a) assuring that the L-1 reports to a TCS employee, and b) assuring that the TCS employee is providing a service related to a contract that TCS holds with the client:<br /><blockquote><p><strong><a href="http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/katovrsght/OIG_06-22_Jan06.pdf">L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2004, signed into law December 8, 2004</a></strong></p><p>SEC. 412. NONIMMIGRANT L-1 VISA CATEGORY.(a) IN GENERAL- Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:</p><p>(F) An alien who will serve in a capacity involving specialized knowledge with respect to an employer for purposes of section 101(a)(15)(L) and will be stationed primarily at the worksite of an employer other than the petitioning employer or its affiliate, subsidiary, or parent shall not be eligible for classification under section 101(a)(15)(L) if—</p><p>(i) the alien will be controlled and supervised principally by such unaffiliated employer; or</p><p>(ii) the placement of the alien at the worksite of the unaffiliated employer is essentially an arrangement to provide labor for hire for the unaffiliated employer, rather than a placement in connection with the provision of a product or service for which specialized knowledge specific to the petitioning employer is necessary.</p><p>See INA § 214(c)(2)(F), 8 U.S.C. § 1184(c)(2)(F), as added by Pub. L. No. 108-649, Sec 412(a).<br /></p></blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-7900265070111564372007-06-26T20:18:00.000-07:002007-06-26T20:26:29.225-07:00Microsoft, Oracle, and Google demand that H-1b remain a source of cheap laborMicrosoft, Oracle, and Google are lobbying the Senate for an increase in the H-1b visa quota, arguing that they have thousands of job openings that they cannot fill with Americans. But is that the true motive?<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/7/prweb407549.htm">DOL prevailing is split into four levels,</a> with level one being about the 17th percentile of what average Americans are paid for the same job classifications. Currently most H-1b use the level one wage. Senator Durbin sponsored an amendment whereby only 30% of the H-1b at any company could be paid at level one. (The remainder could be paid at level two - which would still be below average.)<br /><br />Oracle's vice president Robert Hoffman, who speaks for CompeteAmerica, opposes the amendment. "<a href="http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0607/062507cdpm1.htm">Thirty percent is an artificial barrier</a>," said Hoffman.<br /><br />Why does Hoffman oppose the amendment? Here are the<a href="http://www.flcdatacenter.com/OesQuickResults.aspx?area=31084&code=15-1021.00&year=7&source=1"> DOL wages for Computer Programmer in Los Angeles</a>:<br /><ul><li>Level 1 Wage: $21.59 hour - $44,907 year </li><li>Level 2 Wage: $27.88 hour - $57,990 year </li><li>Level 3 Wage: $34.18 hour - $71,094 year </li><li>Level 4 Wage: $40.47 hour - $84,178 year </li></ul><p>The wage for an average-skilled American computer programmer in Los Angeles is over $64,000 per year. Yet Oracle objects to having to pay their H-1b workers more than $44,907.</p><p>How do we know that Microsoft, Oracle, and Google do not need H-1b due to a labor shortage?</p><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2006/sb20060710_949835.htm?chan=search">According to the Wall Street Journal</a>, Microsoft received résumés from about 100,000 graduating students in 2004, screened 15,000 of them, interviewed 3,500, and hired 1,000. Microsoft receives about 60,000 résumés a month for its 2,000 open positions.<br /><br />Working at <a href="http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/012409.html">Google is among the top choices of U.S. graduates</a>, flooding Google with 1300 resumes per DAY.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-11268662543685298322007-06-24T10:21:00.000-07:002007-06-24T18:22:40.499-07:00YouTube-Gate: Cohen & Grigsby train how to NOT hire qualified Americans<a href="http://www.youtube.com/programmersguild"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079693761822764498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 262px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 218px" height="232" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Rn6ykCE2rdI/AAAAAAAAAFw/QcbTjIVec8E/s320/youtube_still1.jpg" width="285" border="0" /></a>For those under age 40, "YouTube-Gate" is a twist on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal">Watergate scandal</a> that brought down President Nixon. Our objective is that Congress end these H-1b, PERM, and related employment-based immigration scandals by revising the statutes to provide true protection for U.S. workers.<br /><br />Our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/programmersguild">five-minute YouTube of an immigration seminar</a> by the law firm of <strong>Cohen & Grigsby</strong> has received over 80,000 hits on YouTube, and resulted in <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/youtube_media.html">major media coverage</a>. The video prompted <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/grassley_smith_youtube_letter.pdf">Senator Charles Grassley and Congressman Lamar Smith to write a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao</a> to investigate whether U.S. companies are abusing the H-1B visa program.<br /><br />Today we documented that <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/rir/pittsburghtribune_24june2007.html">three of the eight IT classified ads in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today are suspect fake PERM ads</a>. (We need a hard-copy of the June 24th Philadelphia Daily News.)<br /><br />We also expose the <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/cohen.html">Cohen & Grigsby client companies that are running the fake job ads</a>. The client with the most H-1b processing is <a href="http://www.hexaware.com/management.htm">foreign outsourcing firm <strong>Hexaware</strong></a>. These H-1bs harm the U.S. economy by facilitating the transfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas. And Congress has an obligation to suspend laws that harm our country.<br /><br />Prevailing wage? In their second video Cohen & Grigsby cite the "prevailing wage" requirement of H-1b. The majority of H-1b programmers use the Level One prevailing wage. The <a href="http://www.flcdatacenter.com/OesQuickResults.aspx?code=23-1011&amp;amp;area=38300&year=7&source=1">Level One prevailing wage for Lawyer in Philadelphia is $24.75 hour</a>! I doubt that the attorneys in this video would contend that wage would protect them from displacement.<br /><br />TIP: This website <a href="http://video.qooqle.jp/dl/">http://video.qooqle.jp/dl/</a> is one of many that allows you to download YouTube videos. (This is how we grabbed these training videos before the law firm removed them.)<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-76087121091451592752007-06-10T09:48:00.000-07:002007-10-30T22:00:18.184-07:00Immigration attorney Philip Boyle argues that H-1b puts upward pressure on the salaries of U.S. software professionals (we respectfully disagree)In his commentary "<strong><a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/local/philip_boyle_commentary.html">In My Turn: Immigration reform -- Vermont style</a></strong>," immigration attorney Philip Boyle make the outrageous claim that the H-1b program actually increases the wages of U.S. software professionals, writing:<br /><br /><blockquote><strong>"H-1B workers must be paid prevailing wage or better. Hence, these workers have a positive impact on wages which a tax would thwart."</strong></blockquote>If Philip Boyle is sincere - which, as an attorney is highly unlikely - then he should advocate for flooding in foreign immigation attorneys into Vermont. After all, the <a href="http://www.flcdatacenter.com/OesQuickResults.aspx?code=23-1011&area=72400&year=7&source=1">Level One DOL prevailing wage (which is applied for most H-1b applications) for LAWYER of <strong>$25.65 hour - $53,352 year</strong></a> would certainly put upward pressure on his meager salary.<br /><br />The reporters at the Burlington Free Press should also rally for more H-1b reporters, as their <a href="http://www.flcdatacenter.com/OesQuickResults.aspx?area=72400&amp;amp;amp;code=27-3022.00&year=7&source=1">DOL prevailing wage of <strong>$12.65 hour - $26,312 year</strong></a> would put upward pressure on their salaries.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Rmwu-iE2rcI/AAAAAAAAAFo/VsNNR4QVsMU/s1600-h/itech_logo.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074482531973639618" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Rmwu-iE2rcI/AAAAAAAAAFo/VsNNR4QVsMU/s400/itech_logo.gif" border="0" /></a>By far <a href="http://www.h1b.info/lca_search.php?company=&city=&county=&state=VT&year=2006">largest user of H-1b in Vermont in 2006</a> was <strong><a href="http://www.itechus.com/">iTech</a></strong>. <a href="http://www.h1b.info/lca_job_list.php?page=1&name=ITECH+US+INC&company=itech&city=&county=&state=VT&year=ALL&sort=wage">iTech LCA wages are here</a> – as low as $36,000 minimum BS degree and specialized knowledge.<strong> iTech</strong> made the <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/lowest_paying_2004.htm">Programmers Guild “lowest paid” list</a>. ITech is owned by an immigrant from India and is <a href="http://bpo.itechus.com/news.htm">engaged in shipping work back to India</a>, the same as the firms that have yet to respond to the <a href="http://programmersguild.blogspot.com/2007/05/senators-durbin-grassley-question-top-h.html">Durbin/Grassley inquiry</a>.<br /><br />Boyle argues that the H-1b cap should be raised because H-1b is used to hire new grads from Vermont universities. But not one of <strong>iTech’s</strong> openings is for new grads – <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/local/itechus_jobs_may_2007.html">all require at least 2+ years of experience</a>.<br /><br />(Boyle ignores an alternate solution of giving H-1b preference to U.S. grads - or to eliminate H-1b entirely and allow supply/demand forces to draw more Americans to pursue advanced degrees – that same force that draws sufficient Americans to pursue law degrees.)<br /><br />The reason <strong>iTech</strong> uses H-1b is not because no Americans are available, but rather because they hire disproportionately Indians from India – not graduates from Vermont colleges, as Boyle alleges. (Of the 80 <strong><a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/local/itechus_perm.xls">iTech green card certifications</a></strong> in 2005 and 2006, 77 were for workers from India.)<br /><br /><strong>iTech</strong> is second only to <strong>Goldstone Technologies</strong> in 2000-2006 LCA filings in Vermont. <a href="http://www.goldstonetech.com/company/contactus.htm">Goldstone is an Indian company</a> that uses H-1b because they don’t hire Americans. (On<a href="http://www.cis.org/articles/2007/back407data.pdf"> p.22 of John Miano’s study</a> he found that Goldstone wage are $12,000 below Expected OES wages.)<br /><br />Here is an <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/local/itech_clerk_ad_to_process_greencards.html">ITECH AD TO HELP PROCESS THEIR EMPLOYEES’ GREEN CARD APPLICATIONS</a>. This person will administrate the PERM job ads that reject qualified American job seekers, as explained by the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/programmersguild">immigration lawyers in the Cohen & Grigsby video</a>. PERM ads are described at <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/RIR/">www.programmersguild.org/RIR/</a><br /><br />Philip Boyle does not care about Americans getting American jobs because he only profits when American jobs get filled by foreigners. If he truly belived that flooding in H-1b workers would boost wages rather than displace Americans, he would be calling for more H-1b within his own profession. As it stands, we call him "Liar Liar."<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-86370949793943106252007-06-09T10:15:00.000-07:002007-06-09T10:34:36.591-07:00Patni Computer Systems H-1b settlement fails to compensate American Worker victims<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RmriySE2rbI/AAAAAAAAAFg/4Wwo533jPhw/s1600-h/patni_logo.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074117283659820466" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RmriySE2rbI/AAAAAAAAAFg/4Wwo533jPhw/s400/patni_logo.gif" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007596400">As reported by AHN Media Corp</a>: <div><br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.patni.com/about-us/global-locations-north-america.html#usa">Patni Computer Systems Inc</a>. has agreed to pay $2.4 million in back wages as part of a settlement with government authorities who claim the company underpaid employees recruited under the H-1B employment visa. . . Patni is one of the nine IT companies that U.S. legislators last month asked to explain their use of the H-1B visa. The issue with wages is that under the H-1B work visas, companies are supposed to pay the workers it brings into the country the prevailing U.S. wages for those jobs so that foreign labor doesn't unfairly compete with American labor for jobs. The company, which has about 13,000 employees, was awarded 1,391 H-1B visas in 2006.</blockquote></div><div>MATH REALITY CHECK: $2.4 million / 13,000 = $185 per employee. This is an insignificant penalty for Patni, which earns $350 million in annual revenue.</div><br /><div></div><div>PATNI IS A BODYSHOP: They produce nothing of value. Instead they displace American workers at American companies. <a href="http://sec.edgar-online.com/2006/07/17/0001104659-06-047238/Section5.asp">According to their July 2006 SEC filing</a>:</div><div><br /><blockquote>“We derive a significant portion of our revenues from a limited number of clients in a few select industries. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 our largest client and one of our principal shareholders, <strong>General Electric</strong>, accounted for 41.2%, 31.7% and 22.1% of our revenues and our second largest client, <strong>State Farm Insurance</strong>, accounted for 17.4%, 14.9% and 11.5% of our revenues.” . . . Our attrition rates have been high due to a highly competitive labor market in India. . . . We are currently cooperating with the US Department of Labor with respect to compliance matters related to our past and present labor practices. We estimate the liability to be up to $2 million. . . .<strong> Most of our employees are Indian nationals.</strong> The ability of our software professionals to work in the United States, Europe and in other countries depends on our ability to obtain necessary visas and work permits. As of December 31, 2005, <strong>a majority of our software professionals in the United States held H-1B visas</strong> . . Wage costs in India have historically been significantly lower than wage costs in the United States and Europe for comparably skilled professionals, which has been one of our competitive strengths. . . Presently, we benefit from the tax holidays given by the Government of India forthe export of IT services from specially designated software technology parks and special economic zones in India.”</blockquote></div><div><a href="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2143692,00.asp">According to eWeek the settlement will go to only 600 Patni employees</a>: "The department is committed to vigorously enforcing the H-1B provisions that guard against employers undercutting American workers by underpaying temporary foreign workers," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, in a statement. </div><div></div><br /><div>If true, then what about the other 12,400 employees? The <a href="http://beta.h1b.info/lca_job_list.php?page=38&name=PATNI+COMPUTER+SYSTEMS+INC&amp;company=patni&city=&county=&state=&year=ALL&sort=wage">LCA database reveals that Patni has applied for over 13,000 H-1b workers, with median wage of $45,000</a>. That means that 6000 Patni “best and brightest, BS degreed and highly skilled” are earning less than $45,000 salary. </div><br /><div><strong>The real victims were the 13,000 American workers who were displaced by Patni’s unfair competition.</strong> The U.S. Congress has known for the past decade that the H-1b program is displacing U.S. workers, that the prevailing wage is a sham, and that there is no requirement to not displace qualified U.S. workers. Congress has compensated the Japanese interned during WW II. <em>When will U.S. tech workers receive similar reparations from Congress?</em></div><br /><div>When has Elaine Chao ever acted on behalf of displaced U.S. workers? In every H-1b abuse case, and reimbursement goes to the foreign workers, ignoring the collateral harm to U.S. workers.</div><div><br />The <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/lowest_paying_2004.htm">Programmers Guild identified Patni as #27 on the list of the lowest-paying H-1b employers</a>. When will Chao go after the top 25? </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-54133053311119673722007-06-05T20:18:00.000-07:002007-06-08T05:35:22.648-07:00Letter to Governor Schwarzenegger objecting to his support for an H-1b increase<div align="center"><em><span style="color:#006600;">(Hand-delivered to Governor’s office June 6, 2007)</span></em></div><br /><br /><div align="left">June 5, 2007<br /><br />Dear Governor Schwarzenegger, (916-445-2841)<br /><br />Among your key campaign promises was that you would represent the <em>People of California</em> rather than <em>bowing to special interests</em>.<br /><br />But yesterday in <a href="http://weblog.infoworld.com/realitycheck/archives/2007/06/california_gove.html">your letter advocating for an increase in H-1b visas</a> you violated that promise. I challenge you to disclose the source of that letter, which is a clear promotion of the special interests of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, foreign consulting firms, and billionaire CEOs.<br /><br />1) By advocating for retention of "an employment-based application process" you are supporting the current flawed system where employers are able to hold H-1b workers as indentured servants while they sponsor the workers' green card applications. I witnessed NEC Roseville IT department specifically seek out H-1b candidates after two of their DBAs left for better opportunities at Intel Folsom. <strong>Do you support freedom or indentured servitude?</strong><br /><br />2) By advocating that the H-1b quota "must be based on the demands of the market" you are driving California workers and consulting firms out of business: The largest users of H-1b are Indian consulting firms. Last fall Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) boasted, "Our wage per employee is 20-25 percent less than US wages for a similar employee," explaining that the underpayment gave them their competitive advantage over American workers and the American firms who employ them. <strong>Do you support more H-1b for Indian consulting firms that displace Americans with $38,000 wages?</strong><br /><br />3) H-1b allows employers to hire foreigners even when qualified Americans are available. The California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) has sponsored dozens of H-1b workers, even as U.S. Citizens were waiting and reachable on the civil service list. <strong>Do you support hiring foreign workers for state jobs when Americans are reachable on lists?</strong><br /><br />4) CEO Larry Ellison is worth $20 billion dollars. Oracle is lobbying against a $1200 annual fee on H-1b that would be used to fund scholarships of up to $15,000 so that Americans can pursue science and engineering degrees. <strong>Do you share Oracle and Compete America’s opposition to scholarships for Americans?</strong><br /><br />5) You state, "I am concerned that the current bill may make the H-1B program harder to administer." The only material change is that, under the Durbin/Grassley amendment, employers would first have advertise the position, make a good faith effort to hire Americans, and attest that no Americans were being displaced. <strong>Do you believe that Americans should be displaced from their careers because employers find it an administrative hassle to run help wanted ads and conduct interviews?</strong><br /><br />6) You cite “between 2004 and 2014 there will be nearly one million new jobs in math and computer sciences,” but ignore that more than 100,000 Americans graduate with degrees in these fields each year. <strong>Please explain why you support industry’s call for an H-1b influx that would fill every job and then some.</strong><br /><br />7) You claim that there is a shortage of tech workers in California. So can you explain why on the day you sent your letter there were <strong>ZERO classified ads for Computer Programmers in the Sacramento Bee</strong>.<br /><br />I look forward to hearing an acknowledgement that you have considered these points, and hope that upon further consideration you will withdraw your letter in support of an H-1b increase.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RmYooyE2rZI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/MoALvG97BmU/s1600-h/schwarzenegger_june_2007.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072786711381454226" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RmYooyE2rZI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/MoALvG97BmU/s400/schwarzenegger_june_2007.gif" border="0" /></a><br />Sincerely,<br />Mr. Kim Berry<br />Sacramento, California<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RmYooyE2rZI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/MoALvG97BmU/s1600-h/schwarzenegger_june_2007.gif"></a><br /><hr color="red" size="1"><br />UPDATE: When I attempted to deliver the letter the Governor's staff was rude. I explained that I wanted to hand it to the appropriate staff. She said "I need a name." She said that the letter had to be dropped in the mailroom. When I told her I wished to meet with staff she gave me a form to fill out, but would not let me borrow a pen to fill it out. I bummed a pen off a security worker and filled it out. She would not let me attach the letter to the hand-written form. <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RmlMpSE2raI/AAAAAAAAAFY/21HhFuEO2KM/s1600-h/h1b_letter_to_governor.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073670727320120738" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/RmlMpSE2raI/AAAAAAAAAFY/21HhFuEO2KM/s400/h1b_letter_to_governor.jpg" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-38098747666476754582007-05-30T22:03:00.000-07:002007-06-05T04:53:15.721-07:00Senators Cantwell, Cornyn, Leahy and Hatch declare war on American tech workersAmendment #1249 to the comprehensive immigration bill, sponsored by Senators Cantwell, Cornyn, Leahy and Hatch, is a declaration of war on American tech workers. Their bill would:<br /><br /><ul><li>Authorize employers to <strong>displace qualified U.S. workers</strong> with H-1b foreign workers</li><li>Authorize employers to sponsor H-1b workers <strong>without first recruiting</strong> qualified U.S. workers.</li><li>Allow employers to fill the bulk of U.S. tech jobs with <strong>virtual indentured servants</strong> by adding 140,000 employer-sponsored greencards each year.</li><li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Set the <strong>base H-1b quota at 150,000</strong> per year (Incorrect)</span></li><li>Provide <strong>Unlimited </strong>exemptions for advanced degrees from U.S. universities PLUS unlimited advanced degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) from foreign universities </li></ul><p><span style="color:#ff0000;">June 5th Correction: This bill does not set the H-1b quota to 150,000 per year. On May 30th details were sketchy, and I apparently confused the <a href="http://www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/aeamonthlynews0607.asp#federal">150,000 that AeA is calling for</a> with a provision in the bill.</span></p><p>Aside from a sham "prevailing wage" that allows employers to pay wages far below average and still be in compliance, the above points are the key H-1b reforms that U.S. tech workers have needed. </p><p>The fifth bullet point alone could potentially flood in several hundred thousand foreign workers independent from the 150,000 quota. Why would employers hire new U.S. BS grads when the market would be flooded with workers with advanced degrees, willing to work cheap in exchange for one of the 140,000 annual green card sponsorships?</p><p>Note that for U.S. grads the exemption applies to degrees in ANY major - including the proverbial "basket-weaving" - even in professions where Americans cannot find work.<br /><br />There are about 3.5 million total tech jobs in the U.S., and roughly 200,000 of those become open each year, mostly due to attrition. (<a href="http://programmersguild.blogspot.com/2007/03/programmers-guild-rebuttal-to-bill.html">Bill Gates cites 2 million new jobs in the next decade</a> - that's what he's referring to - mostly just replacement of people that move on - by choice or by displacement.)<br /><br />In 2004 American colleges and universities awarded 233,492 undergraduate Science and Engineering degrees, according to Robert J. Samuelson in "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101166.html">A Phony Science Gap</a>." The vast majority - perhaps 90% - of these were awarded to U.S. workers.<br /><br />Clearly there are enough American graduates to fill all jobs. But these Senators intend to fill at least 150,000 (plus other exemptions) with foreign workers. Then employers will use the 140,000 green card sponsorships to create virtual indentured servants of these workers.<br /><br />These Senators must be held accountable. Please phone them and your two state senators today! (Find them at <a href="http://www.congress.org">www.congress.org</a>)<br /></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/?id=11025">Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) </a>: (202) 224-3441</li><li><a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/?id=31770">Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) </a>: (202) 224-2934</li><li><a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/?id=592">Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) </a>: (202) 224-4242</li><li><a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/?id=586">Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) </a>: (202) 224-5251</li></ul>Apparently Compete America is behind this bill. Among the companies that <a href="http://www.competeamerica.org/whoweare/coalition/index.html">Compete America represents is Motorola</a>. Today <a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/05/31/ap3772779.html">Motorola announced that it will lay off 4000 more U.S. workers</a>. <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070530/ibm_layoffs.html?.v=4">IBM also announced a layoff of another 1500 workers today</a>.<br /><br />If there were truly a tech labor shortage, then the degreed and experienced U.S. workers included in these layoffs would be quickly picked up by other Compete America member companies. But that rarely happens.<br /><br />"This amendment puts U.S. immigration control in the hands of foreign and multi-national corporations whose interests are often contrary to the best interests of the United States," warns Kim Berry, president of the Programmers Guild. "The bill literally allows citizens of other countries to petition their fellow foreigners for U.S. green cards, without regard for the impact on Americans or America."<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-88024385936849110302007-05-27T10:09:00.000-07:002007-05-29T18:46:16.748-07:00Oracle opposes $1200 annual H-1b fee to provide $15,000 scholarships to American engineering students<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Rlm-E2ctkpI/AAAAAAAAAFA/b7TiKmUy0hM/s1600-h/Larry-Ellison.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069291846126899858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Rlm-E2ctkpI/AAAAAAAAAFA/b7TiKmUy0hM/s400/Larry-Ellison.jpg" border="0" /></a>As reported by the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/washington/27immig.html?_r=2&ref=us&oref=slogin&oref=slogin">New York Times on May 27, 2007</a>:<br /><br /><div><div></div><div><blockquote><p>Senator Bernard Sanders, independent of Vermont, won adoption of an amendment that would increase the fee charged to employers for such a visa, known as an H-1B, to $5,000, from $1,500. The money would be used to finance scholarships for American citizens studying engineering, mathematics, computer science or health care. </p><p><strong>Robert P. Hoffman, a vice president of Oracle, said the higher fees represented “<em>an onerous tax increase on America’s most innovative companies</em>.</strong>” </p></blockquote></div><div>This “<strong>onerous</strong>” fee is <strong>less than a $1200 annual increase</strong> in the current H-1b fee ($600 foremployers with less than 25 employees). But it could substantially improve America’s competitiveness. Many American students must compromise their studies by working part time, while foreign students are free to devote 100% of their time in study groups. Others never reach their potential due to the financial realities of attending college today. So instead universities fill these slots with foreign students.</div><br /><div>Compete America, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117388283731536825.html">headed by Hoffman</a>, claims that “<a href="http://www.competeamerica.org/whoweare/principles/index.html">too few American students are seeking degrees in science, engineering and mathematics</a>.” (Public Policy Institute of California <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/05/24/BUGA9Q0DHL1.DTL">recently made a similar claim</a>.) But rather than support a $15,000 annual scholarship so that Americans can attend American universities, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117388283731536825.html">Hoffman proposes</a> that “the H-1B and green card programs should exempt foreign-born Masters and PhD graduates of U.S. universities from arbitrary visa caps."</div><br /><div>(The Programmers Guild refutes that there is any shortage of Americans students, citing declining salaries and tech workers <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/jan-june07/hthelp_05-17.html">over age 40 unable to find jobs</a>. A recent Duke University study reached the same conclusion: "<a href="http://www.issues.org/23.3/wadhwa.html">we did not find any indication of a shortage of engineers in the United States</a>.") </div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Rlm-UGctkqI/AAAAAAAAAFI/1E2IJ_smzbo/s1600-h/larryhotdog.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069292108119904930" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Rlm-UGctkqI/AAAAAAAAAFI/1E2IJ_smzbo/s400/larryhotdog.jpg" border="0" /></a>America has made <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Ellison">Larry Ellison</a> one of the richest men in the world, with a net worth of $20 billion. He owns several yachts, including the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_(yacht)">4th largest in the world valued at $200 million</a>. He owns several aircraft, and lives in $20 million estate. (See Ellison’s home in this <a href="http://www.programmersguild.org/googleearth/">Google Earth Link here</a>.) </div><br /><div>In a May 24th press release Compete America claims: “<a href="http://www.competeamerica.org/news/alliance_pr/20070524_ca_harshly_critical.html">Our companies are committed to advancing math and science education over the long term, as our future competitiveness depends on it</a>,” but the press release bemoans that this $1200 fee “could make the H-1B program cost-prohibitive, especially for smaller businesses.” </div><br /><div>Oracle has about <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/jan-june07/hthelp_05-17.html">1850 H-1b on staff</a>. Thus the annual cost to Oracle would be slightly over $2 million, providing $15,000 scholarships for 143 American students. So which is more harmful to Oracle’s global competitiveness – a nominal increase in the H-1b fee, or Ellison’s extravagant lifestyle?</div><br /><div>As spokesman for Compete America, Hoffman also represents the opposition to these scholarships by: Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Sun Microsystems. All of these U.S. companies prefer to spend millions lobbying for more H-1b rather than part with $1200 to assist American students.</div><br /><div>Oracle’s objections do not stop at the scholarship. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117388283731536825.html">Oracle also objects that H-1b reforms would limit their ability to displace qualified Americans with H-1b workers</a>, and to lay off Americans while retaining H-1b workers. Hoffman says such provisions "<a href="http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199702388&pgno=2&queryText=">are a huge requirement that might violate international trade laws</a>." Industry also deems the new H-1b requirement to attest to having made a good faith effort to hire an American as <a href="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6183954.html">overbearing</a>. </div><br /><div>Only a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199601616&pgno=2&queryText=">handful of companies applied for more than 500 H-1b workers in 2006</a>. Those are predominately huge corporations for which the scholarship fee would be insignificant.</div><br /><div>The <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199601616&pgno=2&queryText=">top users of H-1b</a> are Indian consulting firms that admit to underpaying their H-1b workers: <strong>"</strong><a href="http://programmersguild.blogspot.com/2007/05/india-now-denies-their-prior-admission.html"><strong>Our wage per employee is 20-25 per cent less than US wages for a similar employee</strong></a><strong>," boasts Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) vice president Phiroz Vandrevala.</strong> The $1200 fee does not begin to offset this underpayment advantage, and the <a href="http://programmersguild.blogspot.com/2007/04/programmers-guild-supports.html">Durbin/Grassley bill</a> would address this wage underpayment - which is currently perfectly legal under H-1b statutes.</div><br /><div>This highlights the flaw in the current prevailing wage provision, and <strong>the Programmers Guild calls on Congress to include the prevailing wage provision of the Durbin/Grassley bill</strong>. </div><div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3174163417312140150.post-70061349113321326012007-05-17T20:04:00.000-07:002007-05-17T20:58:58.090-07:00India now denies their prior admission that they abuse H-1b by paying way below market wages<a href="http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/40820/05_2007/india360_170507_1/india-360-indian-it-troubles-for-us.html"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065735299673199234" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jOw3lQhsE84/Rk0bamctkoI/AAAAAAAAAE4/EPjkf8APSsk/s400/durbin_grassley_cnn_ibn.jpg" border="0" /></a>On the May 18, 2007 edition of CNN's "<a href="http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/05_2007/india-360-indian-it-troubles-for-us-40820.html">India 360: Indian IT troubles for US</a>," Indian companies categorically deny that they use the H-1b to hire Indians at wages below what Americans earn: <blockquote><p>Two American senators have alleged that Indian IT companies are displacing American workers by hiring Indians at lower wages and are misusing the H1B visas. . . Indian companies have reacted to this saying these allegations are unfounded and that there has been no abuse of H-1B visas on their part. </p></blockquote><p>In <strong><a href="http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/40820/05_2007/india360_170507_1/india-360-indian-it-troubles-for-us.html">this CNN video</a></strong>, U.S. India Business Council (<a href="http://www.usibc.com/">USIBC</a>) president <a href="http://www.apbo2006.com/speakers/somers.html">Ron Somers</a> states that "<strong>certainly there has been no abuse</strong>" of H-1b visas by these member companies of the India Business Council. NASSCOM also denies that any abuse is occurring.</p><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>CALLING INDIA'S BLUFF</strong></span></p><p>However, according to the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=cda81c51-7247-4c2a-8e36-2414c5f9686c&ParentID=ea3188ae-1933-4afd-81e1-a89d979dbeee&&Headline=H-1B+visa+holders+paid+less+in+US">Hindustan Times in September 2006</a>, a top user of H-1b within the U.S. admitted to substantially underpaying their H-1b workers, citing that underpayment as their "competitive advantage":</p><blockquote>Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) vice president Phiroz Vandrevala even admitted that his company enjoys a competitive advantage because of its extensive use of foreign workers in the United States on H-1B and L-1 visas. "Our wage per employee is <strong>20-25 per cent less than US wages for a similar employee</strong>," Vandrevala said. "Typically, for a TCS employee with five years experience, the annual cost to the company is $60,000-70,000, while a local American employee might cost $80,000-100,000. "This (labour arbitrage) is a fact of doing work onsite. It's a fact that Indian IT companies have an advantage here and there's nothing wrong in that. The issue is that of getting workers in the US on wages far lower than the local wage rate."</blockquote><p>According <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199601616&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;pgno=2&queryText=">to this list compiled by InformationWeek</a>, TCS is the 4th largest user of H-1b visas within the U.S. Most likely InfoSys, ranked number one, and Wipro, ranked number two, are also abusing the H-1b to execute similar "competitive advantage" against American workers.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Programmers Guild advocates for the interests of U.S. software professionals and against the tranfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas.</div>Mr. Kim Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10204568488405029732noreply@blogger.com11