Monday, December 10, 2007

Gary Scholten, CIO at Principal Financial Group Inc., pays H-1b programmers $43,000 while lobbying for more

As reported in ComputerWorld: "National tech policy battle plays out in Iowa as caucus nears":
"Gary Scholten, a senior vice president and CIO at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, . . . related his IT workforce concerns directly to three Democratic candidates: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sens. Barack Obama and Christopher Dodd."

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.

So what DIDN'T Gary tell the candidates?

Principal Financial Group Headquarters are at: 711 High Street / Des Moines, IA 50392-0001 USA. That is the same address as the LCAs for Principal Life Insurance Company. These LCAs reveal H-1B applications filed by Principal Life Insurance Company:

Approved H-1B applications: 110 Total jobs: 168

Principal's H-1b usage includes many software development positions paying between $43k - $50k.

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 Premier IT Solutions Inc - which cites "Principal Financial Group" among their top clients.

Gary also likely didn't mention that many of the "HELP WANTED" on their website are PERM FAKE JOB ADS, like THIS ONE - run solely to obtain green cards for their dozens of H-1b programmers:

Job Title: IT Application Analyst-(PeopleSoft)
Job ID: 208545
Location: IA - Des Moines

B.S. in computer science, information systems, engineering or related field (or foreign equivalent) plus 5 years experience in the job offered 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.

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.

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.

Shouldn't Presidential candidates get the full story?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

A whopping $43K salary might buy you one bedroom trailer, a cow and a used pickeup truck an hour's drive outside of Des Moines, but look at how this corrupt H-1b scam is ruining the lives of millions of working professionals who are being replaced by Indians in metropolitan cities like NY where a salary of $200K is barely above the poverty line?

Anonymous said...

If they are hiring H-1Bs below the prevailing wages what's stopping you from filing a lawsuit against them?

If you have a problem with how the prevailing wages are calculated, take it up with the DOL.

You don't have the balls to question the government agencies like DOL/USCIS who are involved in the H-1B program even though you are US citizens and instead continue to target the companies/H-1B workers/immigration lawyers.

Anonymous said...

Kim Berry...you are such a sorry loser.

Like the previous poster said - if they have violated the law why don't you sue them?? Why waste time writing about it if you are not going to do anything about it?

Maybe you just need to run back to mommy and hide behind her

Anonymous said...

Filing Lawsuit will not curb the abuse as the law gives limited power and also Employers will escape by paying fines even if they are convicted. That is the reason Programmrs Guild is asking to change the law to curb the abuse. If H1b persons and Employers are confident that there is no abuse why they were opposing Durbin and grassley Amendement?

Anonymous said...

Does the Durbin Grassley bill introduce death penalty for the employers who abuse the H-1B program?

If not, then it will do nothing to stop the abuse. Good old American lawsuits are the only way to go if the DOL/USCIS are not enforcing the laws.

Unless the enforcement agencies do their job, changing laws will not help.

Anonymous said...

There is no way to file a lawsuit and win because the existing law is riddled with loopholes.

Besides that, it is our Executive branch of government that is supposed to be enforcing the laws because it is neither practical nor affordable for an individual citizen to file a lawsuit.

Unfortunately, we have ex-business proponents and lobbyists heading these enforcement agencies that have been AWOL for years.

Anonymous said...

Common Programmers GUILD ,welcome to the flat world.It is open. we know open software is better for software , we know someday apple is going to beat microsoft , we know that capitalism is better then communalism .. so there goes it You be an american,green card or H1B ,, we are ready for the fight.. BTW i am someone with an h1 but now with a green card. so best of luck