Workers Betrayed by Visa Loopholes

[TBF]

Commentary on how the H-1B VISA program is working in reality, and I would add that we shouldn't be electing politicians who endorse the program.

The Opinion Pages | Editorial
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDJUNE 15, 2015

It hardly needs saying that immigration policy should not undermine Americans’ jobs, wages or working conditions. The problem is that what some companies want — cheap, exploitable, disposable labor — is exactly what the system can be twisted into giving them.

Former workers at Walt Disney World in Orlando or at Southern California Edison, the power utility, can tell the story. Those two companies recently laid off hundreds of tech employees, who were replaced by temporary workers recruited by outsourcing firms based in India.

These are only two of many troubling episodes involving the H-1B program, which provides up to 85,000 visas a year to foreigners, mainly highly skilled technical workers. The program was created to allow companies to fill gaps in their work force with specialized employees they cannot find in the United States. But the law has loopholes, and companies here and overseas ruthlessly exploit them. A huge industry has risen to meet labor demand in the information-technology sector, with the imported workers being employees of the outsourcing firms.

On Thursday the Labor Department announced it was investigating two of the largest companies that supply H-1B workers, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, based in India. Senators including Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, and Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, asked for the inquiry after reports that Southern California Edison turned to Infosys and Tata for H-1B workers even as it was laying off 540 workers, many of whom said they had to train their replacements. The Times recently reported a similar story at Disney, which contracted with HCL America, a branch of an Indian outsourcer, and laid off 250 workers. Some workers said they were asked to stay on to train the newcomers who took over their jobs ...

Much more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/15/opinion/workers-betrayed-by-visa-loopholes.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=opinion-c-col-left-regionion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0

Hillary's commitment to the H-1B VISA program and specifically her feeling that we need foreign labor. This video, however, is from 2008 and introduced by Lou Dobbs (gag). If her position has changed I'd love to have cites (video if possible) showing us that she is committed to American workers filling jobs.

[djean111]

1. About damn time. Hopefully this is not just more theater.

[TBF]

3. I'm surprised to see this coming from the NYTimes -

perhaps they are trying to help Hillary get her ducks in a row. Because these are troubling statements from a candidate who is going to want endorsement from the large unions (what remains of them anyway).

[freebrew]

2. This phrase sticks out....

"The program was created to allow companies to fill gaps in their work force with specialized employees they cannot find in the United States."

Twisted by HR gurus to mean: the US workers targeted won't work for the pay the corps are offering. Meaning: not qualified.

[djean111]

5. I was an "IT worker" for one of the huge telecommunications companies, and this has been

carefully planned and plotted for a long time.

[OhioChick]

4. From a year ago

"Clinton also backed increasing the number of H-1B visas issued by the United States."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/08/hillary-clinton-on-2016-im-thinking-about-it/

[BlueJazz]

6. If these workers are so damned skilled, why do I have to train them?

[TBF]

7. That's a very good point BlueJazz. nt