Feeling angry and betrayed, IT workers mount protest [View all]

[OhioChick]

Source: Computerworld



EmblemHealth IT employees hold a demonstration

Apr 20, 2016 12:32 PM PT

In midtown Manhattan Wednesday, around 25 EmblemHealth IT employees and their supporters held a protest over the firm's decision to shift work to IT services firm Cognizant.

On the sidewalks next to EmblemHealth's midtown offices, they yelled "Protect U.S. jobs," "Keep jobs in the U.S.A." and, to the people passing by: "It's our jobs now, your jobs next." They waved signs and slowly moved along.

The IT employees gathered for the protest outside St. Michael's Church on 34th Street near 9th Avenue, across from EmblemHealth's office.

A small contingent of plainclothes security, dressed in suits, watched. There was never any tension or reason for security to become animated. There were a few moments of humor, particularly when everyone made way for a tiny, sunglasses-wearing poodle on a leash that walked by with its owner.

Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3059460/it-careers/feeling-angry-and-betrayed-it-workers-mount-protest.html

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From Apr 18, 2016 10:08 AM PT

IT employees at EmblemHealth fight to save jobs

EmblemHealth IT employees fear their jobs are gone once they transfer their knowledge to Cognizant

IT employees at EmblemHealth are organizing to stop the New York-based employer from outsourcing their jobs to offshore provider Cognizant.

Employees say the insurer is on the verge of signing a contract with Cognizant, an IT services firm and one of the largest users of H-1B workers. They say the contract may be signed as early as this week.

hey fear what a contract with an IT services offshore firm may mean: Humiliation as part of the "knowledge transfer" process, loss of their jobs or a "rebadging" to Cognizant, which they see as little more than temporary employment. Many of the workers, about 200 they estimate, are older, with 15-plus-year tenures. This means a hard job search for them.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3057581/it-careers/it-employees-at-emblemhealth-fight-to-save-jobs.html