The horrendous visa program forcing American tech workers to 'dig their own graves'

[SirLinksALot]

SOURCE: CONSERVATIVE REVIEW

URL: https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2017/03/the-horrendous-visa-program-forcing-tech-workers-to-dig-their-own-graves

by Nick Madden


Leo Perrero still remembers the humiliation of losing his job.

“All of you in this room will be losing your jobs in the next 90 days,” he was told, later recalling the experience before Congress.

“Later that same day,” he added, “I remember very clearly going to the local church pumpkin sale and having to tell the kids that we could not buy any because my job was going over to a foreign worker.”

Disney replaced Perrero using a little-known and oft overlooked provision of immigration law that allows big tech companies to replace their employees with foreign workers under extremely questionable circumstances.

In an upcoming episode of “Michelle Malkin Investigates” — “H-1B Hell: The Sellout of America’s Best and Brightest Workers” — Malkin delves into how the H-1B worker visa program has been putting people like Leo Perrero and countless others out of work since 1990.

On location at UC San Francisco, where 79 IT workers recently lost their jobs to an outsourcing firm and user of H-1B visa workers, Malkin spoke to some of tech workers laid off by the university.

“I was shocked Monday when I showed up at work and my boss was standing there with a letter,” said Greg Lennon, one such former UCSF employee.

“Every single one of my evaluations for 15 years said ‘meets and exceeds expectations,’ and that was from three different managers,” Lennon said. “I was working between 60 and 70 hours per week.”

Even worse, the employees were told to “dig their own graves” as it were, being forced to train their foreign replacements in exchange for their severance pay.

“It’s kind of insulting,” said one of Lennon’s co-workers – a married father of two – when asked about the situation. “[It’s] a slap in the face.”

Such experiences are, unfortunately, not uncommon. Over the past few years alone, similar stories have emerged elsewhere in the tech sector, most notably from Disney and Microsoft.

“The H-1B program essentially handed the keys to our immigration system to corporations with a lot of influence and with ulterior motives,” Conservative Review Senior Editor Daniel Horowitz tells MMI. “Their motive is to bring in as many cheap workers as possible, which is understandable; you always want to cut costs.” But the unintended consequences are far-reaching, he added.

“Why should IBM or Disney be deciding our future voting population?” Horowitz asks. “That needs to be decided by our general immigration system, not those looking to save $15,000 or $20,000 on their labor costs.”

To learn more about America’s H-1B visa crisis, check out “Michelle Malkin Investigates,” only on CRTV. - See more at:

https://www.crtv.com/michelle-malkin-investigates?utm_source=cr&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=trial&utm_term=malkin

[SirLinksALot]

[Suppressed]

In conservative terms, these workers want more pay than the market will sustain.  They are unable to compete in the marketplace, and want government to step in and provide artificial protection of their jobs.

[SirLinksALot]

So, in conservative terms, it is good policy to open up the American jobs market ( any profession ) to every single person with the requisite skills in the world as long as they are willing to accept much less than American workers?

[Suppressed]

So, in conservative terms, it is good policy to open up the American jobs market ( any profession ) to every single person with the requisite skills in the world as long as they are willing to accept much less than American workers?

If they have comparable skills/productivity/etc.

It's the way for American companies to remain competitive.  Otherwise, you're saying that we should take an affirmative action approach to keep an inferior/less competitive workforce.  And foreign companies will therefore be able to outcompete American ones.

Of course, if the new workers aren't as good as the Americans, then that's a different issue.  But should the government tell companies how to run their businesses?

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

If they have comparable skills/productivity/etc.

It's the way for American companies to remain competitive.  Otherwise, you're saying that we should take an affirmative action approach to keep an inferior/less competitive workforce.  And foreign companies will therefore be able to outcompete American ones.

Of course, if the new workers aren't as good as the Americans, then that's a different issue.  But should the government tell companies how to run their businesses?

Well... this involves a perversion of a government program, which is immigration law.


We have a right to establish who is allowed in the US and isn't. 99% of conservatives agree with this premise.

[Suppressed]

Well... this involves a perversion of a government program, which is immigration law.


We have a right to establish who is allowed in the US and isn't. 99% of conservatives agree with this premise.

Of course we do.

We could make sure that no good workers come in, and they all go to work for our competitors.  That's definitely a prerogative of our government, to provide welfare assistance for uncompetitive Americans at the expense of US-based businesses.

I'm just saying nothing's a free lunch.

[SirLinksALot]

Of course, if the new workers aren't as good as the Americans, then that's a different issue.  But should the government tell companies how to run their businesses?

Did you read the article -- it says that those who were fired HAD TO TRAIN THEIR REPLACEMENTS before they were laid off. Doesn't that prove that these new workers were not as good in the first place?

The government can't tell companies how to ran their business, but the government sure as hell can control immigration policy. Otherwise, we might as well open up our construction, agriculture, manufacturing industry to every skilled laborer out there making less than Americans. I'm sure there are many skilled third world country machinist, welders, carpenters and the like who can do the jobs that American workers can who would be willing to come to America to work and earn a little less than what Americans earn ( and they would not even mind if they do not have the benefits companies provide American workers ).

And to make it comparable to what the article just described, even if they are not as good as American workers, we should have an open door policy for such foreign workers to be TRAINED by their American counterparts so that they can be replaced at a cheaper rate?

What's the immigration policy for this? Unlimited visa for these skilled workers? I'm sure the American companies would love that.

[rodamala]

In conservative terms, these workers want more pay than the market will sustain.  They are unable to compete in the marketplace, and want government to step in and provide artificial protection of their jobs.

Ding, ding, ding!  Winner, winner.  Chicken Dinner!

[SirLinksALot]

Ding, ding, ding!  Winner, winner.  Chicken Dinner!

So based on what we read in the article, you are cheering the policy of government giving an open door for such foreign workers to be TRAINED by their American counterparts so that they can be replaced at a cheaper rate?

What's the immigration policy for this? Unlimited visa for these skilled workers? I'm sure the American companies would love that.

[240B]

Where I live it is almost impossible to get any job unless you speak at least some Spanish. Construction is nearly all Hispanic, as are several other professions. You simply can't function in the workplace without Spanish, and with some jobs, like construction, it is a safety issue. If someone is yelling, 'Look out!', you need to be able to understand that.


This puts an incredible burden on American workers. The Latinos are not required to speak English. But Americans are required to speak their language. I'm not sure this is the way America is supposed to work, but as long as the contractors can get dirt-c6heap labor, they don't care what happens. It's all about the quick short term gain. Nothing else matters.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Did you read the article -- it says that those who were fired HAD TO TRAIN THEIR REPLACEMENTS before they were laid off. Doesn't that prove that these new workers were not as good in the first place?

No, it doesn't.  It proves that the former employees know more about how this particular business is run than the new ones.

[SirLinksALot]

No, it doesn't.  It proves that the former employees know more about how this particular business is run than the new ones.

So, it follows then that the US government should open up ALL businesses who want to do something similar to unlimited H1B visas so that those employees who know more about how this particular business is run than the news ones, can similarly train these newbees in order for their particular businesses to ran more cheaply?

If that's the case, why can't they hire AMERICAN newbees instead?

[TomSea]

Somewhere one has to draw the line; this seems close to a form of outsourcing.

Also, there may well be an inconsistent application of H1B1 visas, it might sound good in theory but in practice may leave something less than desirable.

H-1B visa reform proponent says US wants PhDs, mid-level workers

Republican Senator Tom Cotton says H-1B work visas are often not consistent with their purposes as they do not bring in PhDs but only mid-level data management workers

Republican Senator from Arkansas Tom Cotton, who met President Donald Trump this week, said the current system does not bring in the brightest and the best from across the world. So there is need to reform it and this is what Trump is planning to do.

“I think, on the H-1B temporary visa but also the permanent green cards, like EB1, EB2, the President wants to get the very best people from around the world. Often those programmes are implemented in a way that are not consistent with their purposes,” Cotton told MSNBC.

Continued: http://www.livemint.com/Industry/ryUSvqbAbge0Isb963LBII/H1B-visa-reform-proponent-says-US-wants-PhDs-midlevel-wor.html

“They don’t bring in PhDs and computer scientists. They bring in mid-level and they replace mid-level data management workers. That’s why you get controversies like people losing their jobs at companies like Disney and Southern California Edison that were just replaced by foreign workers who weren’t necessarily high skilled,” Cotton argued.

“So he (Trump) would like to see reforms to those programmes that I would,” said Cotton, who is also a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “It’s really an empirical questions where we do have gaps in our economy. But I will say this, there is no job that an American won’t do. Americans, with the right pay, will do any job. That’s just the fact of the matter,” he noted.

Some of it is free market but are we just going to bring in cheap labor for every job? That would really take away many people's jobs if that principle was applied across the spectrum, police, teachers and so on. 

Good to see Cotton taking this point versus some pols who have wanted to issue more H1B1 visas.

[Taxcontrol]

Simple fix, any firm that hires or uses a HB1 visa employee (even as little as 1) must:

1) pay a wage / salary that is 10% above the national average for that position or 10% greater than the previous salary, whichever is greater.
2) automatically incurs a 10% on corporate profits.

[Suppressed]

So, it follows then that the US government should open up ALL businesses who want to do something similar to unlimited H1B visas so that those employees who know more about how this particular business is run than the news ones, can similarly train these newbees in order for their particular businesses to ran more cheaply?

Makes sense to hire the very best value, for the best success of American businesses.

If that's the case, why can't they hire AMERICAN newbees instead?

Because Americans tend to think they deserve to be paid far above the market rate just because they're American.

And they think that it's government's job to artificially prop them up, affirmative-action style, when they can't compete.

[TomSea]

Makes sense to hire the very best value, for the best success of American businesses.

Because Americans tend to think they deserve to be paid far above the market rate just because they're American.

And they think that it's government's job to artificially prop them up, affirmative-action style, when they can't compete.

So, we should do the same with the jobs of teachers, police officers, maintenance workers, lawyers, accountants and so on. Right,  best for the success of American businesses.