"Q & A with Marcus Courtney on H1-B visas
By Jeff Nachtigal for WashTech News

WashTech President Marcus Courtney attended a CWA conference in Washington D.C. in March, just as details about Rep. Arlen Specter’s (R-Penn.) plan to expand the H1-B guest worker program to 115,000 visas were released.
"

"The Hollowing Out of America

RISMEDIA, March 23, 2006—Outsourcing middle income jobs overseas is devastating for REITs, institutional and individual office and industrial building owners, a leading expert in corporate site selection told a news conference at National Manufacturer’s Week.
"

"Gartner: IT outsourcing still focused on cost
Posted : 21 Mar 2006


Strategic IT outsourcing can be an integral part of an organization's long-term business success, but a latest survey by Gartner Inc. shows that the majority of organizations worldwide are still focused on tactical IT outsourcing to achieve short-term, cost-focused objectives.
"

" Fuzzy Data, Flawed Economics, Underlie H-1b, Outsourcing Enthusiasm

We've heard it all before: arguments for increasing the number of H-1b visas granted to foreign engineers and scientists. Assurances that, at the end of the day, offshoring is good for the economy.

How valid are the pro-H-1b, pro-outsourcing, briefs?
"

"http://www.latimes.com/services/site/premium/access-registered.intercept

From the Los Angeles Times

That Good Education Might Not Be Enough
American workers at all levels are vulnerable to outsourcing, experts say, posing a challenge to the assumption that more schooling is the answer.
By Peter G. Gosselin
Times Staff Writer

March 6, 2006

WASHINGTON — When President Bush met with a group of business school students in the Indian city of Hyderabad last week, he came face to face with the very people whose first-rate educations, rising aspirations and readiness to work for a fraction of U.S. wages were tugging jobs overseas, away from even well-educated Americans.
"

"Diminishing Returns for Outsourcing?

The benefits may be harder to come by than is widely assumed, and they could become even more elusive if a new international rule is embraced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
Ronald Fink, CFO.com
January 30, 2006

Outsourcing has become so common among U.S. companies that the question no longer seems to be whether to engage in the practice but how far to extend it. The answer, according to the conventional wisdom, is the farther the better.
"

"http://au.news.yahoo.com//060126/20/xq7c.html

Thursday January 26, 06:45 AM
US State, Local Outsourcing to Hit $18bn in 2010

ComputerWire Staff

IT outsourcing by state and local governments in the US should grow from $10bn in 2005 to $18bn in 2010, government market analyst group Input forecasts.
"

"Career Coach:
Posted 1/7/06
By Marty Nemko

One field that's resistant to downsizing and offshoring

More from the Career Center

Managers get scared when they read about corporations' relentless downsizing, and engineers freak out when they read about engineering jobs getting offshored. Well, according to an article by Chris Axtman in the Christian Science Monitor (December 13), at least one field offers hope for both. He writes that half the workforce in the energy industry will retire in the next 10 years, with the biggest need being for senior managers. Also, "the number of petroleum engineers graduating from U.S. schools is nowhere near what the industry demands. Only 1,500 students are enrolled in petroleum engineering programs this year, down 85 percent from 20 years ago."

Want to make a living as a snoop?

According to James Bernstein in Newsday (December 19), "Growing numbers of former police officers, ex-federal agents, and reporters are becoming private eyes. Many have made the move since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; since then security of all types has become bigger business than ever.Today's private investigators are likely to be highly computer literate and even speak several languages. According to PI magazine, a leading industry publication in Freehold, N.J., there are now about 60,000 licensed private investigators in the United States, a 14.5 percent rise since 2000."

Is chef school a path to celebrity? More likely a path to poverty

To persuade students to pay $70,000 for four-year tuition (not counting room and board), many chef schools invoke images of celebrity chefs. For example, Johnson & Wales University's website boasts a picture of the Food Channel's Emeril Lagasse, and the Culinary Institute of America's website touts Kitchen Confidential author Anthony Bourdain as among its graduates. Chef schools are less likely to mention what was recently reported in the Washington Post (December 13): "Despite what you see or read about celebrity chefs, only 3 percent of food service workers make $17 an hour or more. Two thirds of the 10 million workers in the industry make $8.50 an hour or less.""

Submitted by Bob Johnson:

India's Outsourcing Boom Runs Into Trouble
Source: ABC News (link)
Shortage of Skilled Workers Could Mean Losing Jobs to the Philippines and China

Dec. 24, 2005 A chronic shortage of skilled workers is threatening India's outsourcing industry. Call centers and outsourcing firms are growing fast, but their human resources employees despair because most of the young Indians they interview are, they say, "unemployable." Some people in the IT industry have said that only one in 10 graduates is worth taking on. "Just look at their English," fumed a frustrated Mumbai-based call center manager as he waved around letters written by employees. One read: "As I am marrying my daughter, please grant a week's leave." Another said: "I am in well here and hope you are also in the same well."

"Foreigners depressing American wages?
Study concludes imported workers not paid prevailing salaries
Posted: December 28, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jon Dougherty
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

A new report says foreigners granted temporary visas to work in the United States are paid far less than their American counterparts, despite a federal law requiring employers to provide them with fair compensation.
"

Prof. Matloff writes:

At my suggestion, the author did a check of the HP jobs Web page, and then reported the following for Hewlett-Packard:

A search for engineer openings Wednesday found 335 jobs posted for engineers, of which 35, or 10 percent, were in the Bay Area; 41 percent were in the United States; and 59 percent were available outside the United States. The primary foreign destinations were India, China and Singapore, according to a cursory survey of the postings. (Read More)

U.S. IT workers stressed out

Source: EETimes (link)
(12/08/2005 6:42 AM EST) SAN JOSE, Calif.
ISR, an employee research and consulting firm, has uncovered new research that indicates employment security concerns, perceived unreasonable workloads and job stress are contributing to a growing discontentment among IT workers in the United States. The perception that IT jobs are at risk for outsourcing may also be responsible for the steady decline in IT workers' belief that their employers reward innovation, as this number has declined from 64 percent in 2001 to 46 percent in 2005. (Read More)

"Tech Skills Not Enough for a Job in 2010?
December 1, 2005
By Sharon Gaudin

Within a few years, having a strong technical ability may not be enough to get you a job.

That's the warning coming from Gartner, Inc., an industry analyst firm. Being a specialist in a specific technology, like Linux, Windows or database administration, isn't going to be enough of a calling card in the not-so-distant job market. (Read More)
"

"Labor Web Site Keeps Tabs on Business
Workers Can Check Executive Salaries, Company Violations

By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 18, 2005; Page D03

An AFL-CIO affiliate yesterday launched an online database of more than 60,000 companies, listing information about their executive compensation, overseas job outsourcing, and violations of labor, safety and health standards. (Read More)
"

Submitted by Bob Johnson
Source: The Hindu Business Line (link)

H-1B visa holders being paid lower wages, says US tech workers' group

Pratap Ravindran

An analysis of the employers who are paying the lowest H-1B wages reveals that these companies are disproportionately run by Indian nationals, hiring almost exclusively young Indian nationals to displace American workers in our own country, in blatant violation of EEOC, sex, age and national origin laws, says the Programmers Guild, an advocacy group for US technology workers.

Pune

Oct. 14

EVEN as India awaits the outcome of its proposal to the World Trade Organisation that the US raise its annual cap for H-1B visas from 65,000 to 1,95,000, the Programmers Guild, an advocacy group for US technology workers, has claimed that it has uncovered new evidence that H-1Bs in computer jobs are being paid relatively lower wages by several employers and that visas are being used to hire cheap workers who threaten US jobs and wages. (Read More)

Ian Fletcher, a regular contributor to and member of the ITPAA, has published an article "Trading Up" (link) in The American Conservative. Fletcher's writing exmplifies the growing divide in the Conservative movement in the US - between "traditional" neo-libertarian and populist conservatives and the "pro-business" Randists that have risen to the top of both political parties.

Read the article to learn more.

"(If you are an unemployed American IT worker here is the reason you can't get a job or if you have been laid off and foreced to another much lower paying IT job. The H-1b program is totally corrupt. Here is the URL for the reprot which you may find easier to read becase it is color coded. - jgm)

http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/lowest_paying_2004.htm


Lowest Paying Employers of H-1B Computer Workers FY 2004

An analysis of the employers who are paying the lowest H-1B wages reveals that these companies are disproportionately run by Indian nationals, hiring almost exclusively young Indian nationals to displace American workers in our own country, in blatant violation of EEOC, sex, age and national origin laws. These wages are for jobs that require a BS degree and specialized experienced beyond what a new college graduate would possess. So why are they being paid significantly less that new U.S. graduates? For more info search www.h1b.info (Compiled by The Programmers Guild, June 2005) (Read More)
"

"Legal immigrants outnumbered by illegal immigrants. Thanks to so called "Guest worker" ideas floating around.
Illegal migration to U.S. increasing
Migrants moving here legally are outnumbered despite border controls


07:53 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Associated Press


WASHINGTON – Illegal immigration is increasing despite tighter border security, with foreigners moving to the U.S. legally now in the minority. (Read More)
"

" August 25, 2005
WashTech News

August 2005 Offshore Tracker Update
This month’s winners in the race to the bottom have been determined.

For the category of “Most Layoffs� Hewlett-Packard finishes way ahead of the pack. Confirming earlier this month with plans to cut 14,500 jobs companywide, laying off 5,400 in Colorado alone. HP employs 151,000 worldwide. (Read More)

"

" The Myth of Outsourcing Savings

Optimize
August 2005, Issue 46


As outsourcing becomes more pervasive, companies are beginning to compile experiential results regarding their offshore initiatives. How well is it going? Over the past year, Ventoro Research interviewed more than 5,000 executives and spoke with more than 300 outsourcing vendors around the globe to figure this out. According to Ventoro president Phil Hatch, the results are surprising. (Read More)
"

"Offshoring 101: How to Minimize the Risk to Your Career

Advice by Katherine Spencer Lee, Robert Half Technology

AUGUST 16, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - The debate surrounding offshoring may have cooled somewhat in recent months, but many IT professionals in the U.S. remain concerned about losing their jobs to employees overseas. Little wonder, considering that a white paper released late last year by Ventoro, an offshoring research and consulting firm, showed that 95% of Fortune 1,000 firms currently have an offshore strategy in place. The report also indicated that a sizable number of companies are planning to explore offshore options or increase spending in this area. (Read More)
"

"Submitted by JGM:

“Truth and consequences of offshoring�
Recent studies overstate the benefits and ignore the costs to American workers
by L. Josh Bivens

Source: Economic Policy Institute (link).
Money quote:
This briefing paper examines three studies claiming that the offshoring of white-collar work will result in large benefits to the U.S. economy. These studies—written by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), Global Insight (GI), and Catherine Mann in a policy brief for the Institute for International Economics (IIE)—have been cited often in business reporting about the overall impact of white-collar offshoring on the American economy. However, these findings do not hold up to scrutiny, and in fact, each paper makes excessive claims about the benefits of white-collar offshoring.

The article can be read in its entirety at this link. "

"(Well now Tata will be able to spend even more money on their pet Weasel, the "Friend of India� co chair in the US Senate, Hillary Rodam Clinton. Wonder how many American IT workers are unemployed in Buffalo NY thanks to Hillary using the powers of her Senate office to establish a Tata consultancy there. - jgm)


Tata Consultancy's Profit Rises 23%, to Buy Unit (Update1)

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., India's biggest software maker, said first-quarter profit rose 23 percent and that it will buy a unit in a share-swap. (Read More)
"

"See how many indians work with infosys and they get paid in US$ not in Indian rupees so there is no cost savings ...as on would think , because of outsourcing to india
"