H-1B

Obama Chief Technology Officer Picks - Does Obama want to promote Outsourcing, H-1B & labor arbitrage of U.S. workers?

Obama's new CTO, or Chief Technology Officer is boiling down to two candidates. Guess what? Both of them are being said to promote offshore outsourcing, wage arbitrage and U.S. worker displacement through the use of guest worker Visas, the most notorious of these being H-1B.

Obama's choice Nears:

They are Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology officer of Silicon Valley networking giant Cisco Systems (CSCO), and Vivek Kundra, who holds the same title in the government of Washington, D.C., the sources say.

The two candidates offer President-elect Obama a clear choice of skills. Warrior, who previously was CTO at Motorola (MOT), represents hard-core technology expertise. Kundra, who was named to the D.C. post in 2007, has held similar government positions in the past and has a reputation for using technology to make government more open and inclusive

Named DOL Secretary Pushed to Labor Arbitrage U.S. Workers - Congress Rep. Hilda Solis

Ut oh. Obama passed over true middle class advocate, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for yet another Corporate H-1B Guest worker Visa pusher.

Solis cosponsored the STRIVE act, the most notorious labor arbitrage bill targeting American workers, especially those in the Professional (STEM, S&T) career areas.

Pfizer Forcing U.S. Citizens to Train H-1B Guest Worker Replacements Before Being Fired

This is one of the most disgusting and egregious corporate acts I can think of.

Pfizer Accused of Using U.S. Workers to Train Foreign Replacements:

Pfizer's outsourcing contract with Infosys Technologies and Satyam Computer Services means job losses for IT workers in Connecticut. Many U.S.-based contractors are complaining that they are being asked to train H-1B workers who will soon replace them.

Unfortunately we have heard this story repeatedly. Professionals have testified before Congress and multiple reports have witnessed this despicable treatment before throwing away U.S. workers.

DHS Changes Rules for TN NAFTA Visa

This is pretty incredible, not public comment, no hearing, no Congress. U.S. increases working visa to 3 years:

Canadian and Mexican Trade NAFTA (TN) professionals can now apply for a U.S. work visa lasting up to 3 years under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has increased the maximum period from one to three years.

This makes it equal to the initial period of admission given to H-1B professional workers.

Eligible TN non-immigrants may now be allowed to receive extensions of stay in increments of up to three years instead of the prior maximum period of stay of one year.

The TN visa category is open to Canadians and Mexicans with at least a bachelor’s degree or similar professional qualifications working in areas such as accountancy, engineering, science and teaching.

Congress Reacts to Soaring Unemployment by Proposing More Foreign Workers

CBSMarketWatch.

I didn't make up the title, they called it as it is. This article is from Aug. 1st.

Believe it or not, one of these bills, H.R. 2882 was voted out of committee by Democrats and thus will probably be up for a vote on the House floor. Meanwhile in the Senate:

U.S. E-Verify is set to expire in November, and its reauthorization is being blocked by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) who is insisting that the bill include a provision to "recapture" work- and family-based immigration visas dating back to 1992

Beware of the Lame Duck.

H-1B guest worker Visas - No relationship to economic need

There is a new study out by Programmer's Guild founder, John Miano, H-1B Visa Numbers: No Relationship to Economic Need.

I wrote a piece earlier on FET (Fictional Employment Theory) which is currently being touted by corporate lobbyists as well as our Political leaders, which tries to claim displacing US workers somehow creates jobs.

Summary

A Corporate Feeding Frenzy

USA Today published LTE on H-1B, L-1 from Dan Stein, posted below:

Opposing view: A corporate 'feeding frenzy'

Visas push is about helping companies rather than workers

By Dan Stein

Today we are watching an amazing spectacle: Many in Congress — including allegedly labor-friendly Democrats — are pushing to increase the importation of foreign labor just as the USA slips into what may be its worst recession in decades.

Why? Because the greed of a handful of multinationals is demanding more and more access to "skilled" foreign labor.

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