Should US Workers get priority over H1-B workers during layoffs?
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley from Iowa seems to think so. Read this ComputerWorld report about Microsoft Layoffs. We think that’s ridiculous. Layoffs should be based on one and only one thing - justified business need. This is exactly the kind of protectionist laws that I was talking about in the earlier post about Outsourcing. So what Sen. Grassley wants is that US workers, even the ones whose jobs are not needed anymore in Microsoft due to reducing sales etc. for the product that they work for, should be given preference over someone that works on a product that’s going to help Microsoft keep its competitive advantage. Way to go Senator.
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January 25th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
The whole point of the H1-B program was that there weren’t enough Citizen/Green card workers to fill those slots. If the slots went unfilled, the company could see itself as unable to compete. If you have a pool of 100 Java programmers of similar skill level, and you need to lay off 50 due to decreased demand, that the H1-B visa holders should be the first to go. Why? Because they were initially brought in because the slots they filled would not have been filled by a citizen or green card holder.
Of course, that was never really the point of the H1-B program for most companies. A large number of companies see the H1-B program as a great way to find $20 an hour accountants (India’s accounting education is excellent). You don’t have to look very hard to find law firms that have been specializing in meeting the letter of the H1-B requirements for hires, but ensuring that no applicant who is a citizen would qualify, and that whatever was offered as the “going wage” was legally acceptable.
Guest workers are brought in due to demand in the labor market. Once the demand dries up, it’s okay to send the guest workers home.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Going with your 100 Java programmers example, if they are all the “same”, working on the same project and are equally dispensable, then yes, I agree with your thoughts.
That is in theory. In practice, you rarely have that option of choosing between a Citizen versus H1-B. Everyone does their job at a company and when a job needs to be eliminated, whoever is in that job needs to go, H1-B or citizen. Another way to look at it is that at the end of the day, all companies care about is their business, not whether their employees are H1B or citizens. They should (and usually do) always lay off the people that perform the worst or the ones that are unable to rise to the level where they can make their jobs indispensable.
May 11th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
US workers should get the priority because they have family to feed, yet these H1-B workers live 10 in 2 bedroom apts and are working like dogs for less money. How can an american compete with them when these H1B workers have no life but work and send money to India. US government really needs to take action against compaines that are hiring temp/H1 workers over american worker especially in IT field which is being abused by foreign workers. Alot of people that i know off now don’t recommned their kids to go into software enginnering because they know they might not even get a job because of outsourcing and cheap labor coming to US.
March 15th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Fantastic blog, many amusing details. I think 6 of days ago, I have viewed a similar post.
March 27th, 2010 at 9:11 am
H1-B was “intended” to fill labor gaps “temporarily” and re-train US workers in IT as a sum is collected for US worker training to file H1-B. What it has become is a mess and a racket - as the max. no. of workers on H1-B come from 3rd world countries with “long” immigration wait lines - thus become indebted to their employer - a new form of slavery very much welcomed by Corporate America which only lobbies for H1-B, not immigration reform and prefers H1-B over the US worker. I am also guilty of this - always do my cleaning, landscaping etc from illegal day labourers only - saves me some money - work longer for $6/hour.
Also since IT has 3rd party contracting the US employer has sometimes no responsibility at all - plenty of cheap willing workers from 3rd world countries - if they can do the job, the average American, if he puts his mind to it can do it also - but why when in addition to this there is also constant outsourcing to 3rd world countries ? So a whole bunch of 3rd world workers toil to the benefit of entrepreneurs - in the US and in third world countries !
Welcome to “globalization” and the loss of prosperity in America.
March 28th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Trat, you just described the concept of free trade there - there is nothing wrong with it. All other factors kept constant, work will and should get done for the lowest possible cost it possibly can. Globalization simply accelerates this process. As you said, entrepreneurs benefit this, which is saying that innovation benefits from it. And I am sure you will agree that innovation leads to prosperity. That’s what made America what it is today.
It certainly is a change though, change can be very difficult to deal with for those that don’t benefit from it directly in the short run. In the long run, we all benefit from it - including you. An extension of your argument is to disallow free global trade altogether, which would bring America to its knees. Globalization benefits everyone - including the US - in a big way. In today’s world, no single country can prosper by itself. The only way to prosperity is to grow TOGETHER, which is what globalization does. Read the book “THE WORLD IS FLAT” - I am sure you will enjoy it, I did and so have many of my American friends that are on either side of the globalization argument.
By being in the US, you are already at at advantage. You are higher up in the value chain just by virtue of your location. To thrive in such an environment, the key is to equip yourself with skills that are needed HERE and find jobs in companies that are playing globalization right. If you are the kind that just wants to do what they want to do (without consideration for what’s in demand today), then entrepreneurship is the best way for those. You can hire people in India and China for a lot cheaper and I am sure you’ll like that when you are an entrepreneur.
April 9th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
My last line says it all - Globalization as it’s practiced by MNC’s today - will reduce the standard of living in the US, will NOT lead to innovation, increases “sweat” labour in the US to the benefit of a handful of wealthy individuals in the US and foreign countries. It does not benefit the US or the US worker in any way. H1-b’s from 3rd world countries cannot innovate a thing - some cant even speak english properly. The H1-b should be eliminated and so should all visas like the L-1 which is nothing but a labour arbitrage play leading to reduced prosperity in the US. There may be the odd innovator or two from the hordes of sub standard folks who come here on these visas but the US can manage without them as they will be substandard or rise to the level of mediocrity of their 3rd world home countries. The US worker better wake up to the fraud they are being exploited to before it’s too late.