Connect with other Boston region residents for political and/or legal action to recover our jobs and occupations.

email us:
contact at displacedtechies.com


Need to know the facts?

H-1B visa primer
L-1 visa primer
How-to search the DOL's LCA database


links

Techsunite
Zazona
Information Technology Professionals Association of America
CWA's Outsourcing Blog
T.O.R.A.W
NoSlaves.com
Lou Dobbs' List
F'ed Company
American Joblog
Rescue American Jobs
Metafilter
BoingBoing
Politech
Subterranean Homepage News
Big Blog Tool



HARRIS MILLER ALERT!!!


Even though a S FL county admits they lost data [and thus cannot recount] election data from the governor's race in 2002, Harris Miller says “We oppose the idea of a voter-verified paper trail,”

He also claims "Introducing paper into the mix, he says, defeats the improved efficiency and reliability e-voting promises. “There was never a golden age when paper ballots were accurately counted,”

posted by gmminks
7/30/2004
link

"ITAA president Harris Miller, who will be in India in October in connection with a Nasscom summit, has expressed an interest to visit Kolkata......His (Miller's) views are taken seriously by major US IT firms and so we are keen to make a good impression"

posted by gmminks
7/25/2004
link

"aper trails can be an unnecessary expense for cash-strapped local governments.

"The people actually on the firing line . . . every one of them hates the idea," Miller said. "They just see their lives becoming miserable."


screw democracy, it's too damn expensive! Nice to know that the IT Association of America is out there looking out for Americans [right]

posted by gmminks

link


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Displaced Techies

allow american workers to participate in the global economy!


Friday July 30, 2004


IT leaders in India are so arrogant


Responding to Kerry's acceptance speech, you know the part where Kerry said:

"‘‘We are told outsourcing jobs is good for America. We are told that new jobs that pay $ 9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do. They say that this is the best economy we have ever had,’

One insider from India is reported to have said:

‘‘This is an internal matter for America: It can choose to cut costs and improve productivity through offshoring, or not,’’

08:40 pm
Friday July 30, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


Do they know their customers?


The American International Automobile Dealers Association has a position on outsourcing?

They are pushing the "insourcing" claim....that even though we outsource jobs, that helps foreign companies to bring jobs back to the States.

Of course one of the examples they give is Honda. Let's remember that the reason foreign auto manufacturers opened factories here is that Congress recognized that because of cheaper labor, these auto manufacturers had an unfair competitive advantage. Congress imposed tariffs to give US auto manufacturers a chance to compete. In order to compete in the US, Honda opened up factorie in the US and created jobs.

They also give the example of Siemens, who is one of the nation's top 100 employers. Hey guys, the insourcing card does not play so well offer as examples companies that don't like to hire Americans, even in the good ole USA.

And, y'all sell cars! Do you not think that the economy is going to get better? I tell you what, when my car is ready to be replaced in a year or two, I will make damn sure I don't buy it from one of your members!

They sell these cars:


AIADA member dealers sell and service the following international nameplate brands: Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Saab, Scion, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo


Personally, I am crazy about Mercurys. I have had 3 now. Whatever I get next will have all the bells and whistles because it will be my first non-kid car. I ain't buying one of the brands listed above though, I can tell you that!


05:55 am

posted by gmminks
link


More info on Delta's call center


So, Delta is now saying if you want the privilege of speaking to a US agent over someone in India!


05:40 am

posted by gmminks
link


Kerry Says "Help is on the Way"


Last night during his acceptance speech for the nomination of the Democratic party for the presidential race, John Kerry mentioned outsourcing twice:


We're told that outsourcing jobs is good for America. We're told that new jobs that pay $9,000 less than the jobs that have been lost is the best we can do. They say this is the best economy we've ever had. And they say that anyone who thinks otherwise is a pessimist. Well, here is our answer: There is nothing more pessimistic than saying America can't do better.

What does it mean in America today when Dave McCune, a steel worker I met in Canton, Ohio, saw his job sent overseas and the equipment in his factory literally unbolted, crated up, and shipped thousands of miles away along with that job? What does it mean when workers I've met had to train their foreign replacements?

Then he said:

America can do better. So tonight we say: help is on the way.

I hope so.

We are starting to get emails from people who are getting desperate. The problems people are facing are very real, and some of them are beyond our expertise as to how to help.

I mean, think about it. Techies don't have a union. Maybe out on the West Coast they are connected to the larger unions, but we are connected to noone here in New England, we are very much on our own. If you got to the point that you didn't have enough money for the bills and food, would you know what to do? Would you know who to ask for help?

I am going to share a story we got recently, and if anyone from the the Kerry campaign sees this, please realize that this story is about people right here in your own backyard.

We heard from a couple who are both techies who have been without work for about two years. They have outstanding, very current skills (multiple db's, java, programming skills, project management skills); there is absolutely no reason that they should not be applying those skills to make our nation's economy grow.

The husband was hit by a drunk driver years ago and has to take alot of medicine. They are at the point that all of their utilities are about to be cutoff. They will soon be behind two house payments.

They are on the waiting list for help from the state for the husband's meds, and the wife has been going to dr's offices asking for samples to tide them over. They no longer qualify for unemployment compensation.

They emailed us.

What would you tell someone in that situation?

We made as many suggestions as we could come up with....but still, it feels like we really didn't help. These people need hope. No, they need jobs.

Kerry I want to trust you and believe that you are going to change the way things are. We need help.

We need hope.


05:35 am

posted by gmminks
link


will the H1B teachers in NYC be sent home?


The deadline is July 31.

There are no H1B visas available.

What is going to happen?


05:18 am

posted by gmminks
link

Thursday July 29, 2004


Delta and outsourced call center woes


Delta ended its outsourcing agreement with Sykes, but they are still using call centers in India for US customers

My experience with the Delta call center people in India was very, very painful. The girl did not understand my southern drawl, and I did not understand her accent either. She also totally messed up on what I was trying to do, and finally I got to talk to someone in Atlanta (who understood me!)

The lady in Atlanta told me it didn't seem like the people in India were catching on, but that they were having to train them and hopefully it would get better. I told her what I know about knowledge transfer, and she was amazed it could happen to programmers [let alone call center workers].

Delta, I want to talk to people in Atlanta. Let the people over in India talk to their countrymen when they make reservations, but let me talk to someone who understands that NW Florida is closer to Alabama than Miami!


07:22 pm
Thursday July 29, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


It "costs" $50B to restrict outsourcing


This article in the Economic Times section of Indiatimes.com asserts that by not freely passing out temporary work visas, US firms are losing money.

07:16 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Another state brings back food stamp call center


This time it's Missouri.

14 jobs came back from India. eFunds had the contract, and switched the service mid-contract [suprise suprise] to India, where labor is cheaper.

Wonder how their earnings will be this quarter?


07:07 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Unions are making it to India


This is great news!

There is a new organization in India called the IT Professionals Forum of India (ITPFI) to protect people working in the BPO industry in India.

The article in the Financial Express goes on to say:

ITPFI is a part of Union Network International (UNI), Geneva, an international body that safeguards the interests of professionals in all sectors, including IT and BPO.

UNI is keen on activating trade unionism in India through its affiliate - ITPFI. Around 90 per cent of UNI’s activities are trade union centric.

“UNI’s interest is that trade union in India should be activated and the employees of the BPO/call centre industry in India should not suffer. As IT Professionals Forum of India is not a trade union, so we will have to form a separate body that is most likely to be registered under the Trade Union Act,” ITPFI chairman of Andhra Pradesh chapter JSR Prasad told eFE.

06:46 pm

posted by gmminks
link

Wednesday July 28, 2004


Microsoft Doubles its Workforce


In India.

Microsoft now employs nearly 2,000 workers in India, double the 970 number it previously acknowledged, as shown in internal company documents obtained by WashTech News. Microsoft employs more than 1,000 contractor workers in addition to 900 full-time employees. The documents suggest that the contractors and employees are involved in high-level development projects and not just low-level work such as call center customer service

The Full article is Here.

07:36 pm
Wednesday July 28, 2004
posted by rickrob
link

Tuesday July 27, 2004


Teenagers can't find jobs


But Businesses claim there isn't enough labor to do menial work and beg congress to increase H2B limits.

[use bugmenot.com if you don't want to register]


05:57 pm
Tuesday July 27, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


Representative Parente's update


I spoke on the phone this afternoon with my State Representative, Marie Parente. Rep. Parente has been communicating with us about Governor Romney's veto of the law prohibiting state contracts from being outsourced out of the country.

I sent Rep. Parente the link to the new Washtech study about state outsourcing. She was particulary interested in this part of the report:

*Massachusetts Department of Education*

Auriga Inc, some portion valued around $2 Million.
In December 2002, Auriga Inc, a software firm that does most of its
work in Russia, put out press release saying that it served as a
subcontractor for the development of the Educator Li censure and
Recruitment (ELAR) project in MA. The prime contractor for the ELAR
project was Deloitte & Touche,
and they were paid the $2 Million.
The director of the ELAR project said she only dealt with Deloitte &
Touche, and was unaware of where Auriga performed the work.



Apparently, Deloitte and Touche is the company that holds the contract to do all the state auditing.

They also hold 18 other contracts. Rep. Parente believes that there is a conflict of interest, and now that these jobs are going overseas, it is of great concern to her.

I will post the letter once she sends it, in the meantime, please keep in contact with your own representatives about this issue. Also, watch for information about the override vote on Romney's veto of the law banning outsourcing state services overseas. Once it happens, we have to start the same process over again with our Senators.




05:32 pm

posted by gmminks
link

Sunday July 25, 2004


How do we create real change


Yesterday I was on a panel about outsourcing at the Boston Social Forum.

I am still processing what I think, so here is a list of quick things, in no particular order:


  • Everyone agrees the system is broken.
  • It is very apparent that companies are in a frenzy chasing the cheapest labor on a global scale.
  • It is apparent that everyone just wants to have a job that allows them to live.
  • Most people want enough to live, not everyone wants more
  • I don't think people understand yet that we just can't fix problems at the bottom...but at the same time we have to fix the problems at the top at the same time.
  • Middle class people should not get knocked down to lower class level, we should being aiming at lifting everyone up.
  • Maybe people from other countries have to come here to look for work because of the policies of US corporations, but when they get here they displace the citizenry.

    Now this displacement of people is replacing the domestic skilled labor pool, but we never talk about the poor in the US anymore. What is supposed to happen to the poor in our own country? Why don't we talk about the fact that there are people in our own country that are hungry every damn day? Why don't we talk about the fact that almost half of the black men in some big US cities are unemployed?

    This whole thing is bs...I mean what would people think if I sent $100 bucks a month to Save the Children and then couldn't take care of my own?


We need to bring back the idea that we take care of our own communities first. Once everyone in our community has been cared for, then we can move on to thinking about the rest of the world.

So how do we do that? How do we create change...the type of change that will unite communities to take back our country?

I really want to know!



07:58 pm
Sunday July 25, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


India's young workers embrace consumerism, propel social cha


This globalizing of the world's workforce has allowed American employers to drastically reduce labor costs, experts say. That creates a powerful incentive to keep moving jobs to lower-cost labor providers, such as India.

What is the social cost of selling coke, nike, etc to the world? Where are we all going to be in twenty or forty years?

09:05 am

posted by gmminks
link

Saturday July 24, 2004


CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES!


Where the Possible Override Vote on Passing a State Law Banning Companies Getting State Contracts from Outsourcing the Work Abroad stands in the Massachusetts State Legislature

The Legislature will meet one more day, Friday July 30, with a possible extention into Saturday July 31 when the legislative session for major work ends for the year.

The question is still whether House Speaker Finneran will allow the override vote on the anti-outsourcing provision to be voted on. He controls what gets on the agenda for an override vote.

Two steps you can take to help get this override vote to take place:

1. Call or write your state senator and ask him/jher both to vote for this override and to speak to Senate President Travaglini about making this one of the Senate's priorities that he calls on the House to pass in exchange for House action on Senate priorities.

2. Call or write your state representative and ask him/her to vote to override this veto and to speak with House Speaker Finneran about putting this on the House calendar for an override vote on Friday.

3. Think of 3 friends, relatives, colleagues you could contact and ask if they would make such above calls to their own state representative and state senator.

Thanks,
Lew Finfer
Organizing and Leadership Training Center (we are a federation of 7 community improvement organizations located across Massachusetts) (617) 822-1499


07:49 am
Saturday July 24, 2004
posted by gmminks
link

Thursday July 22, 2004


Outsourcing @ Boston Social Forum


The Boston Social Forum is this weekend at UMass Boston. I am going to be on a panel on outsourcing on Saturday.

What is the Boston Social Forum all about?

"A forum within the World Social Forum process, the BSF has been called to help progressive activists to begin to answer some very basic questions: What kind of future do we want for Boston? For our region? For our nation? For the world? What is our vision of a better society?

Saturday - July 24
Events VI (Saturday 3:30-5:30)

Outsourcing: The Challenges of Corporate GlobalizationPanel Discussion

For the first time, globalization is threatening most people's jobs. Almost anything that can be done on a computer terminal can be outsourced -- and if it isn't, the threat can still pull down your wages and working conditions. This panel will hear from outsourced workers, then discuss what the global economy could do to your job. Panelists include workers from countries on the other end of the outsourcing chain. (or) who are "taking our jobs." At the end we'll discuss a range of actions to create safety nets for laid-off workers, create new jobs, and raise wages around the world. Contact: Mike Prokosch, 617-423-2148x24
Also listed under the following track: Other Economies are Possible Building: Wheatley
Room: 5

This program is in a track called Other Economies are Possible. There are other events on outsourcing, go check it out.


directions here
09:00 pm
Thursday July 22, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


Satyam growing again


The Times of India is reporting that Satyam is expanding it's overseas presence.

They are setting up a center in Hungary to enter the European markets. Don't expect them to hire locally....that's not how they do "insourcing". Satyam has 2,500 workers in the US, "40 [people] on L-1 and 60 per cent [1500 people] on H1-B visas."
08:40 pm

posted by gmminks
link


The Outsourcing Times


The Outsourcing Times
may be an interesting feed to watch.

Another feed is the blog
for a company called Offshore Experts
out of Atlanta.

Their top story?

Does
Offshore Outsourcing Criticism Matter?



04:53 am

posted by gmminks
link


Mike Emmons is mad as hell


Mike has been active in trying to make people and
legislators aware of how comapnies are doing business
in the US ever since he was replaced by a worker from
Tata and his severance pay was tied to training his replacement.

"There is absolutely no shortage of skill in America.
My job still exists, but someone else is sitting at my
desk doing it for less money. And I had to train him to
do it. How can they tell me that they have a superior
skill set when we're the ones training them?" Emmons adds,
"These are corporate lies regarding worker shortages designed
to manipulate the supply of labor. If you can increase the
supply, wages are going to get pushed down."


He's right. There are two labor markets in the US, the legitimate
one that citizens particpate in, and the illegitimate one of
undocumented workers and workers on visas that are obtained
by flaunting laws designed to protect the citizenry. The illegitimate
market is the one that companies are using for their labor needs.

Go Mike!



04:46 am

posted by gmminks
link


H1B visa holders go missing in the US?


According to this article on Rediff.com, the IT companies from India who are
complaining that they need more H1B visas have found a silver
lining in the new US rule that requires visa holders to renew
visas outside the US:

"It has been a nagging problem for the Indian IT company
which often found the employee missing after he/she lands up
with a particular assignment in the US. Not only the company
used to loose all it had spent on the employee for his/her
training and development, it sometime had to face cancellation
of contracts by the US client for delayed delivery of service,
which arise from non-committed employee. The new norm would
act as a deterrent for unscrupulous employees," Bhaskar Rajah,
deputy director of American Centre in Kolkata said.



04:36 am

posted by gmminks
link

Wednesday July 21, 2004


Speaking of ITPAA....




Go buy something from them!


10:10 pm
Wednesday July 21, 2004
posted by gmminks
link



According to an article posted on ITPAA's website:

Beating its own guidance once again in the first quarter results
this fiscal, Nasdaq-listed software major Infosys on Wednesday
said it will recruit 8000-10,000 people this year and invest
$21 million for expansion.


So, will those jobs be in India our will they "insource" jobs to the US?
10:02 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Dr. Matloff comments on Kerry's stand on outsourcing


and ITPAA.org has posted it [thanks guys]

preview:

On Monday, Kerry was asked why two of his biggest
fundraisers were involved with "Benedict Arnold" companies.
"If they have done that, it's not to my knowledge and I would
oppose it," Kerry told a New York television station. "I think
it's wrong to do [it] solely to avoid taxes."

Then he sought to clarify his position: "What I've said is
not that people don't have the right to go overseas and form
a company if they want to avoid the tax. I don't believe the
American taxpayer ought to be giving them a benefit. That's
what I object to. I don't object to global commerce. I don't
object to companies deciding they want to compete somewhere else.''

That second paragraph is key. Kerry is admitting that he does
not object to offshoring, and merely wants to tweak around the
edges of the problem.


I would just like to add that we have tried in vain to get someone
from Kerry's campaign to talk to us about Kerry's stand on increasing
the H1B visa limits. We got disgusted and tried to speak to someone
at his office in Boston...after all he is still our Senator. Again,
no one has bothered to answer our voice mails.

This is one of the biggest issues of the campaign, and he does
not even answer requests from people he is currently elected to
represent on the issue. It strikes me as odd that he can
listen to Indian-American business leaders, industry lobbyists,
but won't talk to the people who are affected by these policies.

Dr Matloff has been writing about the false labor shortage for many years.


09:43 pm

posted by gmminks
link



This poem by Langston Hughes is being referenced by a new Moveon ad,
but the words of the poem are powerful enough to stand on their own.

A longer excerpt from the poem:


I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.


09:16 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Take Back America at the DNC


I am going to this event next Tuesday

It's in Cambridge, it's free, it's going to be impossible to get home anyway so hell why not stay in town.

Here is the agenda:

Standing Up to Take Back America (2-3pm)

Gov. Howard Dean Democracy for America

Michael Moore Producer & Director, Fahrenheit 9/11

Issue Campaigns to Take Back America (3-4pm)

Hear leaders and experts on "kitchen table" economic issues: Jobs, Health Care/Medicare, Wages and Incomes, Education, Apollo Project on Energy and Jobs.

Robert Reich Fmr. U.S. Secretary of Labor
(I got some stuff to ask this guy!)

Barbara Ehrenreich Author, Nickeled and Dimed

Reg Weaver* NEA President

Bracken Hendricks Apollo Project

Deb Callahan* President, League of Conservation Voters

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

A Strong Coalition to Take Back America (4-5pm)

A progressive majority of Americans is uniting around a program for change. A dynamic new alliance — representing working families, women, people of color, the middle class and the poor — is working together in 2004 and beyond to advance that progressive program.


John Sweeney President, AFL-CIO

Kim Gandy President, National Organization for Women

Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles City Councilmember and former Speaker, California Assembly

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.* (D-IL)
09:09 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Democratic Consultant outsourcing work to India


The Michigan Republican Party alleged Tuesday that a contractor for the state Democratic Party is outsourcing work to India as he checks the validity of petition signatures for presidential candidate Ralph Nader.


jeez


09:04 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Greenspan is a tool


Greenspan is worried about the redistribution of wealth in the US,
but tows ITAA line about lack of educated workers and how outsourcing leads to insourcing.


04:58 am

posted by gmminks
link


Kerry on H1B visas


I believe that America needs immigration policies that are fair and safe. The United States is a diverse nation built by people from all parts of the world who came here because they believed in freedom, democracy, and justice. I will work to cut the backlog of applications pending with the Bureau for Citizenship and Immigration Services, speed up the naturalization process, and reduce the wait for family visas and other important matters. I believe that we should make family reunification the cornerstone of our immigration system.

I do not believe that there are currently quotes on H-1B visas for specific countries. I am willing to consider extending the 6 year term limits."


Here is a link to a letter
Kerry wrote to an IEEE member...it shows he obviously has no idea, or does not care, that some of his big campaign donors abuse the system by bringing in cheap easily cowed labor to replace the US workforce.




04:52 am

posted by gmminks
link

Tuesday July 20, 2004


Youth from India conquering the world?


"While America is trying to conquer the world through might and Japan is trying to conquer through right technology and business, India has already conquered the world by sending our yuva — youth — to every part of the world," she said. "These young minds are quietly conquering through their hearts and their depth of knowledge and holding top positions in every field.

This new-agy talk from the India Calling '04 Asia Pacific Business Summit
09:25 pm
Tuesday July 20, 2004
posted by gmminks
link



via zazona

Tata opens center in Buffalo

14 new recruits (I would guess brand new grads) get to be inducted "into the TCS culture, the TCS way of life."

And how many Americans are working for Tata? 20% of their workers in the US are not from India, so that means some fraction of 160 jobs [out of 8000] are not filled by foreign workers.

So, these new college recruits will not learn business the American way.


09:15 pm

posted by gmminks
link


No one wants to be a CS major


Well DUH!

Sheila Lennon over at Projo.com is blogging a story from the LA Times that is reporting " enrollment in computer science programs has dropped sharply — down 23% from 2002 to 2003."

Why? No jobs in IT. [American students are not stupid...why train for a field where you can't get a job?] The article says:

"After hovering under 2% in the late 1990s, the jobless rate for computer scientists and systems analysts grew to 5.4% in the last three months of 2003. It then jumped to 6.7% in the first quarter of this year — outstripping the overall national unemployment rate of 6.1%."

Of course, the article bemoans the fact that we are about to rachet up hiring and now our businesses are going to be short workers because of the drop in college enrollements.

There are over a million high tech workers still without work

Dr. Norm Matloff has been refuting this labor shortage for years. He has it right, the only labor shortage is the shortage of cheap labor.




09:05 pm

posted by gmminks
link


The Globe running the outsourcing story


The story the Globe ran today about WashTech's study on state jobs going offshore is something.

Funny to see that Amar Gupta still going on about the State of Indiana cancelling a contract with Tata. After a talk with one of my friends, I realized just how much Gupta is [still] spinning this issue.

The Globe article claims "Gupta and his fellow researchers did an analysis detailing how much money the state had to spend to keep jobs for the contract in the United States. For each job kept in Indiana, the analysis showed, the state would have to pay an additional $162,000."

Let's back up here and actually talk about the contract in question.

The State of Indiana needed to overhaul the electronic delivery system for the State's Unemployment system. No companies from Indiana even bid on the job. Tata won the bid, and underbid everyone by $23.3 million. Tata was going to bring in 65 employees from India, and retain 18 state workers.

The system processes 270,000 jobless claims a year, and the proposal was to move from an Cobol-based mainframe installed in 1989 to a Java-based, server system that should last a dozen years.

Well, with so many techies out of work, many of them in Indiana drawing unemployment benefits because they could not find jobs, this was just like rubbing salt into open wounds. (Is this how insourcing is supposed to work?)

Gov. Joe Kernan decided that something was wrong if no companies from Indiana even had the opportunity to bid on this contract, so he cancelled the deal with Tata. The state ended up paying Tata $1Million.

There is some question about how the contract was obtained...according to the Indiana Star reported that "top aides to then-Gov. Frank O'Bannon had signed off on the politically sensitive, four-year contract before his death Sept. 13." zazona.com/ShameH1B/JDNewsArchive/2003/2003%2009-29%20Hoosier%20Unemployment%20System%20upgraded%20by%20TATA.txt">The project was to be paid for entirely with federal money tied to Energize Indiana, a 10-year economic development plan.

So, let's recap:


  • Governor's top aides sign shady deal awarding Indian company known to abuse temporary immigrant visas to keep labor costs low, and as a result closing the bidding process to Indiana companies.
  • Governor dies during office, new governor sworn in
  • Press reports that an Indian company is importing workers to uprade the Unemployment system, and that they are getting paid with money from tax credits and grants
  • Unemployed techies in Indiana go bananas...they would rather have a chance to work on this project than draw unemployment
  • Big companies, led by Harris Miller's minions, begin to see that the power of the people is real and the big guys start fighting back with coalitions and college professors.


This is the first time I can remember seeing Indian press reporting that ITAA was working to educate Congress about the goodness of outsourcing Harris Miller and his cronies responded to attacks on the business community by creating nonprofit groups like the Coalition for Economic Growth and American Jobs. These groups aggressively fight any anti-outsourcing/insourcing laws that our lawmakers create to protect US workers.

I wish someone would talk about why it's costing my home state 4 times what they thought it would to outsource state services.



08:29 pm

posted by gmminks
link


no visa for you


via zazona.com">zazona

A millionaire, who opened a business in the US so that he could get himself a visa, is
pissed
that he can't bring a manager down from Canada on an H-1B visa. She doesn't have a bachelor's degree, nor does the job require a specialized skillset, so no visa for you.

It is good to see Immigration enforcing the rules.

you may need to use bugmenot to see the story.


07:16 pm

posted by gmminks
link


it's not in our heads


Offshoring Primer






07:01 pm

posted by gmminks
link



McD's jobs going to India too?


Shenews on projo.com has an interesting outsourcing story:

Pull off U.S. Interstate Highway 55 near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and into the drive-through lane of a McDonald's next to the highway and you'll get fast, friendly service, even though the person taking your order is not in the restaurant - or even in Missouri.

The order taker is in a call center in Colorado Springs, more than 900 miles, or 1,450 kilometers, away, connected to the customer and to the workers preparing the food by high-speed data lines. Even some restaurant jobs, it seems, are not immune to outsourcing.


jeez they aren't kidding when they say no job is safe!
05:32 am

posted by gmminks
link


Talk to a CEO in India


Chat with VK Raman on Boom in the BPO Industry on July 21 between 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM

"VK Raman, CEO of GRO, India operations believes that by utilising an innovative technology platform that operates 24/7, his company is able to deliver services in one half the normal turnaround time and at a substantial discount to clients’ current costs."
05:30 am

posted by gmminks
link


We must admit foreign pros for their smart kids


"If opponents of immigration had succeeded over the past 20 years, two-thirds of the most outstanding future American scientists and mathematicians would not be here today because US policy would have barred their parents from entering the United States"

It is sorta low to use kids as a plank in your campaign to continue to refuse to hire and train your citizens so that you have access to labor that is cheaper and easier to manipulate.

Maybe US kids would have a better chance if their parents had access to stable jobs that actually paid the bills.


05:28 am

posted by gmminks
link


Has there been a 200% cut in H1B visas?


How do you suppose Tata has come up with these numbers?

A restriction and 200 per cent cut on the number of H1-B visas for Indian nationals and a backlash against outsourcing in the US is likely to have an "adverse impact" on the future prospects of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS).

Again, let's all remember that the idea that H1B visa levels are being "restricted" is false. The law that created them set a level of 65,000 per year. It was easy when times were booming for the lobbyist (yes Harris Miller this means you) to convice Congress there was a skills shortage, and get temporary increases to this number.

"TCS said it was possible that proposed legislation in US would impose stringent laws on the granting of H1-B and L-1 visas, which would have an "adverse impact on our business and profitability."

TCS should not have a business plan built around temporary immigration laws. I have an idea...if Tata wants to do business in the US, hire Americans!


05:09 am

posted by gmminks
link


India wants more of the pie


"At the moment, only 0.35 percent of global outsourcing business comes to India. So, there is clearly a big potential for BPO companies in the country," said Kamal Nath, adding the industry is growing at the rate of 40-50 percent per year.


05:08 am

posted by gmminks
link

Monday July 19, 2004


India goes to WTO about services trade


NASSCOM wants the WTO to liberalize the trade in services

India's software and services outsourcing industry is keen on including software services and business process outsourcing (BPO) services under a WTO agreement, particularly after the outcry by some politicians and labor unions in the Europe and the U.S. against their countries' offshore outsourcing by U.S. and European companies and governments.

"We are already seeing a number of non-tariff barriers to Indian software and BPO services exports to the U.S. and Europe," Karnik said.


Isn't this a threat to our nation's sovereignty? Don't we the people have a larger say in laws created that will affect our country?
09:42 pm
Monday July 19, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


"It's happening.....


and its impact on the industry will be nothing short of revolutionary".

So says Bob Zane, who is in charge of global sourcing and manufacturing for Liz Claiborne, the US retailer. He is talking about the Textile trade with China.

The same article reports that a "study by McKinsey for DHL, the parcel express carrier, concluded that China could account for up to half of the world's clothing exports by 2008."

The article refers to outsourcing as "direct overseas sourcing".

09:35 pm

posted by gmminks
link


U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick on outsourcing


"one of the things that has been striking about the progress of reforms in India is that I think it has created not only growth but an additional confidence and recognition of India’s interests in the global and international trading system, and information technology and a series of service industries are definitely part of that. But, it’s too bad you are not from the “Business Standard” [holds up copy of editorial from that paper], I noticed a piece in the “Business Standard” that emphasized it is important to make it two-way. And, that’s what I think this is about for all our countries because trade involves change. And chang can create jobs, but people also worry about its effect on jobs. And so, what the legislation that I saw got a lot of attention here, was a part of what we call an appropriations bill, a spending bill. It just runs through September and deals with two departments, the Treasury Department and the Transportation Department.

But what it reflects is an anxiety about job loss in the United States because of outsourcing. Now, there was another piece I saw by Rupa Chandra who is a Professor in Bangalore in the “Economic Times” that makes I think the very good point and many Indians may not be aware of this. When the agreements on government procurement were made in the GATT, which is the predecessor to the WTO, India, the India of that era, resisted making agreements on government procurement and indeed never joined the agreement. So the first point is, this is an example of the difficulty of a two-way street, which is that one is not really in a position to complain about a government procurement arrangement if one does not belong to the government procurement agreement. But more broadly, what this involves is the whole question of services, telecommunications
services, financial services, professional services, where again I think, and I hope this is changing, but India has been more reluctant to make those sort of commitments to
openness.

Now, what that amounts to is the fact that it really brings us to the point of the visit, which is we want to keep our markets open, but to do so we need to be able to open markets abroad. We need to make, as the “Business Standard” said, make it a two-way street, and that includes services, goods and agriculture. Now, some people then say, and I saw this in some of the Indian press, “well gee, is the United States being fair and willing to open its markets?” Well, we have a USD 500 billion dollar deficit in the world, so its hard for me to understand if people say the United States market is not pretty open. And in the case of India we have about a USD 9 billon deficit.

Now, our view is that trade should be “win-win.” And it was interesting when I stopped in China on this visit, when I left the Vide Premier Wu Yee made this exact point – it’s a “win-win” venture. And that’s exactly what we are about in the Doha Agenda, is that how we can create additional jobs in India, in the United States, increase incomes, and have both grow together."

05:09 am

posted by gmminks
link


Colin Powell on Outsourcing


"Out-sourcing is a natural effect of the global economic system and the rise of the Internet and broadband communications. You're not going to eliminate outsourcing. But at the same time when you outsource jobs it becomes a political issue in anybody's country. People without jobs are a political issue, so what we have to do is make sure that as we participate in outsourcing not only with India-we outsource jobs to other countries as well-we have to make sure that we are at the same time creating jobs for Americans who may have been affected by outsourcing. And that's why in our discussions today with our Indian colleagues, we made the point that we also want to see greater openness to Indian markets, not as a quid pro quo to outsourcing, but just to open up markets in all directions so that when we can do something better than someone else, then that job ought to be sourced back to the United States."
05:02 am

posted by gmminks
link


Indian IT companies not worried about losing US govt bids


This article on rediff.com reports that IT companies in India have told their government that any bans on getting US government contracts will not really affect the companies bottom line:

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told the House during Question Hour that despite the moves towards such restrictions, the BPO business to India was growing at a rate of 40 to 50 per cent annually....

He said as much as 70 per cent of India's BPO business comes from the US and only 2 per cent of the business relating to US government contracts was affected due to a legislation approved in the US Congress....

Nath said the job outsourcing to India was worth $2.35 billion in 2002 and it was expected to touch $3.6 billion annually in 2003 and 2004."


Well if they aren't really bothered by it, why should Harris Miller be crying that keeping US government contracts for US workers is going to start a trade war?
04:58 am

posted by gmminks
link

Sunday July 18, 2004


There is a connection between outsourcing and immigration


Finally people are starting to write about this...

we´re starting to pay the price for failing to recognize that our immigration and outsourcing problems are closely connected. By treating these policies in isolation, even many champions of urgently needed immigration reduction policies have painted themselves into corners and left themselves – and Americans as a whole – few good choices."

via zazona.com">www.zazona.com
12:57 pm
Sunday July 18, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


Is the US standard of living dropping to the 3rd world level


What do you tell a worker from India that says:

“I suppose you think I’m the enemy,” he said, “because I have taken one of your out-sourced jobs as well as an entire factory of workers here in India. However, we can make the product cheaper than you Americans. Your artificially high wages can not compete with our labor market. Besides, it’s time Americans drop their artificially high standard of living to the poverty levels of the rest of the world.”

A reported from the Washington Dispatch received that response to an email, and says the US is dropping to 3rd World living standings:

"The United States runs a $400 billion a year trade deficit. Last month, we ran a $48 billion trade deficit. Why? Simple. H-1B and L-1 visas removed one million U.S. jobs in the past 10 years. In-sourcing, out-sourcing and off-shoring of American jobs have left millions of us in unemployment lines. To top that off, legal and illegal immigrants sent $56 billion to their home countries last year. That’s $15 billion to Mexico, $25 billion to South America and $16 billion to Asia. Finally the drug trade annually siphons $100 billion in hard currency out of the United States. And the coup de Gras from last year was the cost of the Iraq War at a $544 billion budget spending deficit."
12:50 pm

posted by gmminks
link

Saturday July 17, 2004


Why are companies still looking to give out H1B visas


when so many of us are unemployed?

Go check out this job site....www.timesjobs.com.

There is a search button on the left near the top. Punch in h1b and see how many US jobs are advertised on an Indian job board...for jobs that lots of us have the skills to do. For example:



Young Soft is urgently seeking PERL Professionals for US.

Qualification: BE/B.Tech and BSC.

1) Should have 2-5 years of total IT experience.
2) Should have 2+ years of relevant experience in PERL.
3) Should have experience in Unix, C, oracle.
4) Should have good knowledge of Java.
5) Should be strong rate;USD 34 PHR.start date: asap.

IMPORTANT: Candidate should have H1B / B1 visa mandatory.






Radiant Soft Sol Inc. Company Description:

Headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, Radiant Soft Sol is an emerging Information Technology service provider. At Radiant, we have mastered the art of integrating growth and opportunities. A global software services conglomerate, we deliver cutting edge solutions to Fortune 500 companies across the world. Expanding over 25% a year since its inception, we have grown to over 500 professionals around the world. We offer diverse Global IT career s in established horizontals such as PeopleSoft, Oracle Applications, Data Warehousing and other niche platforms.

ABOUT THE JOB
Job Title: Unix Administrators - UA
Job Function: IT-Software
Location: Hyderabad
Level: Middle - Manager, Assistant Manager

JOB REQUIREMENTS
Degree: BE/B.Tech
Total Work Experience: 4
Additional Information: At Radiant, you can look forward to a global career in an intellectual and challenging atmosphere. A career that competes in world-class technology environments, opens doors to a competitive team culture, facilitates interaction with some of the world`s finest business leaders and places you at the pinnacle of professional growth. Radiant has US job opportunities for software professionals in PeopleSoft, Oracle Applications, Data Warehousing, SAP, Software Testing, Web Technologies and Mainframe & UNIX Administration.H1B Visa for selected candidates will be processed immediately. 3 year experience in supporting UNIX based applications. Expertise in basic networking, Server, workstation administration, hardware configuration & support. Bachelors/Masters in Computer Science, Electronics, Electronics & Communication, Electronics & Electrical, MIS etc. MCA, MBA with MIS/Systems as major can also apply. Mail your resumes.





This company is looking for ONE HUNDRED new employees to send to the US....

Company Name: Tekstrom Inc.
Company Description:
A full service IT development and consulting company based in Newark, Delaware with an office in Bangalore. Tekstrom is a certified gold partner of Mercury Interactive, the leading software testing automation tools company.
Industry: IT-Software

ABOUT THE JOB
Job Title: Software Professionals
Job Function: IT-Software
Location: Bangalore
Level : Middle - Manager, Assistant Manager
No. of Openings: 100

JOB REQUIREMENTS
Degree: BE/B.Tech
Total Work Experience: 3
Additional Information: Tekstrom requires 100 people for various projects across USA. Candidates who are willing to relocate and who already haveH1B visas should contact careers@tekstrominc.com. The company will processH1B applications for candidates who meet the requirements mentioned. B.E.\B.Tech\B.Sc. in Computer Service or an MCA with atleast two years experience in software development/software testing or An engineer with three or more years in software testing or software development. Preference will be given to people who have experience with : Mercury tools with WinRunner, Test Director, LoadRunner, etc. Rational Tools like SQA Robot, SQA Suite, SQA Team Test, etc. Silk Tools like Silk Test, Silk Performer, etc. People who have experience with CMM, etc. Please send your resume.

08:56 am
Saturday July 17, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


How much IT work is going to India?


An article on myiris.com gives the following statistics:

"The total value of software and services exports is estimated at Rs. 55,510 crore (US$ 12.2 billion), thereby showing an increase of 20.4 per cent in rupee terms and 28 per cent in dollar terms..

The IT enabled services-BPO Industry is estimated to have grown by about 54 per cent with export revenue of US$ 3.6 billion during 2003-04 indicating that the sector is showing upward spiral growth on service lines like customer care, finance, HR, administration, billing and payment services, etc...

The number of professionals employed in India by IT and ITES sectors is estimated at 813,500 by March 2004 of which 260,000 were in the IT software and services export industry, nearly 245,500 in ITES-BPO sector, 28,000 in the domestic software market and over 2,80,000 in user organisations."

08:48 am

posted by gmminks
link


New Search Term ["KPO"]


KPO = Knowledge Process Offshoring

"Typical users of KPO services are market research and consulting firms, investment banks and financial services institutions, and corporate planning departments of large Fortune 500 companies......

Some examples of services in the KPO domain are intellectual property research, R&D in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, data mining, and a range of analytical services such as equity research and financial modeling."

The press release that offers that explanation of KPO also has this to say about moving these knowledge processes offshore:

Given the large number of engineers, doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, statisticians and scientists in India, Evalueserve believes that India can provide KPO services worth USD 12 bn by FY 2010 instead of USD 720 mn that it provided in FY 2003. This would represent a cumulative annual growth rate of approximately 50% and 250,000 such professionals would be hired by Indian KPO providers by FY 2010, which would therefore provide direct employment worth 300,000 people.
08:45 am

posted by gmminks
link

Friday July 16, 2004


Harris Miller and e-voting


Harris Miller has been so busy these days, he is really earning every cent of his lobbying fees.

While it may seem that this post about Harris Miller and e-voting really belongs under "HARRIS MILLER ALERTS", I decided to put it here to highlight how much disdain ole Harris has for the educated, innovative IT professionals of this nation.

Harris Miller is against electronic voting machines having a paper trail. Why? Because he is working for the electronic voting machine industry".

Here is what Harris has to say about the IT Security researchers who are concerned about the integrity of our democratic process:

"It's not about voting machines. It's a religious war about open-source software vs. proprietary software," Miller said in an interview with Computerworld. "If you're a computer scientist and you think that open-source software is the solution to everything because you're a computer scientist and you can spot all flaws, then you hate electronic voting machines. But if you're a person who believes that proprietary software and open-source software can both be reliable, then you don't hate electronic voting machines."

First of all people read what the president of the Information Technology Association of America is saying......a computer scientist and you can spot all flaws, then you hate electronic voting machines.

Yes, computer scientists can spot all the flaws because that is what we are trained to do. THANK GOD there are computer scientists that are not terrrified of losing their jobs that are able to alert the public to the dangers of relying soley on computers to record our votes.

But Harris goes on...."if you're a person who believes that proprietary software and open-source software can both be reliable, then you don't hate electronic voting machines.

Wow what a jump in logic! I think actually that Harris has mastered the logical fallacy of slippery slope. He is definitely the master of prejudicial language. Maybe false analogy too?

Actually, click the link for the definition of "false analogy" and it gives this example:

Government is like business, so just as business must be sensitive primarily to the bottom line, so also must government. (But the objectives of government and business are completely different, so probably they will have to meet
different criteria.)


So the next time you hear someone say that, tell them that they are using a logical fallacy, specifically a false analogy.

Back to my story. Let's recap. Miller tries to marginalize the most highly trained IT security experts in the country because they are making things hard for the companies that are paying him, and he does this by using logical fallacies for arguments.

Did we know ole Harris was going to go down this mud-slinging road? Oh, yes.

Blackbox voting reported on the conference call where Miller was selling his services to the electronic voting industry. Here is what Miller promised the electronic voting machine manufacturers:


  • Harris Miller (ITAA) Gives the intro spiel about the company and how it can help the industry "stave off short-term attacks" from academics and "activists".
  • A question is asked about how ITAA can help the industry speak with one voice. Harris explains about helping them establish certification standards and coming to the defense of a company under attack.
  • He also touches on the need to establish a "blue ribbon" panel which could help refute problems like Diebold is currently having.
  • ITAA said that they could help get critics "on our side" but admitted that some critics are unappeasable.
  • “The answer is ITAA, it usually goes out over my name, but we could add other companies if you wish. Let’s assume we wanted to respond to some attack... assume another academic came out and said something against one particular company and the task force wanted to respond. The task force would put out a statement, ‘Harris Miller, on behalf of ITAA, says this is BS’... we would also invite other members of the task force to put in comments if they want... normally the first person to put in a comment would be the chairman and other companies would have a chance to comment, blah, blah.. and be included in the press release.”
  • when we get press calls and the press says ‘Joe Academic says your industry’s full of crap and doesn’t know what it is doing.’ What do you say Harris? The reporters always want to know what are the companies saying?.. And there can be two scenarios there: The companies may want to hide behind me, they don’t want to say anything... frequently that happens in a trade association, you don’t want to talk about the issues as individual companies. We have that issue right now with the Buy America Act, for example in congress. No company wants to act like it’s against Buy America -- even though they’re all against it – so I take all the heat for them


ITAA is collecting about $600-$44K in annual dues from each electronic voting company involved (depending on their sales). "Deliverables" will cost up to $200,000+.

So you can be damn sure Harris Miller is going to put anyone who is getting in the way of these companies and their goals.

So, why spend so much time on this?

How much do you figure HP, IBM, EMC, Dell, etc are paying ITAA to lobby for them to have access to outsourcing and an unlimited amount of H-1B visas?

How much regard do you think Harris Miller, the president of the Information Technology Association of America has for American techies? We know he hates Open Source, which is really where most of the current innovation is coming from. We know he thinks high tech workers are unskilled. Why do you think he tells these lies to our government officials? How much is he being paid to say these things?

Harris Miller begins all his presentations to Congress spouting off a bunch of BS about ITAA.....he says this...

I am Harris N. Miller, President of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), representing over 400 companies in the information technology (IT) industry - the enablers of the information economy. Our members are located in every state in the United States, and range from the smallest IT start-ups to industry leaders in the custom software, services, systems integration, telecommunications, Internet, hardware, and computer consulting fields. Together they account for over 90% of all IT sales in the US. These firms are listed on the ITAA website at www.itaa.org

Here is what I have to say...

I am Gina M. Minks, organizer and publisher of Displaced Techies, representing the displaced and discarded Technical Workers of the Massachusetts and beyond. We are part of an organized network with members located in every state in the United States, with skills ranging from entry level college students to ex-CEOs and patent holders. Together, we account for a large amount of the unemployment figures in the US.

Harris your logically flawed arguments are not going to be good enough to earn your lobbyist pay anymore. Double-speak time is over.
08:02 pm
Friday July 16, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


update on Food Stamp legislation


Earlier I posted that Harris Miller has been crowing about an item attached to the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of FY 2005 that would bar states from using federal funds to pay for food stamp program costs if program operations take place offshore.

As requested by many of you, here are the details.

Here is the text of the bill:

SEC. 804. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by
this Act may be used to pay the federal share of the administrative costs
of any state's operation of the food stamp program that are performed
outside the United States, except that the amounts otherwise provided by
this Act are revised by increasing the amount made available under the
heading `Food Stamp Program' by $6,500,000 for expenses under section 16 of
the Food Stamp Act.


It was introduced by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and accepted on a voice vote.

Here is what she had to say on the floor of the House:



Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment prohibits the use of funds in this bill to
pay for outsourcing food stamp call center jobs to foreign countries. We
used to have amendments on these bills that were identified ``Buy
American.'' Today I offer one to ``Hire an American.''

It would basically change the behavior of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and our respective States that receive food stamp dollars and
in turn are outsourcing the call center jobs associated with food stamps to
Mexico and to India and to other foreign countries.

The Richmond Times Dispatch reported in March that 38 States had been
exporting our jobs since 2001. Since then we have learned from the
Congressional Research Service that in fact 42 States have outsourced some
part of their food stamp call center operations.

Think about that. The calls relate to food stamps for people inside the
United States of America. Only Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, Montana,
Ohio, Texas, and Wyoming have their call centers exclusively inside the
United States. Other States are beginning to look at this issue and take
action, but this deserves national attention since these are dollars that
fund the food stamp programs in all of our States.

It is also ironic that the biggest account in this entire bill is the
food stamp program, ringing in at $33 billion being paid out to needy
Americans. Given the complexity that some people face when trying to
complete those applications or find out where there may be stores that
accept electronic benefit technology, you would expect that our
constituents would be able to reach someone in their own community or our
States who might be better able to relate to the problems that they are
facing in their own lives.

So we provide $33 billion for food stamps to all of our States, and that
is a program that has increased 46 percent in just the last 4 years.

Many banking companies have become the intermediaries that are
administrating the food stamp program and end up putting those jobs in
other countries. Would it not be better use of American taxpayer funds to
try to hire unemployed individuals? In fact, some of those receiving food
stamps who could get off these food stamps by having good jobs at these
call centers.


Who is this woman?
07:11 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Support Congressman Ed Markey's Privacy Bill


via our friends at T.O.R.A.W......

The JTN, Jobs & Trade Network, met with Congressman Ed Markey in DC yesterday to support his bill H.R. 4366. This bill will prohibit companies from sending personal information offshore without a person's prior approval. It would also require that any information that is currently offshore be brought back to the U.S. if they do not receive an approval. Text of the bill can be found on this link - http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:h.r.04366:

Some letters of endorsement were given to Congressman Markey and would like others organizations to send their letters of endorsement to his office in Mass:

5 High St.
Medford, MA 02115

Sincerely,

John A. Bauman
President
T.O.R.A.W.
www.toraw.org



06:54 pm

posted by gmminks
link


New legislation about offshoring Food Stamp program


The House passed an amendment a couple of days ago that would bar states from using federal funds to pay for food stamp program costs if program operations take place offshore. The amendment is part of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of FY 2005.

Harris Miller is pissed! Although I know you can guess what he had to say, according to an ITAA press release:

"This amendment shows that when it comes to government services in a global marketplace, some lawmakers still don't get it," ITAA President Harris N. Miller said. "Are we trying to get the most citizen benefit out of every tax dollar, or are we trying to use the food stamp program to load the cart with political baloney? Best value comes from open markets, not government mandates."

That man should be punished in the following way:

  • Take away all his money and stuff
  • Only let him have a part time job. Ok, he can have two if he's nice. This way, he will still qualify for food stamps
  • Give him the same opportunities that I had when I was still very poor. Let him see how little of a chance that there is to get out of poverty.
  • THEN this stupid man can have the gall to say that the political leaders who want to keep federal work onshore to provide JOBS to get people off welfare are "trying to use the food stamp program to load the cart with political baloney? "


Harris, YOU are the one who doesn't get it.

Y'all, time to contact your federal representatives!




05:23 am

posted by gmminks
link


The business case against sending work offshore


A high tech company based in Georgia has decided to open a development center in Savannah instead of offshore.

"We realized there was a better business case closer to home," [Aelera CEO Dustin] Crane said. "For client application development projects, our research indicates that it takes 12-18 months to begin realizing costs savings from offshoring operations. By using resources close to home, many of the start-up costs are minimized or eliminated and efficiencies are realized much sooner,"

Now we just need to wait and see if they are going to allow Americans to compete for the jobs. Savannah is really nice, y'all....that would be a nice place to move.

05:10 am

posted by gmminks
link

Thursday July 15, 2004


"The Silicon Border"


A reader passed on this article from Business Week that "talks about how private U.S. real estate capital, the government of Mexico, and the Mexican state of Baja California, Ron Jones and Daniel Hill -- both chip-industry veterans -- say they're looking to build in the town of Mexicali a 10,000-acre industrial park that will be known as Silicon Border and cater to chipmakers and other high-tech businesses."


10:26 pm
Thursday July 15, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


Boston Social Forum


I will be on a panel at the Boston Social Forum on July 24 entitled "The Challenges of Corporate Globalization". Here is a description:

For the first time, globalization is threatening most people's jobs. Almost anything that can be done on a computer terminal can be outsourced -- and if it isn't, the threat can still pull down your wages and working conditions. This panel will hear from outsourced workers, then discuss what the global economy could do to your job. Panelists include workers from countries on the other end of the outsourcing chain. (or) who are "taking our jobs." At the end we'll discuss a range of actions to create safety nets for laid-off workers, create new jobs, and raise wages around the world.

Come out and participate!
10:21 pm

posted by gmminks
link


New Contributor


J. Boudreau (he maintains the 495 High Tech Networking group and the 495 Economic Improvement Coalition) will be adding stories to the blog. Yeah another point of view.


10:16 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Decipher Harris Miller's comments


Harris Miller had this to say about Washtech's new study on how foreign firms are racing to capture as many government contracts as they can:

``I have no problem with transparency in government contracting,'' said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America. ``But my sense from talking to CIOs and state officials is that the amount of IT work going overseas from state agencies is infinitesimal. We oppose any legislative measure to restrict trade in this area, because it could hurt U.S. companies bidding on foreign government contracts.''

First of all, realize that ITAA and NASSCOM work together very closly. Along with the US Chamber of Commerce, ITAA is partnering with NASSCOM to increase acceptability of Indian companies."

Harris Miller must say that he opposes legislative measures to restrict state governments from spending tax money to create jobs overseas because he has promised these companies that "ITAA" can help Indian companies looking at entering the US market. ITAA has even offered programs on regulatory requirements that companies must comply with when hiring or working with foreign nationals

NASSCOM cetainly believes that they can "woo the world's largest buyer", the US government. This press release tells Indian companies how to "bag key IT contracts from the US Government".

Why are NASSCOM and ITAA (and Harris Miller) drooling over the idea of bagging key IT contracts from our governments?

The US Government (including the Federal, state and local Governments) is stated to be the world's bigger buyer. The Federal Government alone, a giant customer by all accounts, is estimated to spend over US $200 billion> on all varieties of goods and services, including IT. The state and local Government together spend an equal amount.

If this pisses you off, send your local Senators and Representatives the link to Washtech's report.
10:09 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Are degree programs overseas = US degrees?


According to this immigration specialist, maybe not.

"Example:
My husband has a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university in the UK, while his business partner completed a Higher National Diploma (HND) program in the UK. Both were recruited to come to the U.S. to work in the computer games industry, and in order to obtain their Visas (H1-B and J-1), both needed a foreign credential evaluation. The same evaluation service completed both evaluations, and both received U.S. bachelor’s degree equivalencies.

This is all well and good, except for two things. The first is that in the UK, the HND is not considered to be at the same level as a bachelor’s degree. If a person who completed an HND wants to transfer to a university level program in the UK, they will generally be admitted to the second year of a bachelor’s degree program at a UK university. Based on this information, is it really proper to equate these two credentials to the same thing in the U.S.?

The second problem is that there really isn’t an academic program in the U.S. that is comparable to the HND. For this reason, evaluators will often interpret it differently, depending upon the policies of the individual office. The credential evaluation service that completed these evaluations equated the HND to a U.S. bachelor’s degree, however, the evaluation service I worked for would have equated it to completion of three years of university level coursework in the U.S. Is one service right and the other wrong? No, not necessarily. Each service took the information available about the HND and interpreted it in a different way, but neither is more correct than the other."

09:49 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Has the H-1B visa cap been met for 2K5?


This article in the Indian press says:

"The Government of U.S.A. has imposed a cap of 65,000 jobs for IT companies. 50,000 visas have been granted and would join after 1 October 2004. Remaining 15,000 visas are in process."

Aside from the fact that the government has not "imposed" a cap on H-1B visas, has the cap already been met for 2005?

09:47 pm

posted by gmminks
link


An Investment Firm that is not Offshoring


Vanguard Group Investments is a firm that can handle mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks and bonds, IRAs, 401(k) accounts, and other investment services. They handle personal and institutional investors.

They say they do not offshore, and have no plans to offshore.

I'm going to check them out.

11:34 am

posted by rickrob
link

Wednesday July 14, 2004


States rely heavily on outsourcing


According to an article in the Centre Daily (State College PA):

Until the practice began stirring controversy, 42 of 50 U.S. states used overseas call centers to answer questions from food stamp recipients

The article quotes a Washtech report.

Scary MA stats from the report:

  1. Massachusetts Department of Education

    Auriga Inc, some portion valued around $2 Million.
    In December 2002, Auriga Inc, a software firm that does most of its work in Russia, put out press release saying that it served as a subcontractor for the development of the Educator Li censure and Recruitment (ELAR) project in MA. The prime contractor for the ELAR project was Deloitte & Touche, and they were paid the $2 Million. The director of the ELAR project said she only dealt with Deloitte & Touche, and was unaware of where Auriga performed the work.

  2. Massachusetts Operational Services Division

    SSI North America and Tata Infotech, about $2.1 Million
    The Operational Services Division (OSD) establishes blanket contracts under which goods and services are sold to state agencies. One of these contracts, ITS07, covers the provision of information technology services. According to OSD, SSI has received about $1.48 million in business under ITS07 during the past two years, and Tata Infotech has received about $630,000 during the past three years. Majorie MacEvitt of the OSD said that vendors do not need to report where the work is being done.

  3. Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement Board

    Tata Infotech, $3 Million

    In November of 2002, the Board awarded Tata Infotech this contract to develop a web-based management information system. A Tata press release reported that "a core team of consultants will work on-site in sync with a larger offshore team" located in India. The project is currently six months behind schedule due to communications problems relating to the use of offshore labor.

  4. Food Stamp Program

    As you know, Massachusetts also outsources the call centers that food stamp recipients use when they have questions about their benefits.


My Representative is trying to get the Outside Ammendment restricting contractors from sending work overseas brought up for a veto override vote. EVERYONE should contact their state reps!


09:24 pm
Wednesday July 14, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


Contact the Kerry campaign!


Hi,

There is a bit of confusion about what Kerry will do about outsourcing/abuse of H1B visas if he is elected.

Recently, an article in the Washington Post revealed that the Democratic platform has changed concerning immigration. The new platform "drops part of the platform from 2000 that protected American workers by calling for a limit to the H-1B work visa."

One of Kerry's big fundraisers in Massachussetts, Ramesh Kapur, has been telling the Indian press that Kerry will attach taxes to companies that send jobs overseas, but that the Democratic nominee will increase the H-1B visa limits so that Indian companies are still able to do business.

What is very alarming is that the Kerry camp is saying that they have not even heard from voters about the issue of the misuse of H-1B visas. We have to change that! Please contact Kerry's campaign and let them know that outsourcing and the misuse of these temporary visas is the cause of the persistant job loss we are seeing in our country. The contact information:

Kerry campaign headquarters is at: (202) 712-3000.

info@johnkerry.com

Calling is much more effective than emailing, but do what you can.

Thanks.
Gina




05:28 am

posted by gmminks
link

Monday July 12, 2004


Sprint workers are now IBM employees


Again from f'ed company.com, Sprint and IBM announced a $400M "co-sourcing" deal. According to this article, "1,000 Sprint IT jobs will be transferred to IBM, whose global services unit will support certain Sprint software systems. Sprint expects the deal to help it meet a goal of cutting costs by more than US$1bil over the next two year."

According to f'edcompany, one of their readers reported "1,000 Sprint employees are becoming IBM employees, "...and then let go later like all the other companies that did this before,"


06:22 am
Monday July 12, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


Microsoft cutting $1B in cost


f'ed company.com is reporting that Steve Balmer sent a memo to all Microsoft employees that the company is going to cut $1B dollars in annual costs.

Wonder how they are gonna do that?


06:18 am

posted by gmminks
link


Outsourcing the government?


Shining Light in Dark Corners blogged this article that reports it gost the US govt $23 Million to cut 16 jobs.

yeah that is good for the taxpayers
06:02 am

posted by gmminks
link


What the hell is up with the Kerry Ticket


Yesterday I posted an article that touched on the fact that Kerry's new platform does not include the enforcement of limits on H-1B visas.

Today I read
this article
in the India times that claims Kerry will push the H1B visa limits way up again.

The Democratic Party fundraiser from Massachusetts Ramesh Kapur (physician, businessman, and close friend of Kerry) was quoted in that article as saying:

"Regarding his views on outsourcing, you've got to realise that no presidential candidate will say that's its okay for jobs to go out of the country.

“Kerry has already come out to say that we want to make sure not to give incentives to move out. Now corporations have incentives like tax postponement. One of the ways to limit outsourcing is that Kerry will work to push back up high the ‘H-1’ visas that have been reduced to half of what they were. It will help the economy and will be an indirect incentive for jobs to be outsourced.

There will be better solutions, instead of the straightforward way of finding it cheaper to manufacture outside. It will be a more creative way of dealing with it.

For Edwards, there will be a learning curve on outsourcing. The top of the ticket is still Kerry."


what the hell? Does this guy live in the same state that we do? Our economy is shot to hell because there are no jobs...and the few jobs that do open up are many times reserved for H1B visa holders.

Scary too is this comment I found:

Kerry proposes forcing companies to pay the same tax rate for money made overseas as they pay in the United States. The tax reform would apply only to U.S.-owned factories that import those foreign-made products to the U.S. "

So the tax reform would not apply to services? It would not apply to foreign based corporations (ok I know nothing about taxes and such, so I am just throwing this question out there for discussion).

The more I look, it seems as if
the Indian-American community is convinced Kerry will fix the outsourcing backlash by increasing the H-1B visa limit.


Now we know who is whispering in Kerry's ear about outsourcing. How do we as normal average citizens get the opportunity to whisper in his other ear?


05:54 am

posted by gmminks
link

Sunday July 11, 2004



MPC Computers LLC a PC maker based in Nampa, Idaho, promises they are not sending jobs offshore.

Read
this article
about them.

vote with your $$$, aparently that really is the only vote that counts.

via The Outsourcing Times
10:07 pm
Sunday July 11, 2004
posted by gmminks
link


Programmers being urged to outsource their projects


An Article in the
India Times urges Americans to "Outsource your job to earn more!"

The article instructs:


Programmers are outsourcing their software modules to cheap and efficient labour in India. This way they get the best of both worlds- more money and more time. They earn doubly – one from the outsourced job, other from the new job they undertake.

According to this concept the techie is able to give himself a promotion outsourcing the specific modules to one or more Indian techies . While he takes the charge as a overall project manager.

You can utilise the time in updating yourself to new technologies as well as learning a different domain thereby enhancing your market value considerably .


yikes.

This link from a blog called Outsourcing to India


10:00 pm

posted by gmminks
link


not all people protesting outsourcing are xenophobic


There is a new blog called Blame India Watch. They say "Lost your IT job? Blame HR and your management. Don't blame India, or Indians."

Hey I agree with that 100%.

I don't agree with comments such as these:

While the anti-India sheep sites prattle on about 200 hires in Hyderabad and 40 hires in Dehli, the real story about US outsourcing rages on in this corporate racket called the War on Terror.

They won't ever cover this, though, because it doesn't suit their anti-immigrant, xenophobic hysteria about "India". Meanwhile, more stories of outsourced contractor abuse are surfacing, again.


ok, so much for me believing that you [however writes that blog] could take a true global worker's stance on the issue of workers being abused by corporations. Yeah, you probably think the techies all got what the deserved, all American displaced techies are middle class middle depressed white guys.

Nice open minded comentary there.
09:53 pm

posted by gmminks
link


we made another blogroll


We are being rolled by Network World Fusion

hey y'all what up?
09:47 pm

posted by gmminks
link


New batch of ads looking for H1B workers


All of these are on Monster India...I challenge you to find them on the US Monster site...





  1. DOCUMENTUM ARCHITECT


    CEI is currently looking for Documentum Architects for its Pittsburgh Office in USA.

    Job Description :

    REQUIRED SKILLS:

    - Minimum of 6 years of experience, with clear progression through progressively senior technical roles ·
    - Superior writing and interpersonal skills ·
    - Strong working knowledge of Java, VB, SQL and XML technologies ·
    - Knowledge of RUP development methodologies, GUI development and web architectures ·
    - Strong knowledge of the Documentum 4i product suite, APIs and development environments · - Must have at least 4 years of hands-on experience using DCTM, including experience with versions 3x, 4x and 5x.·
    - Must understand the technical architecture of DCTM, including all the components/products that make up the DCTM suite.·
    - Must understand the differences between DCTM 4.x and 5.x. Which products are new, which ones go away (e.g. RightSite goes away in Version 5.x, and WebTop is new in version 5.x)·
    - Must understand how DCTM integrates with other technologies (Java, ASP, ATG, etc.)·
    - Must have hands-on experience doing DCTM upgrades to 5x. ·
    - Experience with design of Documentum-based solutions and technical architectures · - Experience with formal structured design, development and testing techniques ·


    RESPONSIBILITIES:·

    * Generate high-quality project documentation, design documents, test plans, etc. ·
    * Lead and participate in application customizations and technical implementations using structured techniques ·
    * Provide architectural design reviews and recommendation services ·
    * Provide technical infrastructure planning and implementation services ·
    * Provide technical solution scoping and proposal development (pre-sales) ·
    * Communicate status of assignments accurately to project and delivery management ·
    * Develop strong working relationships with partner, client and Documentum team members as needed ·
    * Provide technical and design leadership on Documentum, client or partner teams to build application solutions and/or deploy software as needed· Provide client and project management on smaller projects as needed

    CEI will process H1B work Permit for the selected candidates.

    Company: CEI
    Contact: Ravi Kumar Aleti
    Reference Code: DOCUM/Archi




  2. Ultimate Technology Solutions Inc


    Ultimate Technology Solutions is a growing IT company in US and specializes in providing DW solutions. We are Informatica Authorized Partners as well. We are looking for multiple ETL/Informatica/Datastage/Ab-initio/DTS Programmers/Project Leaders for projects across US.

    Skills Required:
    -- Minimum of two years extensive experience using Informatica Power Center 6.x/5.x or DataStage or Ab-Initio
    -- Experience with all aspects of ETL design & development
    -- Strong SQL and PL/SQL skills
    -- Strong Unix skills
    -- Experience with databases like DB2, Teradata would be a huge plus

    Skills Highly Desired:
    -- Strong data warehousing design experience using dimensional modeling
    techniques
    -- Experience with any reporting tools (Cognos, Business Objects, Microstrategy, Brio)
    -- Exposure to other ETL tools (DataStage, Ab-Initio, DTS)

    Individual should be able to work independently.
    Have EXCELLENT technical and professional client interaction skills.
    EXCELLENT Communication skills required.

    Location: Minnesota, Illinois, Georgia, New Jersey, Boston, New York,
    Philadelphia, Connecticut, Other Locations in USA

    ** We process H1B visas.

    If you are interested in joining our team, please send your detailed resume in word format to paul@utsolutions.com

    Paul
    Ultimate Technology Solutions, Inc.
    3818 Ascot, #111
    Lisle, IL 60532
    Tel: (630)221-9737
    Cell: (630)886-7478
    Fax: (630)221-9738

    Company: Ultimate Technology Solutions Inc
    Contact: Paul
    Email: paul@utsolutions.com
    Address: 3818 Ascot, #111
    Lisle,IL 60532
    Phone: 630 221 9737
    Fax: 630 221 9738
    Reference Code: ETL_emp




  3. SOFTWARE ENGINEERS


    THE CLIENT IS A RACKMOUNT SERVER COMPANY BASED IN SILICON VALLEY CA, USA.
    THE IDEAL CANDIDATEMUST BE A BE/BTECH/MCA WITH THE FOLLOWING SKILLSETS:
    FREE BSD NETWORKING INTERNALS, INPNAT,IPSEC,PF,ATTG,BIND PROGRAMMING SKILLS, PHP, PERL, MYSQL /SQL/ SQLITEAND JAVASCRIPT.
    WORK EXPERIENCE : 2 YEARS
    SALARY WOULD NOT BE A LIMITING FACTOR
    LOCATION: SILICON VALLEY CALIFORNIA U S A ON H1B
    NO OF OPENINGS: 2

    Salary: INR 100,000.00 to INR 100,000.00 per month
    [ed. note...100,000 INR (India Rupees) = 2.1918 USD (USA Dollar)...weird that they post the pay in rupees huh]
    Position Type: Full Time, Permanent
    Ref Code: 524
    Contact Information
    H RODRIGUES
    poweron@touchtelindia.net
    Power On Consultants






Yeah, let's open up the H1B category. These companies are not even advertising in the US for US workers. We are not allowed to compete with foreign workers on our own soil. Y'all that a'int right.
09:17 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Wages getting too high in India


Because they can't find skilled labor

"There is no dearth in entry-level human resources as there is a larger supply, but a severe shortage is felt in the middle-level positions."

That's because all the folks that can do those jobs are in the US.

08:00 pm

posted by gmminks
link


Status of H1Bs for fiscal year 2005


where are the jobs yall?

The The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) just had its annual conference in Philadelphia. According to this article, the immigration layers learned:


  • 16,000 H-1Bs against the fiscal year 2005 cap of 65,000 have been approved.
  • A panel comprising USCIS officials announced that it is reviewing the ‘Cap Gap’ issue and policy guidance will be published soon.

    The Cap Gap is when a foreign student's F1 visa to gain practical experience after college (those last a year) runs out and the cap for the H1B visas has already been reached.

  • the USCIS recently announced a policy that would permit their offices to deny H-1B petitions without issuing a Request For Evidence (RFEs).



The same article reports that "The US Consulate in Chennai has been informing companies that the US Embassy in New Delhi will soon announce the end of the ‘Drop Box’ processing for nonimmigrant visa applications at all four consular posts in India. "

So, INS is finally enforcing some of the measures built into the visa laws that are designed to make sure Americans are able to compete for jobs in America.

But does any of this bs really matter? According to Rob Sanchez's
Job Destruction Newsletter, Kerry's campaign now is calling for an amnesty for illegal immigrants, and they have also dropped [the] part of the platform from 2000 that protected American workers by calling for a limit to the H-1B work visa. (wonder WHO gave them that idea?)

this candidate is looking better and better to me!



see zazona.com/ShameH1B/JobDestructionNews.htm">Job Destruction Newsletter
07:55 pm

posted by gmminks
link

Monday July 5, 2004


Outsource or Die


New articles floating around about a report put out by the Boston Consulting Group.

In an article in the India Economic Times entitlted "Outsource to India or Die", the India press is excited that the Boston firm is encouraging " American firms to outsource more work to India , including high-powered functions like research and development, and warned bluntly that those who would not do so face extinction.
"


Many US citizens opened their July 4 papers to read these sort of articles as well. Apparently, BSC's clients think US workers suck.

Particularly troubling is the report's information about confidential discussions with executives at Boston Consulting's client companies, many of whom conveyed low opinions of their American employees compared with labor available abroad. Not only are factory workers in low-cost countries much cheaper - well below $1 per hour in China, compared with $15 to $30 per hour in the U.S. and Europe - but they quickly achieve quality levels that are "equivalent to or even higher than . . . (the) best plants in the West," according to the report.

According to the press release for the report, BCG reccomends:

“Seeking global advantage through LCCs [low cost countries] is an imperative for all industrial companies. Those not yet examining LCCs need to begin now, and those already moving need to pick up the pace. The rub is that the task is daunting and painful, requiring tough thinking and a willingness to scrap current international and LCC strategies and write off seemingly important legacy facilities,” said BCG senior vice president Dave Young, co-author of the report and the global head of the firm’s Industrial Goods practice."

They go on to admit the labor differential is the key:

"In general, the biggest cost savings are in labor. While a factory worker in the U.S. costs between $15 and $30 per hour, a Chinese worker makes less than $1 an hour. For service employees—for example, phone center employees—the savings are dramatic too. The labor cost savings a company realizes by outsourcing a service job to India can be as much as 60 percent.

The press release also goes on to say that the workers in LCC countries "contain vast pools of talented, trainable workers, as well as large pools of skilled workers eager to apply “craftsman” talents. (of course India is already claiming they have an
impending labor shortage
)

Also, this quote is pretty scary:
The ability to rely on labor rather than automation results in valuable flexibility in manufacturing.

Here is a contact at BCG:
munuz.erol@bcg.com







06:04 pm
Monday July 5, 2004
posted by gmminks
link

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