[NTLUG:Discuss] OT: Fried

[Allen Flick]

Steve Baker wrote:

> Allen Flick wrote:
>
> > You're 100% correct here.  An added quirk to the whole thing is that "they"
> > don't give us Americans a chance to bid on the jobs. It's the old "I know what
> > they'll cost, no matter the economy, so I won't even talk to them".
>
> OK - I just know I'm setting myself up for another round of insults, hate mail,
> death-threats, etc...but maybe you'd like to hear the other side of the story.
>
> I'm a British citizen - I was an H1B worker for seven year - I've had my
> full Green-Card for about three years now.
> <snip>  <snip>  <snip>  <snip>  <snip>
>
> I think I am an example of the H1B program doing what it is supposed to do - bring
> skills into the US workforce to generally improve businesses and make US companies
> more effective.
>
> > I knew way back in May of 2001 that I was fried  when the PR person I
> > talked to at a telecom company told me to not look for any return call because
> > he was only doing his legal duty of talking to X number of Americans before
> > he hired the H1B he wanted.
>
> But that's illegal.  He has to prove that you were not qualified to do the work
> or that you wouldn't accept the job at the pay rate they were offering to the H1B
> people.   You should have reported them to the INS, sued them - whatever.  There
> is no point in bitching about a law if you take no part in helping the authorities
> to enforce it.

I'm a 50+ white male.  Think of the situation. If I had "reported" him to the
authorities, it would have been my word against his.  I would have lost because
of my age/race status puts me on the wrong side at the beginning and I couldn't
have **proven** anything.

In one downsizing I was a party to, it only affected 50+ white males. I could not
get support from the others involved and when I did get re-employed I made a
casual statement of the situation to the hiring HR person whom I'd known for a
while.  He told me that it was a good thing that I didn't pursue the discrimination
aspect because that would have "black balled" me because HR people do
communicate on the sly about what could be referred to as the big cases.

So, I report the guy.  I lose the case on the "he said - he said" basis of facts and
I get black balled for life as a trouble maker.

Trust me, if I'd had the guy taped, I'd have done something since then I'd have
had concrete evidence then.

"Ya gotta know when hold 'em and know when to fold 'em."


> >>>It's about GREED not about qualifications or lack of local workers.
> >>>Those of you that want to defend this BS just stick a sock in it!!!!
>
> In SOME cases it's about qualifications and lack of local workers.

SOME  < 5%


> In SOME cases it's flagrant abuse of a law that needs some serious re-thinking.

SOME > 50%


> The H1B system IS broken - and it could (quite easily) be fixed if the
> government were working for the people and not for big business.

I'm afraid to admit this opinion, but I feel the gov't (regardless of the
political party in power) has not been working for the people for many
decades now.  To think that's going to change is just dreaming, as I
stated before.


> More worrying by far is the overseas outsourcing situation.  I seriously
> doubt that there is anything government can reasonably do about that.
> Shutting down the H1B system would likely just result in companies giving
> the jobs to the exact same people - but over in their own countries.   That's
> *far* worse for the US economy than having an H1B worker on the books because
> at least H1B's pay full US taxes and spend much of their earnings in the US
> economy.  Money sent to pay people overseas is just money lost to the economy.