Hamidi's Battle Against Intel
Hamidi's Battle Against Intel
Date: Thursday, July 03, 2003 10:33 AM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
www.ZaZona.com
I first learned about H-1B on Ken Hamidi's FaceIntel website while I
was researching age discrimination. FaceIntel details how Intel uses
the "Ranking and Rating" system to harass and discriminate against
their older employees. The website features documentation and
commentaries about Intel's corporate abuse and exploitation, - and how
they use of H-1B to displace older workers.
Hamidi's has been in a legal battle with Intel because he sent emails
to employees about their abusive employer. Intel's response was to file
a lawsuit to break Hamidi's will and ability to inform the public. The
plan is backfiring because Intel executives underestimated Hamidi's
determination to fight back. This is a modern day David and Goliath
story and so far Goliath is getting his teeth knocked out.
Go to this page to see Ken Hamidi marching on Intel's headquarters on a
horse. It's an all time classic!
http://www.intelhamidi.com/firstdelivery.htm
Whenever someone I know says they are looking for work at Intel I tell
them to go to this website before they make the move:
http://www.faceintel.com
After the two news articles, I have a few snippets from the FaceIntel
website, including a letter that I wrote in 1998.
Just one more thing: I started the H-1B Hall of Shame because I admired
Ken Hamidi's "in your face(Intel)" style. His byzantine balance of
facts, humor, and sarcastic cynicism inspired me to do the same.
Ken Hamidi: Congratulations and keep fighting for the rights of
American workers!
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/02/MN181676.DTL
Intel e-mail case heads to state high court
Ruling could redefine parameters of free speech rights in cyberspace
Harriet Chiang, Chronicle Legal Affairs Writer
Wednesday, April 2, 2003
)2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback
When Ken Hamidi was fired from Intel over a work injury dispute, he
wanted to share his beef with others. So he sat down at his computer
and did what has become routine in the Internet age -- he sent an
e-mail.
In fact, the engineer sent six e-mail messages to thousands of Intel
employees from 1996 to 1998, criticizing the computer giant's
employment practices. Intel asked Hamidi to stop and tried to block his
e-mails, but to no avail.
Finally, the company, based in Santa Clara, went to court, claiming
that Hamidi, a nine-year employee with the company, was disrupting its
business. In a decision that stunned civil rights and free speech
experts, a state appeals court agreed with Intel and barred Hamidi from
sending any more e-mail, ruling that he had trespassed on Intel's
property.
The dispute is now before the California Supreme Court, which this week
will hear arguments in what could be a landmark case defining the
parameters of free speech rights in cyberspace.
'THAT'S CENSORSHIP'
Hamidi, 55, says that Intel's Internet-based e-mail system is a public
forum that was never disrupted by his e-mail notes. His defenders say
that the corporate giant is trying to silence Hamidi because they don't
like his message.
"That's censorship," said Ann Brick, an attorney with the American
Civil Liberties Union in Northern California, which has filed a brief
in support of Hamidi. "This is about an employer or some other third
party deciding what kind of e-mail I can send that you receive."
Intel responds that it has a right to control its business operations
-- including its e-mail. Hamidi's electronic assault distracted
employees and disrupted its business, the company said.
"The e-mail is Intel's private property," said Intel spokesman Chuck
Mulloy.
"It's a resource."
Intel has characterized Hamidi's e-mail messages as a "barrage" forced
on tens of thousands of employees. Hamidi's attorneys say it was only
six messages over a two-year period -- barely a blip in the constant
flow of electronic mail.
BROAD RAMIFICATIONS
Because of the potentially broad ramifications, the case has drawn
national attention. E-mail is quickly becoming the preferred method of
communication for a growing segment of the population. It's faster than
sending a letter and often more efficient than picking up the phone.
While courts and state legislatures have imposed restrictions on spam
and computer hacking, the vast frontier of opinions and ideas sent via
e-mail is still relatively unexplored.
Hamidi, who initially was representing himself but is now being
represented by lawyers in Philadelphia and San Francisco, has drawn
support from the ACLU, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection
of Free Expression and 41 law professors from around the country.
Backing Intel are an array of business heavyweights, including the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, the California Chamber of Commerce and the
Semiconductor Industry Association.
FEELING OF BETRAYAL
Hamidi's troubles with Intel began after he was injured in a 1990 car
accident while returning from a conference.
The engineer, who worked at Intel's Folsom (Sacramento County) offices,
became entangled in a long-running worker's compensation dispute with
the company until he was ultimately fired in 1995.
Hamidi said he felt betrayed by a company with which he had envisioned
spending the rest of his career.
"I decided to fight back," he said. "I was not going to let this happen
to other people."
He formed a group of former and current disgruntled Intel workers, set
up a Web site and even rode up to the front door of Intel's corporate
headquarters in a horse and buggy to deliver 40,000 printed messages.
He also sent e-mails.
After acquiring Intel's e-mail address list, he sent e-mails to as many
as 35,000 employees, sending them in the middle of the night and using
different computers in order to bypass Intel's attempts to block his
messages. He agreed to drop anyone from his mailing list at their
request.
A Sacramento Superior Court judge granted Intel's request for a
preliminary injunction forbidding Hamidi from sending e-mail to Intel
workers. In December 2001, a state appeals court shook the legal
community by ruling 2-1 that Intel could ban Hamidi from sending
e-mail.
"Intel owns the e-mail system it provides to its workers as much as it
owns the telephones and manufacturing equipment it provides," wrote
Justice Fred Morrison. In its reasoning, the court dusted off an
obscure law that forbids "trespass to chattel," which applies to
someone's private property.
In a strongly worded dissenting opinion, Justice Daniel Kolkey warned
that the court was expanding a law that had been limited to cases in
which someone damages another's property. Other appellate courts have
applied the trespass law in computer cases only where the volume of
e-mail disrupted or damaged operations, he said.
DEFENDING E-MAIL RIGHTS
Hamidi's attorneys say that Intel does not have to resort to censorship
to stifle a former employee. Employees can simply delete his message,
or the company can rely on spam filters.
"Intel certainly is perfectly capable of getting their own message
across," said San Francisco lawyer Karl Olson, who is teaming with
Philadelphia attorney William McSwain in representing Hamidi.
Law professors who specialize in computer and intellectual property law
point out that Intel would not have been able to muzzle Hamidi if he
had relied on the telephone or U.S. Postal Service to spread his
message.
Professor Mark Lemley, who teaches computer law at UC Berkeley's Boalt
Hall, filed a brief on behalf of 41 law professors specializing in
computer law and intellectual property. He said the Hamidi decision was
one of a series of rulings -- largely in the federal courts -- that
have allowed those who run Web sites or e-mail systems to control who
has access to them, even if there is no harm to the system.
But those cases largely have been in the business context involving
potential competitors, not with someone merely expressing an opinion.
"If you hold this illegal, lots of possible things could be illegal,"
Lemley said.
But attorneys for employer groups warn that if Hamidi prevails, anyone
with a gripe will be able to bombard a company with e-mails. He is free
to express his opinions, they say, whether on his Web site or on the
street. Just as long as it's not on their property.
"This is a case where the owner is saying I don't want him to use this
speech on my server," said Richard Epstein, an intellectual property
professor at the University of Chicago who filed a brief on behalf of a
coalition of employers' groups. "It's the same as saying 'I don't want
him using this speech in my living room.' "
Mark Theodore, an attorney who filed a brief on behalf of the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce and other groups, said that many computer servers
already had set up rules for their systems, noting that eBay prohibits
anyone from selling Nazi memorabilia on its Web site.
"It isn't this big frontier that everybody is talking about," he said.
"There's got to be some limits."
E-mail the writer at hchiang@sfchronicle.com.
------------- FaceIntel Snippets -----------------------
http://www.faceintel.com/scam.htm
At the same time, Intel shamelessly claimed that they had a shortage of
skilled labor. Therefore, Intel wanted the immigration laws (H1B visa)
to be modified to allow them to hire more foreign labor (cheap labor).
Intel also claims in the national media that without unrestricted
access to cheap foreign labor, Intel will lose the competition to
Japan, and the American economy will be adversely affected.
http://www.faceintel.com/sweatshop2.htm
"while cynically paying temp rates at one-half the going industry
standard rate! Can you imagine US workers earning less than
counterparts in Bangalore? By the methods FACE Intel has so described,
Intel and like-minded corporations wage war against American workers
and the day of the US Bangalore worker is here!"
While thousands of American workers are laid off by these disgraceful
tactics, thousands more foreign workers are brought into the United
States under the H1B and L1 visa program and hundreds of thousands more
American jobs are shipped out to unstable 3rd world countries like
China and India.
http://www.faceintel.com/layoffs.htm
Mixed Messages from Intel on April 15, 1998:
"This is how; while Intel is announcing layoffs, FACE Intel has learned
that Intel also has also claimed a serious shortage of skilled workers
and is urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to increase the 65,000
limit imposed on H1B visas. At the same time, Intel is aggressively
hiring at universities. As Mr. High stated, they are hiring while
firing. That is a clear case of replacing the older employees with
young RCGs (Recent College Graduates), or replacement of experienced
with inexperienced, or replacement of expensive employees with cheaper
ones. It is safe to conclude that this is major cleanup operation."
------------- My Letter, 1998 -----------------------
http://www.faceintel.com/announcementarchives.htm
March 31, 1998
"Intel treats engineers like cattle," a former contractor says.
Face INTEL:
I am tiring of the media hoopla that there is a massive engineering
shortage. Arizona's governor, Jane Hull, has practically declared a
state of emergency here because Motorola and INTEL say they can't find
enough high tech employees to hire in this state. Let me tell you why I
believe that the news media has been deceived by these and other large
companies.
My first job after graduating with a BSEE was at Motorola's Government
Group in Scottsdale. I was downsized in 1989. During my exit interview
a human resource guy told me that I was not targeted because I had
almost 9 years there and was about to receive expanded benefits. He
said that an unnamed manager claimed my performance was not up to
expectations. I was sent to an out-placement service to learn job
hunting skills. I'm sure that it was only a coincidence that none of
the engineers terminated were younger than 30. While we were being
pushed out a record number of college graduates were hired into
Motorola's 6 month training program. If skills were the only issue why
didn't they offer to train us? Basically Motorola chose to get rid of
employees that had between 4-9 years seniority.
After almost losing my house I found another job. I took a 10% salary
cut from my Motorola job. I was only months from becoming fully vested
when they fired me. After almost 5 years they said that they were
letting me go because of you guessed it - my performance. It took me 17
months to find another software engineering job for $28k per year.
This was 33% less than I made at Motorola 7 years earlier. So much for
Arizona's great job market and expanding salaries. So what if living
expenses are less than Silicon Valley?
I've had numerous bouts of unemployment. It's very difficult to get job
interviews in the Phoenix area. Most of my interviews seemed to always
be with young engineers who were not a day older than 30. Would you be
surprised that not one of those companies ever called me back with a
job offer? They usually said that they found somebody better qualified
- in other words younger and cheaper.
By 1994 my difficulty finding engineering jobs contradicted everything
I read in the local newspaper about how companies were begging for
anybody with engineering skills. A brief look at our local newspaper
classifieds in the Arizona Republic would seem to verify that there are
many job openings in engineering. Upon closer examination you would
find that almost all of the ads are nothing but contract agencies
hunting for resumes. I have been registered with dozens of them and
they rarely are able to get me an interview, much less a job. Very few
companies have an ad for engineers unless they are trying to get
approval for a foreign worker visa to import somebody. You will
recognize these ads because they are very long and list more
requirements than any one person could have. They have no intention of
hiring a local such as me. I attended support group meetings for
unemployed engineers. They were all my age or older and all of them
were having similar problems. We constantly have to endure the
questions and ridicule from spouses and friends that hear the
optimistic spin coming from the mainline press.
Several years ago I received two letters from the Department of
Economic Security that said they were investigating two companies I
sent resumes to. INTEL and VLSI claimed that there was nobody in the
U.S., including me, that has the proper skills for the job. Therefore
they needed H1-B visas to hire foreign engineers. I filled out the DES
forms and verified that I have most of skills advertised and would work
for the advertised salary - which was much better than my previous job.
Of course I never heard from INTEL or VLSI because DES rubber stamped
the approval. This procedure is a sham that DES and INTEL conspire to
in order to convince the American public that hiring foreign engineers
is justified. High tech companies prefer to hire these indentured
slaves (H1-B) because it's better for the bottom line. INTEL probably
got this idea from watching grape pickers toiling in California .
Recently I was hired by INTEL in Chandler as a contractor. The first
thing I noticed when I got there is how young everybody was. Engineers
my age are rarely hired by INTEL unless we agree to be contractors
(temporaries). They sure are on a hiring binge for college graduates
though. I saw at least a new one every week.
Without notice I was called at home and told that my contract with
INTEL was terminated. INTEL refused to give me a reason. I wasn't even
allowed to go to my desk to get my personal belongings. My manager put
my personal belongings in a box and left it at security. They kept two
software reference books that I bought at my own expense because my
boss assured me that I would be reimbursed. They kept stalling on the
reimbursement while I was there. My contract company eventually
reimbursed me out of their own funds because INTEL wouldn't. INTEL,
Chandler is a bunch of petty, lying, cheapskates!!! INTEL treats
engineers like cattle. Their new space compression program for people
is supposed to foster worker cohesion. Everybody gets to be in a
compartment barely big enough to sit in. They probably didn't renew my
contract out of compassion. At the age of 41 they figured I wasn't
flexible enough to get in and out of those cubicles safely.
I'm now contracting at a Mesa company that is expected to grow because
unions are so weak in this state. They're going to move their labor to
Arizona to save money and bust the unions that work at their other
plants. Relocating to Arizona is very popular with CEO's because we are
a right to work state. This means employers have the right to decide
whether you can work based on age, race, or the phase of the moon.
40 something and sun-burned
Face INTEL - I don't want to use my name for obvious reasons. The last
thing I need is to get blackballed. I would prefer if you have
questions to call me at home. If you need verification of those DES
letters I could fax them to you.
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