8 Articles Worth Reading
8 Articles Worth Reading
Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2006 9:00 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
January 31, 2006 No. 1405
<<< COMMENTS FROM ROB >>>
Article #6 is notable for what it doesn't have. Harris Miller is being
interviewed by Computerworld about running for the Senate in Virginia, and
yet not a single question was asked about H-1B. Considering that is what
Harris Miller is internationally famous for, why would a leading high-tech
magazine not ask the obvious question?
Article #7 should be read only after you dinner is digested, because the
thought of having breakfast with Harris Miller is enough to cause
gastronomical problems of the worst kind.
Just in case you would like to participate in one of Harris "the Shiller"
Miller's social events, you can go to his website to find out the next time
he is going to dish out some slop to gullible Virginia Democrats.
http://www.miller2006.org/
Article #8: Ganesh Guruswamy, country manager of Freescale Semiconductor in
India, said that they are going on a nationwide talent hunt because they
can't find enough engineers. Meanwhile, in Chandler Arizona Freescale
recently terminated the employment of 32 seminconductor design engineers
and has told more people that in three months more jobs will be eliminated.
In Australia Freescale is also busy eliminating about 150 jobs (see
previous newsletter). Why doesn't the Guru guy keep the engineers he has in
other countries?
<<< END COMMENTS >>>
Article 1:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0601220434jan22,1,6166958.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Will work for less
'It used to be a good job, now it's just a job'
"For the United States, it's the end of labor as we once knew it," Stephen
Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, wrote recently.
Article 2:
http://www.eprairie.com/news/viewnews.asp?newsletterID=13576
H-1B Program: Some Companies Addicted, Some Actually Overdosing
There were larger concerns than just individual job losses. Some people
pointed out that some companies were saving money by using cheaper labor on
projects involving national security. When youre an addict, you dont
see the damage you do to others or the damage you inflict on national
security.
Article 3:
http://www.americaneconomicalert.org/view_art.asp?Prod_ID=2205
The Labor Shortage Hoax
Theres a new glut on world markets. No, Im not talking about the
gluts of Chinese apparel or shares of Google stock bought at $475 each or
of sub-prime U.S. lenders. Im talking about the new glut of studies
claiming that what really ails the U.S. economy is a shortage of skilled
workers. In fact, all these studies really show is that theres still
another glut thats engulfed the economic policymaking world -- of raw,
unadulterated chutzpah.
Article 4:
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/bus/stories/DN-greenlegacy_29bus.ART0.State.Edition1.3eaa0b7.html
For better or worse, North Texas went global, too
"I discovered what it was like to be thrown away like yesterday's garbage,"
said Gene Nelson, an unemployed tech worker in Carrollton. "I know what
it's like to have my livelihood stolen from me."
Article 5:
http://communitydispatch.com/artman/publish/article_3452.shtml
NEWARK ICE AGENTS SEIZE $5.7 MILLION & LUXURY VEHICLES IN MASSIVE BENEFITS
FRAUD INVESTIGATION
A citizen of India living in New Jersey is in federal custody and agents
from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have seized $5,724,592
in assets from the suspect's bank and brokerage accounts in a massive
immigration benefits fraud investigation. During the investigation, ICE
agents discovered that Mandalapa filed nearly 1,000 possibly fraudulent
labor-based petitions on behalf of Indian and Pakistani nationals seeking
to enter or remain in the United States. The petitions were for skilled
computer workers.
Article 6:
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/story/0,10801,107696,00.html
Q&A: Former ITAA president talks up technology, U.S. Senate run
Article 7:
http://www.fcnp.com/546/barton.htm
Our Man In Arlington
We first went to a big breakfast given by Fairfax s Harris Miller, who
recently announced his run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican
George Allen. Watch for an aggressive campaign by Miller.
Article 8:
http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/hardware/stories/132569.html
Booming semiconductor industry begins talent hunt
The Indian semiconductor industry is ready to boom, believe industry
representatives. Says Ganesh Guruswamy, country manager of Freescale
Semiconductor India Pvt Ltd, "We spend around one-and-a-half years to train
freshers who join us. This is because, though there are innumerable
engineering colleges in the country, most of them are not equipped with
tool-kits that the students need to be trained on for joining the
industry."
1. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0601220434jan22,1,6166958.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Will work for less
'It used to be a good job, now it's just a job'
By Stephen Franklin
Tribune staff reporter
January 22, 2006
DECATUR, Ill. -- Whenever Robert Johnson puts in 12-hour shifts, which is
often because he needs the money, he knows he should grab a bite in the
factory lunchroom because he's a diabetic.
But he rarely does because a slice of pizza at the Caterpillar plant costs
nearly $3, and that's beyond his means.
Glued to a bare-bones budget, he saved for weeks to buy a five-pack of $7
T-shirts. Sunday visits with his kids, 53 miles away in Springfield, are
out of the question if he doesn't have gas money.
He didn't always live this way.
Six years ago Johnson was earning more than twice as much money--$29 an
hour--at a nuclear power plant in nearby Clinton. Then he got laid off and
tumbled into an underworld of low wages and slimmed-down benefits.
This underworld is now the reality, or a disheartening look into the near
future, for thousands of workers as the industrial Midwest undergoes the
most wrenching economic transformation since the bad old Rust Belt days of
the 1970s.
With the forces of globalization leading companies to slash costs, move out
of the country or go under, workers who don't bring a clear competitive
advantage to work every day are vulnerable to having their pay cut.
At this moment the risk is clearest in the auto parts industry, where
Delphi Corp. has filed for bankruptcy court protection, and its chairman,
Robert "Steve" Miller, has threatened to cut wages from $27 an hour to as
low as $9.50.
But look at any number of industries where American factory hands are
competing against the Chinese or the Cambodians, whether in textiles or
furniture or appliances, and the fallout is the same: The standard of
living for the Americans slips.
"For the United States, it's the end of labor as we once knew it," Stephen
Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, wrote recently.
A version of this new reality is taking place in Decatur, where Caterpillar
Inc. introduced hundreds of new hires last year. Job creation was the good
news. The bad news: Starting wages were cut to $10 an hour from $20.
The result is that Caterpillar and Decatur have become a laboratory of
sorts for witnessing the impact of wage cuts. Working and living side by
side are Caterpillar employees doing the same kind of work for different
wages. The lucky ones are paid according to the old scale.
The unlucky ones are struggling, like Johnson, who got his $12.24-an-hour
Caterpillar job in January 2005. It was days before he was due to start
work for $7 an hour at a Target store in Decatur.
The new job has hardly lifted him up financially.
"I live on just the bare necessities," he said one day recently in his
one-bedroom apartment, a small, darkly lit place with nearly empty walls.
He pays $385 monthly rent for the cheapest place in town that he thought he
could live in.
Growing up in Decatur, he expected factory work to pay off for him as it
did for his father, a Caterpillar engineer, and for neighbors who earned
very decent wages as blue-collar workers at the many factories scattered
around town.
Indeed, while Decatur lost nearly half of its factory jobs in the last 25
years, there are survivors who are reminders of how the old system used to
work.
Kent Smith started at Caterpillar's Decatur plant 31 years ago when he was
22 years old. For years Smith didn't like the job. It was boring and dirty.
But he stayed because of the pay, the pension and benefits that were hard
to find elsewhere.
Until last year, Caterpillar picked up nearly all of his health-care costs,
a financial boost that's almost extinct among companies today. Now Smith
has to pay for his premiums, with out-of-pocket costs growing yearly.
But he earns just over $25 an hour as an electrician. With his Caterpillar
job and his wife's salary as a manager for the local telephone company, he
has done well financially.
Smith lives in a two-story wood-frame house set amid 10 acres of hickory,
oak and ash trees just outside Shelbyville, south of Decatur. He has a
tree-shaded 13-foot-deep pond stocked with fish. He also has a
Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a snowmobile.
Smith doesn't talk about his lifestyle with new hires at work because "I
try not to rub their noses in it." He is a reserved person, but he has no
hesitation in sharing his thoughts on what's happened at factories like
his.
"Corporations want the American worker to tread water or sink so other
workers around the world can catch up with us," he said. So, too, it
strikes him that a job at Caterpillar "used to be a good job, but now it's
just a job."
Caterpillar won't say how many new workers it has hired at the new lower
wages, but union officials say it is 1,400.
Dave Stanley, president of UAW Local 751 in Decatur, remembers
Caterpillar's warning to union officials during the last round of
negotiations, and the feeling that the union's back was against the wall.
"They said that if the contract were not approved, the plants would die on
the vine," he recalled. The union fought Caterpillar for 6 1/2 years in the
1990s over the wage tiers and other concessions that it ultimately
accepted.
Stanley said Caterpillar has handed out hefty raises since last year in
order to hold on to higher-skilled workers, but it has not done the same
for those with lower skills, who are the bulk of the workers in Decatur.
He wonders how the new workers will support their families on the lowered
wages.
Caterpillar spokeswoman Linda Fairbanks said the company was simply fitting
the mold when it reduced pay.
"Our wage and benefit package is competitive in the local market," she
said, adding that the company relied on a vast array of data.
`It's the best I can find'
Don Dragovan was thrilled when Caterpillar hired him more than a year ago.
He thought he had signed up for the blue-collar gravy train in his early
50s. Neighbors congratulated him.
At the time, Dragovan was working three jobs: one as a part-time psychology
professor, one as a painter and another doing whatever side job he could
find. It was hardly ideal for someone who had suffered a heart attack a few
years before.
His dream didn't totally come true at Caterpillar. He was put on the lower
pay tier and today earns about $15 an hour as a painter. He is
disappointed. But only slightly.
"The reality is this: It's the best that I can find. Now I have a full-time
job, not three, and I have health care. I didn't have that [health care]
before," he said.
Dragovan figures the company's health-care plan has covered more than
$30,000 in medical bills for his family in the last year.
The problem is, he still can't get by. Not with two kids in college and
another headed that way next year.
That means he recently paid $357 for new brakes for a car with more than
150,000 miles, when he had been thinking about buying a new one. It means
buying day-old items at supermarkets and bargains like the $1.15 loaf of
bread he picked up the day before. It means soon dropping his telephone
line and depending on his cell phone. It means looking for a second job
--again.
"It's a constant question of `do we really need this,'" he said.
To save money, he relies on a small space heater. It is usually enough to
heat the small, three-bedroom house he bought for $37,000 in 1993.
At work, he will hear other new hires boasting that they will do only 60
percent of the job because that's what they are getting paid. He doesn't
agree with that kind of thinking.
But there are times when he sees veteran workers not putting out as much as
he does, and it clicks that they are making $17,000 more a year for the
same work. Such times he wants to remind them how good they have it.
Second-class citizen
Johnson, a quiet, soft-spoken man in his late 40s, has similar thoughts on
the job.
Every so often he would like to tell the new hires, who last worked at a
fast-food place and who are starry-eyed over the 12-bucks-an-hour pay
scale, that their jobs are not stepping stones unless they get more
education.
But he also would like to explain to his young, recently hired
bosses--college graduates who regularly tell him that he won't go anywhere
without a degree--that they make him feel like a second-class citizen when
they say such things.
Johnson wishes they would realize that he has learned things from working
in a factory that years of college studies wouldn't give him.
He never wanted to work in an office, which is why he didn't mind going to
work years ago at the Illinois Power Co. nuclear plant in Clinton.
Likewise, when he was laid off in 1999, he didn't consider retraining
because he wasn't sure what he would do. He thought he would keep doing
factory work.
He knew that factory work had changed. But he didn't realize how much wages
had declined.
"Ten years ago, many factory workers were making very decent wages. But I
don't think we'll see that again," said Robyn McCoy, head of the federally
funded Workforce Investment Solutions office in Decatur. It handles job
training for laid-off workers in the area.
Such a fact of life matters greatly in Midwest communities like Decatur,
which were nurtured by well-paying factory jobs for people who showed up
for work with little more than two strong arms and a willingness to put in
a hard day.
A learning experience
As Johnson climbed down the pay scale, he shed his middle-class goodies: a
large, comfortable house in Lincoln, a new car and a pickup and a racetrack
car he dabbled with. He is still paying for the two cars that were seized
by creditors.
He pays $285 every other week in support for his three children. That
leaves him $516 to spend every two weeks. His monthly rent is $385. He pays
$215 monthly for his 2001 Chevy Lumina. He has the minimum car insurance,
$30 a month. Food costs $150 a month.
The last movie he saw was shown at a church before Christmas. His parents
bought him the ticket.
Without the overtime he works--as much as he can get--he would not be able
to pay for his doctor visits or medicine.
Still, he was surprised recently, he said, when he went to pick up
prescriptions that cost $104. He had to return home for more cash and later
had to pinch money from other expenses.
But one morning recently, as he got ready for work, he was feeling upbeat
about his future and stoic about his losses. He talked about moving on,
making the best of things, learning to start over.
"It's been a learning experience. It shows me I can do things I once didn't
want to do. ... You just have to keep a positive attitude. But a lot of
people are giving up," he said. "The way things are, you know you have to
take it as you get it."
"Cat," the young cat he picked up recently, bounced around the apartment,
keeping him busy. "Cat" costs money, but she keeps him company, he said.
In time, Johnson said, his pay will go up, or maybe he will get a
better-paying job.
"We're in a cycle right now where corporations have the advantage, and
unions don't," he said. "But soon the cycle will change."
2. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.eprairie.com/news/viewnews.asp?newsletterID=13576
H-1B Program: Some Companies Addicted, Some Actually Overdosing
Published on 1/25/2006
Carlinis Comments, ePrairies oldest column, runs every Wednesday. Its
mission is to offer the common mans view on business and technology
issues while questioning the leadership and visions of "pseudo" experts.
CHICAGO - A column on the H-1B program two weeks ago elicited many irate
responses from across the country. Feedback was high and very opinionated.
In that column, I described the H-1B program as heroin to U.S. companies
that are now addicted to it even though the "shortage" of people is long
over. Im now hearing about some of the consequences of these corporate
overdoses. The people and their job situations were impressive and
poignant.
Erosion of Security, IP Rights
There were larger concerns than just individual job losses. Some people
pointed out that some companies were saving money by using cheaper labor on
projects involving national security. When youre an addict, you dont
see the damage you do to others or the damage you inflict on national
security.
What happens when companies have people in sensitive jobs without real
clearance for security? What about the one federal case about stealing
company trade secrets at Lucent a couple years ago? Are there others we
dont even know about?
There are many concerns about the erosion of security with H-1Bs taking
sensitive jobs including ones that need Department of Defense clearance. I
always thought you needed to be a citizen to work on government projects or
is it just enough to be an American shell company with foreign nationals
working for it?
A longtime reader said this:
Line that up against the comments from Sam Zell in your last column about
intellectual property and you have the perfect (albeit disturbing and
dangerous) storm.
Sam Zell was very concerned about protecting American intellectual property
rights in his speech at the recent Executives Club of Chicago luncheon.
You can get the impact of mixing visas and national security from the next
reader, who pointed out the erosion of security on a government project in
Ohio:
I am U.S. citizen. I worked for a defense contracting company based in
Dayton, Ohio. My employer brought in foreign nationals on H-1B visas and
laid off all American workers. While some of the projects we worked on
needed "secret clearance," now even foreign nationals on an H-1B visa can
take those jobs.
Im now an IT HR recruiter. All my clients now ask me if I can get a guy
on an H-1B visa.
Theyd rather have foreign nationals. They dont want qualified
American citizens. You want to know why? Because an H-1B visa worker has no
rights under the law. A person on an H-1B visa cant leave the company.
He is under a contract. If he leaves, his visa is cancelled.
Also, they can pay the H-1B worker less money (by something like $20,000).
Im ashamed of being an American citizen. In my country, American
companies are backstabbing their own people.
Even though the original theory of the program might have been good, its
practice is clearly being abused and guidelines are not being followed.
Where are the safeguards?
Another reader called me up and said he sees executives who are "selling
out" their jobs and are "traitors" to their fellow Americans. Those are
pretty strong words, I said. He continued to point out that he crashed from
a critical $160,000 IT job to next to nothing and believes the abuse has
crippled many middle-class families.
Tighten Your Belt, Not Mine
I received another letter from the president of a software company who had
this observation:
Having moved on from Lucent and having started my own software company two
years ago, I have come to the realization that until U.S. employees agree
to some degree of relaxed standard of living by not accepting lower wages
they will continue to be at a severe disadvantage to incoming H-1B
candidates.
Compounding the salary disparity is the fact that companies dont have to
pay the high load factors for H-1B candidates that they do for U.S.
workers. This drives the cost for U.S. alternatives up by almost 40
percent.
Whats a "good-paying job" really? This is a relative concept. My tech
friends from India with better credentials than my friends from Chicago
dont feel its necessary to drive an H3 Hummer and live in a $700,000
house in Naperville. They are happy being employed with lower wages,
sending money back home to their families and enjoying life.
My employed and unemployed business circle of friends wont budge on
salary. They feel they deserve the salaries they made prior to when "real"
competition set in from outside our borders. We need to be more innovative,
visionary and passionate and we need to get back to work. Until then,
whining will get us nowhere.
I might have leaned more toward his assessment until I started learning
about the abuses. My partial response to him was that overnight shifts in
salary levels from $100,000 to $36,000 cannot be absorbed. People who have
worked 20 years to get to that financial point cant just turn back the
mortgage and payments they now have.
Whining? Someone who doesnt have huge financial burdens can easily say
they can work cheaply. After all, they have no long-term investments or
things like college tuition for their kids or house and car payments.
By sending their money "back home," they also fail to do anything to
regenerate the economy here because their salaries arent being spent
here. Thats bad as it affects the purchases of other local products and
services. I dont need to be an economist to see that. GM and Ford can
easily back me on that observation.
I too have worked with foreign CEOs and presidents. They dont make the
staggering money that most of our CEOs and presidents make. Still, they are
just as effective (if not more so) than their American counterparts. In
fact, some are a lot better than their American counterparts and have good
people skills and a good business sense.
Lets remember that some top management here have gotten their companies
into a lot of trouble and have ruined thousands of peoples careers
because of their own shortcomings and wrong decisions. Its funny that
the same "tighten your belt" attitude doesnt apply to CEOs and other top
management people.
What about the excessive lifestyles of the CEOs from some of the companies
that had less-than-stellar performances? Many crashed their "corporate
planes" but "hit the silk" before they touched the ground. Its too bad
for all the loyal passengers. They just got bags of peanuts before the
crash and burn.
Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Thats just not
happening, though.
Right now, how many U.S. executives could take a cut of two-thirds in pay
and lifestyle that you propose others to take? What about teachers and
government workers? Its easy to tell someone else to take the suicide
ride down with the corporate plane as you jump out with the only parachute.
Just throw them some peanuts.
Tell it to Ford, GM
Is there any correlation between the erosion of white-collar jobs and the
lack of domestic car sales?
While it might be good in the short term to cut costs, people arent
going to be able to buy your products in the long term at the prices you
want to charge. While refinancing and taking an interest-only mortgage
might be one years solution, what about the next 10 or 20 years? Many
have had to refinance or take an interest-only mortgage in order to keep
what they have and few people are buying new cars these days.
Look at GM and Ford. Tell me that cutting and replacing IT people and other
white-collar jobs (which is a good chunk of their market share) in the last
couple years hasnt affected their ability to sell cars.
As some people have asked for more examples of non-IT H-1B jobs, I have
provided more examples below.
Carlinism: Giving out peanuts before the corporate plane crashes (as you
hook on your designer parachute) just doesnt sit well.
3. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.americaneconomicalert.org/view_art.asp?Prod_ID=2205
The Labor Shortage Hoax
By Alan Tonelson
Friday, January 27, 2006
Theres a new glut on world markets. No, Im not talking about the
gluts of Chinese apparel or shares of Google stock bought at $475 each or
of sub-prime U.S. lenders. Im talking about the new glut of studies
claiming that what really ails the U.S. economy is a shortage of skilled
workers.
In fact, all these studies really show is that theres still another glut
thats engulfed the economic policymaking world -- of raw, unadulterated
chutzpah. What else could explain the contention that, as American
multinational companies continue offshoring even the nations most
knowledge-intensive, best-paying jobs, the biggest problem these same
companies face at home (along with smaller firms) is finding enough
qualified workers to take advantage of all the extraordinary career
opportunities theyre creating?
Not surprisingly, these studies are all coming from the outsourcing lobby
itself. In November, the National Association of Manufacturers, whose
sector of the economy has lost 3.34 million jobs since employment peaked in
1998, reported finding "a widening gap between the dwindling supply of
skilled workers in America and the growing technical demands of the modern
manufacturing workplace." In fact, 39 percent of the firms responding to a
NAM-sponsored survey reported shortages of unskilled production workers.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce chimed in shortly after the new year,
declaring in its new State of American Business report, "We are staring
right in the face of a severe worker shortage as 77 million baby boomers
prepare to retire in the next five years...." Added the Chamber, "Many new
jobs will require more technical skills and a greater understanding of math
and science, subjects in which American students fail to show a suitable
level of competence or even interest."
And the leading lobby for high- tech outsourcers, the Information
Technology Association of America, continues to warn of a crisis in the
availability of technically skilled workers and the need to greatly expand
the number of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians graduating from
American colleges and universities.
Whats wrong with these findings? Only two things: First, the main
studies themselves are slipshod methodogically and internally
contradictory. Second, they clash with everything known about major trends
in the U.S. labor market, and about labor shortages themselves.
The study attracting the most attention has been NAMs effort, a survey
of manufacturers conducted by Deloitte Consulting. To put it mildly, NAM
should ask for its money back. Only 10 percent of the 8,000 companies
contacted by Deloitte replied, and as Wall Street Journal columnist David
Wessel noted, lots of self-selection surely was at work. Specifically,
employers not perceiving any shortages probably were much less likely to
bother responding than those that did.
Further, Deloitte ignored a major irony that practically shouts out from
the results: Although the consulting firm recommended that companies spend
at least three percent of their payrolls on employee training, it found
that fully three-quarters of all respondents fell short of this threshold.
Moreover, only half the total respondents have increased their training
expenditures over the last three years. And 64 percent of total respondents
are training 60 percent of their workers or fewer. Does this sound like the
behavior of firms that value trained workers and are desperate to secure
them?
Similarly, many of the policies long championed by these
multinational-dominated business groups thoroughly undercut their professed
concerns about labor shortages. For example, its hard to imagine that
talented people will flock to manufacturing production careers in a nation
whose trade policies encourage the massive offshoring of such jobs. And
its hard to imagine that talented people will flock to research,
development, engineering, and design careers in manufacturing in a nation
that not only encourages the offshoring of these jobs, too, but that admits
large numbers of immigrants who will do this work for bargain basement pay.
Yet thats exactly the kind of nation that Washington has given us -- at
the behest of the same multinationals now crying "Labor shortage!" Talk
about creating a self-fulfilling prophecy!
Indeed, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donahue has declared that
passing a new immigration reform bill with a guest worker program is one of
his organizations top priorities this year.
Just as important as the incoherence of these multinational positions is
the overwhelming evidence from the U.S. labor market exposing the shortage
claims as bunk. Actually, according to mainstream economic theory, the very
idea of long-term shortages or surpluses of any commodity (including, by
definition, labor) is a non-starter. And if you think about it, the theory
makes perfect sense. It holds that through the workings of the price
mechanism, markets will eventually clear and stability will be restored.
In the case of worker shortages, employers simply need to increases wages
enough, and before too long, they will be able to attract whatever workers
they need -- either from the ranks of the voluntarily or involuntarily
unemployed, or from competitors. Of course, the opposite is equally true.
As long as workers are in over-supply, businesses can offer meager wages in
full confidence that qualified workers and jobseekers will have no choice
but to swallow them.
In other words, anyone believing in modern economics should recognize that
manufacturers arent facing a chronic labor shortage. If they were, they
wouldnt be cutting wages. Instead, they face a shortage of workers
willing to accept the paltry wages they have been offered. How paltry? The
latest figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show that after peaking
in1978 -- yes, 28 years ago, inflation-adjusted wages for manufacturing
workers have fallen back to levels they first hit in 1972.
Of course, the policy whizzes at the NAM have an explanation. As stated by
Jerry Jasinowski, the organizations former president and how head of its
Manufacturing Institute, the stagnating wage figures are much less
important than the increasingly lavish benefits received by the typical
manufacturing worker. NAM Chief Economist David Huether has added that,
since 2000, wages have fallen from 84 percent of total manufacturing
compensation to 80 percent, with growing health care costs the main reason.
But do these NAM bigwigs really mean to suggest that industrial workers are
making out like bandits as a result -- pocketing most or all of the higher
health care payments to boost their real living standards? Surely,
Jasinowski and Huether know that todays health care costs are eating up
the benefit payments -- meaning that workers other needs and wants have
to be paid for by their shrinking wages, or by more borrowing. And surely
these NAM experts know that the multinational outsourcers that dominate
their organizations leadership, along with so many other companies, are
starting to reduce the absolute levels of these non-wage benefits. Again,
companies really facing a labor shortage would be doing just the opposite.
In addition, everything known about the dominant trends in the U.S. labor
market clashes with claims of chronic labor shortages. For example,
Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao has echoed the outsourcers claims of
shortages of skilled labor, of lots of great jobs going begging, and of
greater shortages looming ahead.
But she clearly hasnt read her own Departments latest projections of
national workforce trends. They anticipate that nearly 40 percent of the
new jobs that will have been created between 2004 and 2014 in the economy's
fastest-growing occupations will require only short-term or moderate-term
on-the-job training -- i.e., no post-secondary school at all. Moreover,
another 9 percent of these jobs will only require a two-year (Associates)
degree. The predominance of jobs lacking B.A. requirements is even greater
in those professions that will remain America's largest employers in
absolute terms. This sounds more like a Wal-Mart-centric economy than a
technology-centric economy.
And heres a result that made me, for one, laugh out loud: These Labor
Department projections do indeed generally show that the more training a
job requires, the higher the pay. But do you know what the Labor Department
considers "very high" pay -- its highest pay category? A grand total of
$43,600 in total annual earnings. Not exactly a high bar.
In fact, theres only one sector of the economy that could plausibly be
suffering a genuine shortage of skilled labor. The NAM report found that
small employers are slightly less likely than large employers to report
shortages. But this claim conflicts not only with anecdotal evidence Ive
run across recently, but common sense.
Some smaller manufacturers Ive met over the last year say that business
has recovered since the recession, and theyre once again hiring. But
they feel victimized by two related problems. First, their margins have
been squeezed relentlessly by their bigger manufacturers they supply, who
keep threatening to turn to Chinese suppliers if the little guys dont
match Chinese costs. Therefore, smaller companies are struggling to
generate the earnings they need to offer workers higher wages. Second,
some little guys observe that the skilled workers they laid off during the
last recession arent returning to compete for their old jobs. One
possible explanation: These missing workers fear another round of layoffs,
and are sacrificing pay for greater job security.
Many multinationals face price squeezes, too, but of course unlike a
20-worker machine shop in northeastern Ohio, they often can respond by
offshoring to China. This option explains much of the record profits these
companies have been earning -- profits that clearly arent being spent on
attracting skilled workers with better pay offers, or on training existing
workers.
Its clear, then, that most labor shortage claims are simply meant to
justify the multinationals continued resort to the low-wage strategy to
greater short-term profits, either through offshoring jobs and production,
or through flooding the U.S. labor market with immigrants. But give credit
to the outsourcing lobby -- its not only pressing on, but has added a
new twist to their argument: The outsourcers are turning up skilled-labor
shortages in China and India, too, according to numerous news reports like
the January 4 Wall Street Journal item titled "Indias Talent Pool Drying
Up."
Apparently even most university graduates from two Asian giants with
science and technology degrees lack the qualifications multinationals say
they need. The reason? The higher education in these countries varies
wildly in quality, and often badly lags American standards. One big
difference between the Asian situation and the American, however, is that
the outsourcers have been bidding up wages abroad for the all-stars
theyre seeking -- though their pay is still orders of magnitude lower
than U.S. levels.
Luckily for them, even lower-wage countries like the Philippines, Russia,
and Vietnam are beckoning. So before too long, look for wages for skilled
labor worldwide to resume falling. I cant help but wonder how the
outsourcers will sell their products when every major world population is
becoming steadily pauperized. Presumably, theyll cross that bridge when
they come to it.
Alan Tonelson is a Research Fellow at the U.S. Business & Industry
Educational Foundation and the author of The Race to the Bottom: Why a
Worldwide Worker Surplus and Uncontrolled Free Trade are Sinking American
Living Standards (Westview Press).
4. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/bus/stories/DN-greenlegacy_29bus.ART0.State.Edition1.3eaa0b7.html
For better or worse, North Texas went global, too
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, January 29, 2006
By ANGELA SHAH / The Dallas Morning News
Hoss Equipment doesn't appear to symbolize the New Economy.
Nothing seems nano, bio or techie at this Irving-based firm that sells new
and rebuilt heavy machinery such as crawler tractors. Still, much of its
success can be attributed to the Alan Greenspan era.
The 16-year-old business has ridden globalization's wave. Today the firm
has an inventory of $50 million, employs 100 people and relies on exports
to Turkey, Australia and China for half of its sales.
DARON DEAN/DMN
CEO Gregg Hoss says exports Turkey, Australia and China now account for
half of 16-year-old Hoss Equipment's sales. As Mr. Greenspan steps down as
chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, Hoss is emblematic of the period of
greatest economic prosperity in the United States.
Mr. Greenspan is lauded as one of the nation's greatest economic oracles,
stewarding the U.S. economy through a time of unprecedented economic
prosperity - from bust to boom to bust again.
An avid number-cruncher, he recognized a profound structural change in the
economy, born largely of gains in productivity from information technology.
"He didn't create the New Economy," said Mike Davis, a professor of
economics at Southern Methodist University. "But he was instrumental in
creating conditions for it to flourish."
Not everyone, of course, is singing the praises of the Greenspan era.
Trade and fiscal deficits, a looming Social Security crisis and record
energy prices are prompting hand wringing.
While record-low interest rates have put homeownership within reach of more
Americans, the income gap between rich and poor has widened.
Middle-class incomes have stagnated in recent years. Health care costs
continue to soar. The retirement system appears increasingly precarious as
companies shed pension benefits to reduce costs.
And globalization has shifted hundreds of thousands of jobs to countries
where labor is cheaper.
"I discovered what it was like to be thrown away like yesterday's garbage,"
said Gene Nelson, an unemployed tech worker in Carrollton. "I know what
it's like to have my livelihood stolen from me."
Coming off a crash
When Mr. Greenspan assumed the Fed's helm in 1987, few would have predicted
the exalted status he eventually achieved.
Market watchers wondered whether he would continue to fight the crippling
inflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. A few months after he took
office, the October stock market crash led to broad fears about the
economy.
Soon, though, Mr. Greenspan honed his reputation as the champion of a
productivity miracle that yielded both low unemployment and low inflation.
For the first time in decades, the federal budget was balanced. Incomes
rose. A high-flying stock market became the national pastime. Bar
television screens tuned into CNBC instead of ESPN.
"During the '90s, the door was wide open," said Reginald Stokes, a Murphy
resident who worked in the tech sector during the boom. "You had just about
any job you could possibly want."
Homeownership gains
Just before the stock market dive in 2001, Mr. Stokes cashed in some stock
and made a down payment on a house, joining the growing ranks of black
Americans who have been buying their first homes.
"From 1996 to 2000, it was invest, invest, invest," he said. "But I was
throwing my money away on rent. It was time."
Between 1994 and 2004, the percentage of blacks who own homes rose from 42
percent to nearly 50 percent. It dropped to 48 percent last year.
Mr. Stokes' timing may have been good on selling his stocks, but he still
got caught up in the widespread job losses from the deep tech industry
slump.
He ended up working at Countrywide Mortgage, a business that has benefited
from the housing boom.
Though times are good, Mr. Stokes said he's settled into a more sober
reality.
"After you've been laid off one time, you're not loyal to no one," he said.
"It's very damaging. Of course, you give it your all, but you don't look to
retire from one company."
The trend toward globalization angers Mr. Nelson, a biophysicist. He
considers himself an "economically marginalized" worker - part of a growing
pool of people set aside as employers hire cheaper foreign labor with H-1B
visas.
Getting that word out has become an avocation for him. "This stuff is about
survival," he said. "It's not just a pastime for me."
Still, there's no doubt that information technology has revolutionized the
way Americans work and play.
With the Internet and e-mail, businesses like Hoss can attain the global
reach of Fortune 500 counterparts. Internet telephony keeps communications
costs low, and a location near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
helps overseas customers pop in for quick visits.
Hoss' success is reflected in robust state trade numbers. From 1994 to
third-quarter 2005, Texas exports to the world have nearly tripled, to $32
billion.
"We were on the Internet as far back as early '95," said Andy Speer, Hoss'
chief financial officer.
"It's one of the biggest advantages we use. It's a cheaper way to get the
message out, instead of stale brochures."
With a quick online search, potential customers from across the globe could
find Hoss and see the dump trucks or bulldozers they have to offer.
"We have camera systems that can show them dumping the bed, live as it's
happening," Mr. Speer said.
5. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://communitydispatch.com/artman/publish/article_3452.shtml
Department of Homeland Security
NEWARK ICE AGENTS SEIZE $5.7 MILLION & LUXURY VEHICLES IN MASSIVE BENEFITS
FRAUD INVESTIGATION
By U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Jan 16, 2006, 12:02
News Release
January 13, 2006
NEWARK ICE AGENTS SEIZE $5.7 MILLION & LUXURY VEHICLES IN MASSIVE BENEFITS
FRAUD INVESTIGATION
Investigation Result of Ongoing Cooperation Between Benefits and
Enforcement Arms of Homeland Security
NEWARK, N.J. -- A citizen of India living in New Jersey is in federal
custody and agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have
seized $5,724,592 in assets from the suspect's bank and brokerage accounts
in a massive immigration benefits fraud investigation.
Narendra Mandalapa has been charged with Fraud and Misuse of Visas,
violations of 18 USC Section 1546. The charges were filed in United States
District Court in Newark. Mandalapa is currently in the custody of the
United States Marshals Service.
During the investigation, ICE agents discovered that Mandalapa filed nearly
1,000 possibly fraudulent labor-based petitions on behalf of Indian and
Pakistani nationals seeking to enter or remain in the United States. The
petitions were for skilled computer workers. Both U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Service (USCIS) and ICE continue to investigate those aliens
who received the fraudulent immigration benefits. Investigators are also
working to determine how many people fraudulently entered the country and
how many already in the United States may have received fraudulent labor
benefits.
This investigation is a product of a joint anti-fraud initiative undertaken
by ICE, USCIS and the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector
General. The investigation began when a special fraud detection unit of
USCIS uncovered a pattern of fraud in petitions for immigration benefits
submitted by Mandalapa through one of his companies. The USCIS Fraud
Detection Unit in St. Albans, Vermont, referred their analysis to the ICE
Benefit Fraud Unit (IBFU), also based in Vermont. The IBFU then coordinated
with ICE Special Agent in Charge in Newark to begin the field investigation
that resulted in the arrest and asset seizure.
Investigators uncovered two shell companies in New Jersey owned by
Mandalapa were created solely for the purpose of filing fraudulent
labor-based petitions for foreign workers. During the investigation agents
armed with search warrants seized computers and documents from the
corporate address of Cybersoftec, Inc.
Agents believe that at least $2.1 million dollars came from fees paid by
individuals seeking fraudulent benefits. Since the accounts were used to
hide those illegal profits the government seized all money in the accounts.
The assets seized come from four bank accounts in Edison, N.J., and two
brokerage accounts in New York City. Also included in the seizures were a
Mercedes SUV and a Lexus sedan with a combine value of $100,000.
Acting Newark Special Agent in Charge Thomas E. Manifase said, "Immigration
benefit fraud is a multi billion dollar business and can not be tolerated.
This type of fraud not only steals jobs from legitimate workers but it also
provides individuals to illegally enter the United States and creates a
risk to national security and public safety."
Manifase pointed out that the investigation is an outstanding example of
how two agencies in the Department of Homeland Security cooperate to
uncover and dismantle an organization dedicated to undermining the legal
immigration system and making huge profits.
Jennifer L. Mickey, Chief of the USCIS Fraud Detection Unit said,
"Individuals who used fraud to obtain immigration benefits are breaking the
law. We take very seriously our responsibility to protect the integrity of
our immigration system by combating benefit fraud." The USCIS Fraud
Detection Unit, co-located at the USCIS Vermont Service Center, is a branch
of the national USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Unit.
6. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/story/0,10801,107696,00.html
Q&A: Former ITAA president talks up technology, U.S. Senate run
The nation needs to invest more in R&D and technology, says Harris Miller
News Story by Todd R. Weiss
JANUARY 12, 2006 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Harris Miller served as president of the
Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) trade group for more
than a decade until announcing last week that he had stepped down to seek
the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Virginia. As head of the IT
trade group, Miller, 54, was the public face of the ITAA, which represents
about 250 member companies. A native of New Kensington, Pa., Miller has
been active in Democratic politics for years and ran unsuccessfully for
Congress in 1984. He talked today with Computerworlds Todd R. Weiss
about why hes again running for public office and why he left the ITAA.
Harris Miller
This is quite a change in your life, going from the leadership of the ITAA
to running for the U.S. Senate. What motivated you to do this? My concern
about the future. Thats really why I was at ITAA, because Im
perceived as a visionary whos looking ahead. I dont see a good future
for our country when were running unbelievably massive deficits, when
were relying on investment from China. Weve fallen into 17th or 18th
in the world in science and math scores for our students. Were cutting
student loans. We have to have the best-trained people in the world. Our
country is sixth in the world in research and development investment per
capita. Im just afraid the country has gone off track.
Are technology issues a key part of your platform, coming from the ITAA --
where tech issues were your daily mainstay? Im running to talk about how
you cannot have a technological revolution without investing in people. In
fact, cutting college student loans, which is what Congress is looking to
do, is actually going backward. You cant have technology without skilled
people. You cant have technology without investment. You cant have
technology when you dont bring it to all people.
What kinds of changes do you believe are needed? The U.S. is 14th in the
world in broadband distribution to its citizens. These are the kinds of
things where theres been a lack of investment after taking an early
lead.... Weve become complacent and fallen behind. Weve been so long
going in the wrong direction that weve lost our focus. When Sputnik went
up [into Earth orbit in 1957], we reacted [to the Russian space program]
with massive investment in R&D. We began the work to put a man on the moon.
Where is that comparable situation today? Its actually stepping
backward. China and India, they arent just places for cheap labor.
Theyre making massive investments in R&D. What are we doing? Were
running up massive deficits and doing pork barrel projects. My campaign is
about paying attention; its about the future.
Last week, when your plans to leave ITAA became public, Oracle Corp., a
member of the ITAA for years, announced that it was leaving the group
because you are taking on Republican Sen. George Allen, who is seen by
Oracle as an established friend of IT. What is your reaction to Oracles
move? (See "Oracle leaves technology trade group".) Ive always had a
good relationship with the people at Oracle. Theyve been very active in
ITAA. I have no idea what that is all about. I was a little surprised by
their comments.
So why are you taking on Allen, a first-term incumbent? Allen has been part
of the problem. He has the third-highest support scores for President
Bushs policies among all U.S. senators. Clearly hes interested in
running for president. I will be a full-time senator for Virginia when
Im elected.
As the president of the ITAA, which includes electronic voting systems
vendors among its members, you said in the past that you opposed verifiable
paper trails for such systems. For many people in the country, this is a
very important issue because of accuracy issues in several recent
elections. What is your stand on this issue as a candidate? I did oppose
verifiable paper trails until about a year and a half ago. I was hearing
from local registrars, including in Virginia, that they didnt want the
additional burden for administration and maintenance that the paper trails
would produce with printers and other equipment. But voters want it. It has
more voter confidence. My argument at the time was that if [a hacker] is
smart enough to take over a [voting] machine and register someones vote
internally for the wrong candidate, that theyre also smart enough to
make it look like the paper trail properly says who you voted for. People
could get a false sense of security.
Why give up an established, full-time job to run for a major office against
an incumbent senator? Im just so frustrated with the direction of our
country and ... I think I can make a difference.
http://www.fcnp.com/546/barton.htm
Our Man In Arlington
January 19 - 25, 2006
Serving the City of Falls Church and Northern Virginia
Web FCNP.com
NewsLocal CommentaryNational CommentaryArts & EntertainmentSports
Our Man In Arlington
Richard Barton
The Virginia Governors inauguration was held last weekend in
Williamsburg , and Jean and I went down on Friday to get the full Inaugural
treatment. It was great, though a little (A little??? - A lot!!!) on the
wet side.
On Friday evening, we attended the gala inaugural concert at the William
and Mary Arena. The Beach Boys were the headliners. They were preceded by a
number of acts, all of which were enthusiastically received. One of the
best, led by Arlington s Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy, was The
Constituents, with a rousing version of Guantanamera and Happy Together.
But the Beach Boys stole the show. For almost two hours we rocked and
rolled to the classic Beach Boy melodies, along with the obvious
participation of the governor-elect and his family. You havent really
had fun in life until you and several thousand others from eight to eighty
have engaged in an intergenerational rock fest waving your arms, and
swaying and stomping with great abandon.
The next day we rose early to threatening skies. We first went to a big
breakfast given by Fairfax s Harris Miller, who recently announced his
run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican George Allen. Watch for an
aggressive campaign by Miller.
We then went through security at the Williamsburg visitors center,
required for everyone attending the Inaugural Ceremony, and climbed on
shuttle buses that took us to bleachers in front of the Colonial Capitol,
facing the Inaugural Platform By this time, it was raining pretty steadily
and the temperature was plummeting. Thousands of us donned plastic ponchos
handed out at the security checkpoint and hunkered down for a more than
two-hour wait.
Finally, the VIPs began to arrive, most to applause and cheers from the
bleachers. Finally, the Governor and Governor-elect walked down the aisle
to thunderous cheers. The three inaugural oaths (including the Attorney
General and Lieutenant Governor) were administered expeditiously, and a
thunderous nineteen-gun salute from a cannon behind the Capitol added just
the right note of solemnity to the occasion.
After the oath, a few of us saw the now former Governor quietly drive off
in a private car with no escort. Things change instantly in the political
world!
By this time, it was pouring, but as soaking wet as we were, our spirits
were not dampened a bit.
After now-Governor Kaine finished his blessedly short inaugural speech, the
parade began down Duke of Gloucester Street, Colonial Williamsburgs main
drag, led by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General and
their families in ornate horse-drawn carriages.
Did I mention that it was pouring down rain?
The parade, too, was spectacular - beginning with the magnificent VMI Corps
of Cadets marching in rigid perfection, and ending with the great James
Madison University Marching Band that got this old bandsmans pulse
racing. It was enhanced by the lack of any motorized vehicles in keeping
with the Colonial Williamsburg atmosphere.
That night, wee went to a fine inaugural ball in Williamsburg, then on to
Richmond on Sunday morning for the First Ladys Brunch, and a reception
in the Governors Mansion where Governor and Mrs. Kaine greeted us all
heartily, though they must have been truly exhausted (and still wet) by
this time.
The inauguration was held in Williamsburg because the Richmond Capitol
Building is undergoing extensive renovations. It was an inspired choice,
taking us Virginians back to the roots of it all. I wouldnt mind doing
it again - but we really have to do something about all that rain!
8. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/hardware/stories/132569.html
Booming semiconductor industry begins talent hunt
The Indian semiconductor industry is ready to boom, believe industry
representatives. While the number of semiconductor companies setting up
shop in India is on the rise, so is the demand for human resources.
Barkha Shah, January 10, 2006
The Indian semiconductor industry is ready to boom, believe industry
representatives. While the number of semiconductor companies setting up
shop in India is on the rise, so is the demand for human resources.
However, doubts are being raised on whether the supply can equal the
burgeoning demand at this point in time. Companies are, therefore,
initiating campus programmes to create more awareness, train students and
thereby recruit the best of the available few.
Says Ganesh Guruswamy, country manager of Freescale Semiconductor India Pvt
Ltd, "We spend around one-and-a-half years to train freshers who join us.
This is because, though there are innumerable engineering colleges in the
country, most of them are not equipped with tool-kits that the students
need to be trained on for joining the industry."
Poornima Shenoy, president of the India Semiconductor Association (ISA),
says that there are around 130 semiconductor design houses in the country
employing around 15,000 people. Of this, around 9,000 alone are very large
scale integration (VLSI) designers.
"The industry has the potential to hire more than 16,000 designers in the
next few years. However, whether the demand will be met or not is still a
question that is best left unanswered," she adds.
"One of the basic reasons for this shortfall is lack of awareness about the
career opportunities available in the semiconductor industry today.
Students still find software field more glamourous as compared to design
engineering in semiconductor companies. This is in spite of very attractive
starting salary - about Rs 4.5 lakh in the semiconductor industry as
compared to around Rs 2.5 lakh in software services," Shenoy says.
The ISA is, therefore, working with the engineering colleges in India to
sort out this issue. "We have initiated a programme called 'Si-Quest' that
aims at talent generation from a broadbased pool in India. Not only do we
spread awareness about the career opportunities available in the
semiconductor industry but also design tests to enable companies to recruit
students," she adds. 'Si-Quest' covers the top 40 engineering colleges in
the country.
The ISA has also started a special programme with Visvesvaraya
Technological University, Karnataka, wherein it is involved in initiatives
like faculty development through increased industry interaction and
augmenting the curriculum. "The IT department of Andhra Pradesh has
enquired whether such a programme can be replicated in Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University," Shenoy says.
Apart from the association, companies are pitching in on the individual
front too. The $12.6-billion, Texas Instruments (TI), for instance, has
partnered with 475 universities in the country, wherein it has set up labs
for engineering students so that they can hone up technology skills before
they join the industry. It also supports campus product incubators that
build innovative products on TI platforms.
GDA Technologies, another player in the semiconductor industry, is also
starting a similar initiative wherein it plans to work with various
universities to train people in chip design activities.
"We are finalising this arrangement with IIT-Kharagpur and are also in
talks with IIIT, Hyderabad," says Partha Datta Ray, vice-president (IC
engineering and strategic solutions), GDA Technologies. The company plans
to ramp up its headcount in India to 600 in the next three years from 200
at an investment of around $5 million.
STMicroelectronics that has already set up a lab at IISc plans to have
similar programmes with five institutes this year. "This helps students to
get involved in research work at the very outset of joining the industry,"
Aloknath De, head, telecom unit at STMicroelectronics Pvt Ltd, says. The
company has filed three patents through its initiative with IISc.
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