> 6. Re: OT - Kodak Created it's own Doomsday Device (John Sessoms) > > When I worked as a contractor for the IBM PC Company back in the late > 90s, 3 out of 4 of the people in my department were there on H1b visas. > IBM *STRONGLY* discouraged discussion of compensation, but if you kept > your mouth shut and your ears open you could still get a good idea what > was really going on. > > IBM contracted for H1b employees through certain brokers. The brokers > were paid the "prevailing wage" for the workers they provided, and were > in turn responsible for paying the "guest workers" and providing > whatever benefits they saw fit. IBM didn't have to figure Social > Security, other payroll taxes, nor insurance or any benefits. > > The brokers were responsible for getting the guest worker the visa and > getting them over here to work (although I believe IBM did provide some > paperwork to indicate they were unable to find qualified citizens to > fill the jobs - a patent lie, because the RTP where I worked was started > specifically to bring high tech jobs into the area and there was a > consortium of Universities, Colleges, Community Colleges and Tech > Institutes all organized to train workers to fill those jobs). There > were plenty of well trained local graduates begging for jobs. > > IBM used H1b visas to force down the local wage base. Keep in mind also > that North Carolina is one of those terrible "right to work" states, so > there was NO UNION pressure on IBM at RTP. >
I believe you 100%. It's also why when I hear politicians talk about job creation I know it's just a bunch of hooey since many of them, regardless of party, are board members and/or major stock holders in the corporations that have these practices. It's also why I live where I do now (not that it's any better here - it's not). In late 1999 in Seattle, rolling off an SAP contract I'd been on for 2 1/2 years, the prevailing rate I could get for my next contract was 33% lower than what I was currently making, because Microsoft was a leader in hiring H-1B immigrants and had capped their rate and every other company in the area followed suit. So I looked out of town. Things fluctuate but I wasn't going to swallow a 33% pay cut at that point in time when I was actually worth more. The company I'm contracting for now has a physical jobs board with paper listings where they post current openings. Every single one (8 - 10 currently) is seeking an H1-B status individual. These are Software and Electronics Engineering jobs. Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
