Are Texas Politicians Changing Their Tune?

Date: Thursday, October 30, 2003 9:47 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

EDS spokeswoman Liz Bonet said the company's use of the program is
minimal. She must not know that it's easy for anybody to monitor the
enormous numbers of H-1Bs EDS hires, or she probably wouldn't have made
such a blatant misstatement of the facts. To view the Labor Condition
Applications that EDS has filed with the DOL, use the following two
search engines:
http://www.zazona.com/LCA-Data/
http://www.flcdatacenter.com/casesearch.asp

So are any Texas politicians going to be under pressure to stop
supporting H-1B? Not according to Loren Miller, a political science
professor in the Collin County Community College District. She said, "I
don't think that there is a politician in North Texas who is
vulnerable." Sadly she is right. Technical workers are typically the
most affected by H-1B, but they are the least likely to vote and
politicians know it. Politicians also know that as long as other types
of workers that are affected by nonimmigrant visas remain ignorant
about these issues, they too won't be a threat in the polls.

Texans as well as voters in all states are going to have to get tough
with these politicians, or they have no one to blame for the job losses
but themselves. Don't necessarily vote against incumbents, and don't
vote along party lines. Vote for the politician that sincerely wants to
protect your job. Your vote is the only thing you have to stop the job
destruction.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10404565&BRD=1426&PAG=461&dept_id=186027&rfi=6

Johnson reduces support of foreign-worker visa program

BY CLIFF DESPRES , STAFF WRITER 10/24/2003

Proponents of the H-1B work visa program, which allows non-immigrant
aliens to secure a visa to work temporarily in a U.S. specialty
occupation, say it helps companies survive in the global marketplace.

Critics say it snatches American jobs and replaces them with foreign
workers.
But U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, who supported the original H-1B
legislation in 1990, said recently that the visa program may have "worn
out its welcome."
"Whether there's a real need for foreign workers or we have American
workers to fill these telecom positions ... the objective is to hire
Americans first," Johnson said. "We represent both people and
companies, so we have to get a balance the needs of each. Our
immigration policy ought to reflect that."
Criticism and support, meanwhile, continue to assault the program.
Several bills have been introduced in Congress that could directly or
indirectly curtail or affect H-1B visas.
But how exactly do the visas actually work? How do they affect the tech
industry, which has fallen on hard times during the tumultuous economy
of recent days?
And can Johnson stand up to critics who loathe his original support of
the program?

H-1B legislation

The H-1B work visa program was enacted in 1990.
Under the terms of the program, a U.S. employer must file a labor
condition application with the U.S. Department of Labor attesting to
the payment and working conditions offered, and must file the certified
application with a fee of $130.
Based on approval, an alien may then apply for the visa.
An alien in H-1B status can work in the U.S. for a maximum of six
years, and must remain outside the nation for one year before another
visa can be approved, according to the Labor Department.
The number of aliens who may be issued an H-1B visa is 65,000.
That maximum number had been 195,000 for the last three years, when
legislators temporarily raised the quota during a tech surge. The
number regressed to 65,000 starting this year.
The number of H-1B visas issued for initial employment was 136,787 in
2000, 201,079 in 2001, 103,584 in 2002 and 105,314 in 2003, according
to the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Although INS does not track the names of companies that apply for and
receive H-1B visa workers, several local businesses use the program,
including Plano-based Electronic Data Systems Corp.
EDS spokeswoman Liz Bonet said the company's use of the program is
minimal.
"Our reliance on H-1B visas is very small because we're such a large
global company," Bonet said. "Because we do employ people in 60
countries, we employ workers in-country."
Still, employers like EDS are not required to recruit Americans before
hiring H-1Bs, some officials say.
That's got critics up in arms about the program.

Tech jobs

Rob Sanchez, who runs a Web site dedicated to fighting H-1B visas, says
the program takes jobs from American workers.
The result is a glut of unemployed American tech workers.
"Companies import foreign workers by using H-1B ... visas, and then
force their American workers to train their replacements," Sanchez
said. "In most cases, the frightened and desperate American employees
relent and train his or her foreign replacement."
But proponents argue that companies sometimes require workers with
special skills that might not be easy to find. Other companies might
not have ample local resources to pull from.
Harris Miller, president of a national trade association called the
Information Technology Association of America, says H-1Bs are necessary
for companies in such situations.
"As our lawmakers go to define the rules of economic engagement, they
must strike the delicate balance that preserves the U.S. high
technology sector as the wellspring of creativity and innovation,
eliminates trade barriers in foreign markets while avoiding the
creation of such barriers at home and gives companies the flexibility
and level playing field needed to win in an increasingly global
marketplace," Miller said.
But debate has raged on about whether there is truly a shortage of
skilled American workers and thus a need to hire educated foreign
workers.
Right now, there's no shortage of workers, according to Bernard
Weinstein, an economics professor at the University of North Texas in
Denton.
"Five years ago, every tech business in Dallas was crying because there
weren't enough tech workers," Weinstein said. "But over the last three
years, there's been a meltdown in telecoms and layoffs across the IT
sector.
"At the moment, a number of well-educated scientists and technicians
are out of work."
That situation can easily foster criticism of the H-1B program.
American workers might become paranoid or confused when they see H-1B
workers taking tech jobs at a time when they themselves have been laid
off, Weinstein said.
"Every time there's a downturn, there's a protective sentiment from
American workers," he said. "Against a backdrop of high unemployment,
American workers feel that limiting the number of overseas tech workers
will help their opportunities."
Those feeling are spurred further when companies use labor forces in
other countries.
Companies are exporting jobs overseas at rates considered alarming to
many in the high-tech field.
Some view this outgrowth of globalization as positive for fostering
competition and offering opportunities to workers who otherwise might
be locked out of the industry. But a growing number of critics cry foul
when U.S. employers hire Indian software programmers willing to work
for $10,000 a year in positions that pay $60,000 or more at home.
"More jobs are going to countries like India every day," said Steven
Jeffes, an independent marketing consultant who has been laid off
before. "I fear the overseas trend is a reality that's just beginning."
According to a study by Forrester Research, a trend-analysis firm, many
companies are doing so.
The study states that more than 3.3 million U.S. jobs will go overseas
by 2015, and many of those positions will be white-collar in nature.
"Due to a combination of H-1B, L-1 and offshoring, the American
software developer will become extinct within the next few years,"
Norman Matloff, a computer science professor at the University of
California-Davis, said in September.
Collin County Community College economics professor Mike Cohick,
however, said the H-1B examination shouldn't be based just on job loss.
Cohick said there is a net increase of jobs in each country.
"There will be either a net export of jobs or a net import of jobs;
overall, however, due to free international trade, there will be a net
increase across the board of jobs in each country," he said. "If a
company can get the equivalent quality work done at a lower cost, they
will do so."
Weinstein said the H-1B program needs to be maintained for global
companies.
"It's an international market," he said. "It's important to maintain
access."
But, some legislators are trying to improve the program, while others
try to cut it.
Some local residents, meanwhile, question Johnson's position on the
legislation.

Politically vulnerable?
Johnson said several legislative bills have been submitted that could
change the H-1B program.
House Bill 2849 would establish a type of anti-layoff provision to the
visas. House Bill 2688 would essentially do away with H-1B altogether.
The reforms center on protecting American tech workers.
"We've had a job loss in that industry that needs to be addressed,"
Johnson said. "We need to make sure the needs of American workers are
taken care of."
Johnson said it would be "OK" when the visa-cap drops from 195,000 to
65,000.
Some Collin County residents, however, have been critical of Johnson's
stance on the H-1B issue.
A Collin County Democratic leader, Nancy Machen, said she attended one
of Johnson's recent town hall meetings and asked why he supported such
legislation.
"He said that American high tech workers weren't keeping up with
technology and that employers had to go overseas to find 'qualified'
workers," Machen said. "I can't believe people in Collin County
continue to vote for him."
Still, Johnson doesn't seem likely to lose a re-election bid when his
term comes up for a vote again in November 2004, analysts say. The GOP
primary is slated for March 9 - as long as dates aren't changed because
of Texas redistricting efforts.
"I don't think that there is a politician in North Texas who is
vulnerable," said Loren Miller, a political science professor in the
Collin County Community College District.
Miller said incumbency and the redrawn districts would be difficult for
challengers to overcome.
"Certainly Martin Frost and Ralph Hall - both Democrats - are
vulnerable with the new redistricting plan, but I don't see any Collin
County politicians as being in danger," he said. "Both (Michael)
Burgess and Johnson have very safe Republican districts."

Staff writer Lee Graham contributed to this report. Contact staff
writer Cliff Despres at 972-398-4265 or despresc@starcntexas.com.

)Plano Star Courier 2003

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