Cool Stuff Online

Date: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 3:08 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

December 07, 2004. No. 1156

Here are a few cool things to watch online.

The first comes from 9News in Colorado. I-Team report: state of
Colorado outsourcing jobs 12/3/2004
The state Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing its
policy on outsourcing, that is hiring foreign workers for less money to
cut costs

Follow these instructions to see this two part series:

1) Go to the page: http://9news.com/iteam/

2) Scroll down to find - "Team report: state of Colorado outsourcing
jobs". Click on "more>>"

3) Part 1 is easy to find.

4) For Part 2, click the link titled, "9NEWS I-Team reporter Chip Yost
takes a look at the arguments for and against outsourcing. Part II.
9NEWS at 10 p.m. Dec. 2, 2004."

Hint: I found that my RealPlayer was the default player for
WindowsMedia files. I couldn't see part 2 until I unclicked that
setting.

The text from the show is included at the end of the newsletter.

Is Wal-Mart Good for America?

PBS Frontline did a stunning show about Wal-mart and now it is online
at:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

http://www.exportingourjobs.com/

I just played the Walmart Worker Challenge video game! It's all about
how you can help to prevent unfair labor practices and level the
playing field between workers and ego-stricken managers with no
conscience.

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/programs/s1214567.htm

Listen to this audio file. It's sort of funny. The audio starts out
sort of muddy, but stick with it for a few minutes. I'm not sure why
but it made me laugh at the same time I felt extremely angry.
Australians have an interesting sense of sarcasm and wit, and there are
some observations about American culture that are very astute.

AUSTRALIA: Globalisation through call-centres at Melb festival
"Alladeen", a performance about a Bangalore call centre where employees
learn American culture and idioms to sell products and services for
multinational companies is being described as the most comprehensive
spectacle on the impact of globalisation. Anita Barraud went to its
Australian premiere.

http://9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=9264072a-0abe-421a-01af-307a5b01a621&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

-Team report: state of Colorado outsourcing jobs
written by: Chip Yost (9NEWS Investigative Reporter)
Created: 12/1/2004 11:07 PM MST - Updated: 12/3/2004 3:35 PM MST

DENVER - The state Department of Health and Human Services is

reviewing its policy on outsourcing, that is hiring foreign workers for
less money to cut costs.

Workers in countries like India, Mexico and Canada all receive
paychecks courtesy of the state. The number of jobs is unknown, since
Colorado doesn't track the practice. But the 9News I-Team has learned
it could be happening more often than state legislators previously
thought.

Some legislators say that's a good thing - it's saving taxpayers money.
Others call the practice "appalling" - saying it takes job
opportunities away from qualified Colorado residents.

When Colorado welfare recipients using a food stamp debit card need to
talk to someone about their account, their calls are routed to India
for English speakers, and to Tijuana, Mexico for Spanish speakers. The
call centers are run by a subcontractor of JP Morgan Electronic
Financial Services, which has a $17 million contract with the state
Department of Human Services to run the debit card program.

Colorado is part of a multi-state group that chose JP Morgan to run the
program.

Brian Kibble-Smith, a company spokesperson, said less than 5 percent of
the contract involves workers outside the United States. In a
statement, Kibble-Smith only said that, "no Colorado employment was
displaced" by the move. He would not comment on whether jobs elsewhere
in America were lost, and said that JP Morgan would have no further
comment on the issue.

That could change if State Sen. Deanna Hanna (D-Lakewood) has her way.
She was unaware that the call centers had been moved outside the
country.

"I think it's deplorable," Hanna said. "We have qualified people to get
the job done in Colorado. We should keep our jobs in Colorado."

Earlier this year, Hanna, proposed legislation that would have made it
more difficult for state contractors to move taxpayer funded jobs
outside the country. Though all state departments in Colorado were
asked to comment on how such a policy could impact their operations -
the Department of Human Services didn't mention the call centers in its
reply.

Hanna believes there could be many similar cases out there that she is
unaware of.

A review of state databases reveals hundreds of contracts the state has
signed over the last five years with companies like Accenture and Sun
Microsystems. Those and other companies have been reported to use
offshore outsourcing as part of their business plan. Many companies,
including Accenture, told us none of Colorado's state contracts involve
outsourcing to other countries. A spokesperson for Sun would neither
confirm nor deny whether any of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in
state contracts Sun has been awarded involve service or IT employees
outside the United States.

State officials say in many cases, they have no choice in the matter.
If a bidder on a state contract meets all the other qualifications, in
most cases, state purchasing agents are required to go with the lowest
bidder. It doesn't matter if that bidder is planning on outsourcing
most of the work, if the bidder is outside the country or if a local
company loses out.

Recently, the Department of Natural Resources paid a Canadian company
$65,000 to print a book titled "Messages In Stone." The Canadian
company underbid the next closest bidder - a company from Highlands
Ranch - by about $15,000.

The Secretary of State's office recently hired an Ohio company to take
about 30,000 pages of printed rules and data enter them so they could
be viewed on computers. The Ohio company, Conway Greene, outsourced the
work to India. The state says if the work had been done in the United
States, it would have cost about twice as much.

Outgoing Senate President John Andrews, R-Centennial, thinks that's
exactly how it should work.

"The way to contract for state services is low bidder," the senator
said. "The product must be delivered according to specs and there ought
to be no other qualifications as to where that bid originates."

Senator Hanna is considering introducing a revised version of her
earlier bill that would restrict state contractors from outsourcing
service type jobs to other countries.

Senator Andrews says if such a policy is adopted, Colorado companies
could face retaliation from other countries. There's also the issue of
cost.

If the India and Mexico call centers are brought back to the United
States - as Senator Hanna advocates - the state estimates it will cost
around $600,000 more per year to operate. The state estimates the move
would create about 5 to 10 jobs - but not necessarily in Colorado. If
it was mandated the call center be placed here, the price tag could be
even higher. With little wiggle room in the state budget, that money
would have to be cut from somewhere else.

Senator Hanna thinks it's worth it. Senator Andrews doesn't.

The Department of Human Services says it is now reviewing its contract
with JP Morgan, and its policies on outsourcing. A spokesperson says
outsourcing should only be used as "a last resort."

Colorado isn't the only state to use tax dollars to outsource jobs
overseas. It's also not the only state that has had contentious debate
about the practice. Bills and other measures attempting to change the
practice have been introduced in more than thirty states, but only a
handful of states have taken any action.

In New Jersey, a contractor for the state opened up a call center in
India to handle calls from people on food stamps. The state had the
contractor bring the call center jobs back to New Jersey. That move is
costing the state about $800,000 more a year, but it also provided 11
new jobs in one of New Jersey's poorest communities.

Legislation that could have a similar impact was proposed here earlier
this year. Hireamericancitizens.org, a volunteer group, also tried to
get the issue on the ballot this year. Both attempts failed, but
supporters of both measures have said they may make similar efforts to
change Colorado state law again soon. State Sen. Deanna Hanna says if
she reintroduces her bill, she will revise it so it will have a better
chance of passing. She says it would mainly focus on service jobs -
like those in call centers or those involving IT workers. She says it
would not include wording that could hamstring the purchases of
computers and other goods, as she says the original version of her bill
may have done.

No matter what the language is, outgoing Senator John Andrews believes
any such bill would be bad policy.

We asked Gov. Bill Owens for an interview to see where he stands on the
issue, but that request was turned down.

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