Nielsen Layoffs draw Dobbs' glare
Nielsen Layoffs draw Dobbs' glare
Date: Saturday, June 28, 2008 3:59 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1883 -- 6/28/2008 >>>>>
Lou Dobbs had three excellent reports about Nielsen replacing American workers
at the Oldsmar location. The three videos on Youtube and the transcripts are
below:
Nielsen replaces workers with H-1Bs from Tata Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h66IGgxog60
Nielsen replaces workers with H-1Bs from Tata Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAnZUB6zyE
Nielsen replaces workers with H-1Bs from Tata Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbWfr0sz8i8
So far mainstream media has ignored this story. Is there anyone in Florida
who could get more media coverage of this travesty? Perhaps WKMB (the
station that did the Mike Emmons/Siemens stories) would take this on if
prodded by Florida residents. In case you don't know about the Siemens
story, go to this web page and search for "WKMG".
http://www.jobdestruction.info/ShameH1B/MediaClips.htm
If anyone in Florida sees local news coverage of the Nielsen story, please
record it and then contact me.
Materials Included
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article646366.ece
Layoffs draw Dobbs' glare
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/23/ldt.01.html
Dobbs, June 23, 2008
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/25/ldt.01.html
Dobbs: June 25, 2008
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/26/ldt.01.html
Dobbs: June 26, 2008
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article646366.ece
Layoffs draw Dobbs' glare
By Theresa Blackwell, Times Staff Writer
Published Thursday, June 26, 2008 8:25 PM
OLDSMAR -- When Lou Dobbs speaks, even extraterrestrials quake.
The host of the Lou Dobbs Tonight show on CNN covers national issues with
an abundance of certitude.
So when Dobbs took up the Nielsen Co. layoffs in Oldsmar, with reports on
Monday and Wednesday nights, many current and former Nielsen employees took
heart.
They hoped Nielsen's outsourcing story would reach the national agenda.
"Exactly what needed to happen!!!" a current Nielsen employee, who asked
not to be named, wrote in one of many e-mails to the Times. "The bigwigs
have been meeting all day to discuss the ramifications of the news."
"I'm glad something is finally happening," said former Nielsen systems
administrator Kristie Otto, who was seven months pregnant when she lost her
job in October.
"What burns me up the most is that they are bringing all these people in
from India at the same pay rate that we were getting paid," Otto said. "So
where are the savings?"
Monday night, Dobbs and CNN correspondent Bill Tucker reported that Nielsen
is laying off workers and outsourcing jobs at the company's Oldsmar
facility and replacing them with workers from India on guest-worker visas.
Tucker said council member Janice Miller was the only city official angry
about it.
"I am incensed that our government would allow this to happen to the
American people," Miller said on the show. "This is all about driving down
wages in this country. It's un-American."
Oldsmar Mayor Jim Ronecker was pilloried by Dobbs, his smiling face
superimposed over a photo of the Nielsen headquarters entrance.
"Well, maybe if we started outsourcing the mayor's job and those other City
Council jobs and replacing them with visa workers, maybe the people of
Oldsmar would be getting more value," Dobbs said.
Ronecker said his e-mail in box was jammed with hate mail the next day --
"a lot of four-letter language, short and sweet," he said.
Ronecker said the way he was portrayed Monday failed to mention that he led
Nielsen to forgo government incentives that would have netted the company
up to $3.1-million in future tax refunds for creating jobs.
On Wednesday night's report, Dobbs turned his focus to the federal
government.
"Now, some communities are telling Washington they've had enough of seeing
jobs in their communities shipped overseas or labor shipped overseas to
their communities," he said.
Dobbs said Nielsen has a virtual monopoly in their market.
He suggested that people contact Florida's legislators, including U.S. Rep.
Mike Bilirakis, and U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez.
"Because if they are going to just simply turn a blind eye to this kind of
behavior, the country, the state of Florida, is lost," Dobbs said.
Several Oldsmar council members were interviewed, including Eric Seidel,
who said, "I wish we had the authority to do something here."
Council member Suzanne Vale suggested people should contact presidential
candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.
Nielsen's response?
"Because of who we are, we can't comment on a client's program," said Gary
Holmes, Nielsen spokesman. "Instead, we are moving forward, building a
competitive facility that will continue making significant contributions to
the local economy."
Theresa Blackwell can be reached at tblackwell@sptimes.com or (727)
445-4170.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/23/ldt.01.html
Aired June 23, 2008 - 19:00 ET
DOBBS: Well, most Americans know that Nielsen brand as a TV ratings
company, of course. The company is not headquartered, however, in this
country. It's a Dutch company owned by a group of hedge funds and despite
revenues that topped a billion dollars in the first three months of this
year, Nielsen is firing American workers and replacing them with foreign
workers in its Florida office and I suspect that we -- well I'm sure we're
not putting at risk the ratings for this broadcast by bringing you the news
on Nielsen and cheap labor. Bill Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Globalization is taking the
toll on the employees of Nielsen. The company has announced it is cutting
seven percent of the jobs at Nielsen Media in Oldsmar, Florida and the
number is likely to increase. Nielsen executives won't be specific about
how many employees have lost their jobs or likely to lose their jobs,
conceding only that it is in the range of 150 to 300.
Rubbing salt into the wound, the Nielsen workers are being replaced by
people on guest worker visas employed by TATA Consulting Services of India,
one of the top five users of the H-1B visa program. The action has one city
council member furious.
JANICE MILLER, OLDSMAR, FL CITY COUNCIL: I am incensed that our government
would allow this to happen to the American people. But as I said before,
this is all about driving down the wages in this country. It's -- it's --
to me it's un-American.
TUCKER: The city's other movers and shakers don't seem to be as angry as
the councilwoman. The mayor's not. He points to the city's broad employer
base and says the city, quote, "will weather the economic downturn."
The Chamber of Commerce is not angry. It calls Nielsen, quote, "an
excellent business and community partner" and neither the Chamber nor the
mayor expressed outrage when asked about the company's requirement that
fired employees must train their replacements as a condition of receiving
their severance.
The company defends its actions as necessary in a globally competitive
environment where speed and cost are key. Quote, "the overwhelming majority
of Nielsen's work today is handled by the company's own talented employees.
In addition, many of the U.S. positions that have been transitioned to
outside partners remain American-based jobs." "American-based jobs" not
necessarily held by American workers.
Now, none of the workers were willing to talk to us on the record or on
camera, understandably so for fear of losing their severance or
jeopardizing their own jobs and the jobs being outsourced are not just I.T.
jobs, as you are used to hearing. Nielsen also out sources its payroll, its
finance, as well as jobs of employees responsible for producing those daily
and weekly ratings reports that everyone hears about all the time, Lou.
DOBBS: And the mayor thinks it's just hunky-dory, huh?
TUCKER: Well...
DOBBS: Well maybe if we started outsourcing the mayor's job and those other
City Council jobs and replacing them with H-1B visa workers, maybe the
folks in Oldsmar would be getting more value. What do you think?
TUCKER: Well and I think the mayor might be influenced by the fact that
Nielsen is their largest employer, Lou, so I'm afraid -- I think he's
probably afraid to go against the company as a matter of fact. DOBBS: Well,
you know, you would like to believe that he would be more concerned about
the fact that those jobs are going to be replaced. Those people are losing
their jobs, are going to have American-based jobs filled by H-1B visa
workers?
TUCKER: Right.
DOBBS: And this City Council does not understand that that is simply a
drive lower in the international wage scales? I mean that -- that doesn't
occur to them?
TUCKER: The only City Council member who has spoken out and who is outraged
about this is Janice Miller, the woman who was in my piece.
DOBBS: I got to tell you people -- you know what -- if the people there in
Florida think this is fine, then you know they're going to be part of the
reason that the quality of life and the standard of living in this country
continues to decline because Nielsen doing this, shouldn't even be allowed
to rate U.S. television networks and broadcasts period.
I mean, how dare them? How dare them? So, we'll, you know, we'll see how
this plays out with the usual acquiescence, I suspect. Thank you very much,
Bill Tucker.
Well, big corporations like Microsoft and Google have pushed for an
increase in the number of these so-called temporary visas in order to bring
more cheap foreign labor into this country. There is a cap of 65,000
regular H-1B visas.
Another 20,000 of those visas are set aside for high-tech workers with
advanced degrees each year. This April the Citizenship and Immigration
Services Agency received 163,000 applications for those H- 1B visas next
year. The H-1B visa program is intended to be a temporary worker program,
but is in fact anything but.
The H-1B's are now issued on a three-year basis that can be extended to six
years. No government agency, no government agency actually monitors these
workers to make certain they leave the United States when their visas
expire. And by the way, most of those visas are going to low-skill workers,
not to high-skill workers, and seven out of the top 20 companies using them
are Indian companies based in the United States for the purpose of
outsourcing work just like what you're watching happen there with Nielsen
in Bill Tucker's report.
That brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. Do you believe the
government of the United States should, at a minimum -- at a minimum --
keep track of people who are in this country on what are called temporary
visas? Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We'll have the results here later.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/25/ldt.01.html
June 25, 2008
DOBBS: No Americans need apply. It's fast becoming corporate America's
mission statement and mantra.
On Monday, we reported that the Nielsen Company, the company that measures
television ratings, has been replacing American workers with cheap foreign
labor. Nielson, like many companies before it, is replacing good-paying
middle class jobs and abusing the federal government's H1-B visa program
process in the future. The biggest users of H1-B visas in fact are Indian
outsourcing companies. Now some communities are telling Washington they've
had enough of seeing jobs in their communities shipped overseas or labor
shipped overseas to their communities.
Bill Tucker has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The city counsel in Florida is not
suffering quietly the sting of Nielsen's actions. The company is taking the
jobs away from American workers, giving the jobs to foreign workers on
guest worker visas, and requiring the fired workers to train them. Most of
those jobs ultimately will be transferred out of the country.
GREG RUBLEE, OLDSMAR CITY COUNCIL: What Nielsen has chosen to do in
exploiting the H1-B visa program, by American standards, it's fundamentally
wrong and it's fundamentally unpatriotic.
SUZANNE VALE, OLDSMAR CITY COUNCIL: I'm incensed our government would allow
this to happen to the American people. This is all about driving down the
wages in this country. To me, it's unAmerican.
TUCKER: Because of the uproar over the outsourcing, Nielsen said it would
forego millions of dollars in tax incentives this year. It's been receiving
those incentives for the past four years. Counsel members admit there's
nothing more they can do aside from express their anger. They're calling on
Congress and voters to wake up now.
ERIC SEIDEL, OLDSMAR CITY COUNCIL: It's a huge issue that's getting worse,
especially hitting us at times when the economy is not very good. I think
Washington, it's not to pass the buck. I wish we had the authority to do
something. JANICE MILLER, OLDSMAR CITY COUNCIL: People need to call Senator
McCain, and Senator Obama, finding out what their stance is on this issue.
They're running for the president. They need to find out where they stand.
This is important. Our jobs are going overseas.
TUCKER: Nielsen acknowledges the losses but responds by noting that roughly
1,300 jobs will remain in the city.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: However, critics are Nielsen and Oldsmar are a little leery of any
promises or assurances from the company. They pointed out that Nielsen last
October signed a $1.2 billion outsourcing contract for the next 10 years.
The deal includes not only information technology support, but operational
support as well.
DOBBS: Has anybody -- well, considered the fact that Nielsen is a monopoly
with perhaps a sliver in this country. And we're letting this company
operate here with impunity, abusing its -- frankly, our market and our
hospitality, and these ignorant so-and-sos are shipping jobs overseas. Who
needs them? Why in the world isn't Congress investigating why this company
has a monopoly. Why in the world are we permitting such behavior from a
company abusing workers in this fashion?
TUCKER: That's what every single member of this city counsel wants to know.
They point out this is legal, it's within the law. Washington has crafted
these policies and they're letting Nielsen do it and they're angry in their
community.
DOBBS: Let's be honest. Does Washington even know? Where the heck are the
Congress -- let's get with the congress in that district and the senators
from that state and find out exactly what they're doing. If they're going
to simply turn a blind eye to this kind of behavior, the country, the state
of Florida, is lost. It's an absurdity to tolerate this corporate behavior,
period.
Bill, if you would do that tomorrow, we'd appreciate it. I know Nielsen
would appreciate it. Thank you very much, Bill Tucker.
Well, a group of Indian politicians is making its preference in our
presidential race known. They're, by the way, for Senator Obama. The group
has organized an 11-day religious ceremony for Senator Obama's success. The
group is also planning to send Senator Obama a lucky charm, a two-foot tall
gold-plated idol of one of the most popular and heroic gods in Hinduism.
Senator Obama says he will try to keep jobs in this country but "We live in
a more competitive world, and that's a fact that can't be reversed."
That's the kind of wisdom that I'm sure will be appreciated in India if not
particularly embraced in this country. Try again, Senator Obama. How about
you, Senator McCain? Why don't you step up, both of you say what you're
thinking about having good-paying, middle- class jobs in your country.
Where does the worker really fit into the future of the nation? Got the
guts to tell us? I doubt it but we'll look forward to your response. Up
next, the author of an important book, "A Government Ill Executed,"
Professor Paul Light joins me. We'll have more on the battle to reform or
dysfunctional government and push back against lobbyists.
Congressman Ed Royce joins me. He'll tell me about the efforts to keep the
National Guard posted on the border with Mexico.
We'll be right back. Stay with us.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/26/ldt.01.html
June 26, 2008
PILGRIM: Anheuser-Busch today rejected a takeover bid from Belgian-based
InBev. Now the maker of Budweiser and other brands controls about 50
percent of the markets -- this country's beer market. Company officials
said $46 billion bid from InBev was financially inadequate and not in the
best interest of stockholders. The Financial Times reports tonight that
InBev will now launch a hostile bid for Anheuser-Busch.
And we have been reporting this week on a rising scandal over the Nielsen
Company, the TV ratings firm. Now this company is firing American workers
in Florida, replacing them with foreign workers.
Bill Tucker is here -- Bill.
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kitty, roughly about 300 workers at
Nielsen lost their jobs down at Oldsmar, or are about to lose their job,
city council is angry about the way (INAUDIBLE) powerless to do anything.
The council, after all, doesn't run Nielsen, it's a large company in their
community.
The company's ratings are part of a conversation about TV shows'
popularity, Nielsen pretty much endemic to everything that we do. Its
research literally is what sets the rates that advertisers charge. It's a
monopoly for all intent and purposes. And it's hard for a company like that
size, that importance for people to not be aware of who they are and what
they're doing.
And for that reason you might be expected to think that maybe the people up
in Congress are aware of what Nielsen is doing. But that's not the case,
because the elected officials for the people of Oldsmar, Florida,
apparently don't know what's going on.
Congressman Bilirakis represents the 9th District in the House. Senators
Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez are their men in the Senate. We called their
offices several times today asking for their thoughts on what Nielsen is
doing to the voters in their state.
Not a single one admitted to being aware of the replacement of American
workers with foreign workers. None expressed concern about outsourcing of
jobs. The best that we could get from them, Kitty, was, we'll look at it
and get back to you later. And none of them got back to us later, at least
not today.
PILGRIM: Well, let's hope they're listening now. And we'll stay on this
story. Thanks very much, Bill Tucker.
PILGRIM: Anheuser-Busch today rejected a takeover bid from Belgian-based
InBev. Now the maker of Budweiser and other brands controls about 50
percent of the markets -- this country's beer market. Company officials
said $46 billion bid from InBev was financially inadequate and not in the
best interest of stockholders. The Financial Times reports tonight that
InBev will now launch a hostile bid for Anheuser-Busch.
And we have been reporting this week on a rising scandal over the Nielsen
Company, the TV ratings firm. Now this company is firing American workers
in Florida, replacing them with foreign workers.
Bill Tucker is here -- Bill.
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kitty, roughly about 300 workers at
Nielsen lost their jobs down at Oldsmar, or are about to lose their job,
city council is angry about the way (INAUDIBLE) powerless to do anything.
The council, after all, doesn't run Nielsen, it's a large company in their
community.
The company's ratings are part of a conversation about TV shows'
popularity, Nielsen pretty much endemic to everything that we do. Its
research literally is what sets the rates that advertisers charge. It's a
monopoly for all intent and purposes. And it's hard for a company like that
size, that importance for people to not be aware of who they are and what
they're doing.
And for that reason you might be expected to think that maybe the people up
in Congress are aware of what Nielsen is doing. But that's not the case,
because the elected officials for the people of Oldsmar, Florida,
apparently don't know what's going on.
Congressman Bilirakis represents the 9th District in the House. Senators
Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez are their men in the Senate. We called their
offices several times today asking for their thoughts on what Nielsen is
doing to the voters in their state.
Not a single one admitted to being aware of the replacement of American
workers with foreign workers. None expressed concern about outsourcing of
jobs. The best that we could get from them, Kitty, was, we'll look at it
and get back to you later. And none of them got back to us later, at least
not today.
PILGRIM: Well, let's hope they're listening now. And we'll stay on this
story. Thanks very much, Bill Tucker.
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