Thank your "cheap labor" Republicans!
Congress is attempting to increase the quota for foreign tech workers by 50% and sneaking it thru in the "Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005 (S. 1932)." Senator Byrd is trying to embarrass them into handling the issue openly, and I hope some will call their senators to back him. Call soon, for the vote is tomorrow, Nov. 2,2005.
There is high unemployment in the tech [programmer, engineer] area and the idea of bringing in more foreign workers for cheap labor is absurd. These "H1-Bs" are in effect indentured servants, dependent on their employers good will for 6-year stints, and that is the only reason employers want to hire them.
I hope the following e-mail chain, from Prof. Norman Matloff, UC Davis, gives the gist of the situation.
Doc
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To: programmer mailing list
I urge you to call and express your opinion, pro or con. (Obviously I support Byrd on this issue.)
Yes, CALL. And make sure you talk to someone who handles immigration, NOT whoever answers the phone.
The sample message below is far too complicated. CONGRESS DOESN'T CARE ABOUT REASONING OR LOGIC; all they understand is pressure. Keep your message short, just a couple of sentences. But make sure they understand that you feel STRONGLY about this issue.
Norm
----- Forwarded message from Sandra Gunn <sgunn@fairus.org> -----
Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2005 13:15:55 -0800 (PST)
From: Sandra Gunn <sgunn@fairus.org>
Reply-To: Sandra Gunn <sgunn@fairus.org>
To: matloff@cs.ucdavis.edu
Subject: URGENT ALERT! Senate Voting Tommorrow on Amdt to Stop Foreign Worker/Immigration Increase
URGENT ALERT FROM FAIR!
Senate Voting Tomorrow on Amendment to Strip Foreign Worker/Immigration Increase from Deficit Reduction Bill
Call your Senators Immediately and Urge a YES Vote for the
Byrd Amendment
THIS JUST IN...Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) has decided to offer an amendment tomorrow to the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005 (S. 1932) that will strip out language added by the Judiciary Committee that sells out American workers by expanding employment-based visas, H-1B high tech worker visas and accompanying family members by an estimated 368,000 per year.
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS IMMEDIATELY AND URGE A YES VOTE FOR THE BYRD AMENDMENT.
This will come up tomorrow, so we have less than 24 hours
to make an impact. If you call during business hours, ask to speak with or leave a message for the legislative assistant handling immigration. If calling after business hours, please leave a message on your senators' voicemail.
Call the Capitol
Switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask to be connected, or find direct phone numbers on our web site at
capwiz.com |
