Microsoft Prefers H1B Workers Over American Workers
Microsoft Prefers H1B Workers Over American Workershttp://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=government&articleId=9026440&taxonomyId=13&intsrc=kc_top
U.S. immigration laws prompt Microsoft to set up shop in Canada
Vendor says development center in Vancouver will help it retain workers from overseas
Nancy Gohring
July 06, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- Microsoft Corp. plans to open a software development center in Vancouver, British Columbia, later this year, partly as a way to recruit and retain talented workers who can't get into or stay in the U.S. because of immigration laws.
The software vendor announced the plans Thursday, saying that the new Microsoft Canada Development Centre will open this fall and be staffed by developers "from around the world."
Microsoft, along with other high-tech companies, has been a vocal supporter of legislation that would increase the number of foreign workers allowed to enter the U.S. on visas such as the H-1B. Currently, businesses are competing with one another for a total of 65,000 H-1B visas that can be issued during the federal government's fiscal year, plus another 20,000 visas that are set aside for workers with advanced degrees from U.S. universities.
COMMENT
It is outrageous that Bill Gates founder of Microsoft is bellowing for more H1B aliens to be allowed to work in America than the current allotment of 85,000 each year. The H1B program was established to supplement the American workforce when Americans were not available to perform the work. The program should be discontinued because there are Americans willing, able, and qualified to perform the work.
I think that Bill Gates and Microsoft should refocus their opinions and express concern that American higher educations costs the most in America and that most American students graduating bear around $30,000 in debt from tuition costs while many countries that support outsourcing of their citizens to programs like the H1B in America provide free or very low cost college and university training to their people. Bill Gates and Microsoft should complain that America has tuition costs rise several times faster than inflation for many years. They should complain that there are fewer scholarships and grants available to America's students and that the amounts are either diminishing or are not keeping up with the increase in tuition.
Bill Gates and Microsoft should complain that the education of the people they hire is valid for a limited number of years due to rapidly changing technology and that America has not met the challenge of keeping that workforce technically up to date at a reasonable cost to the employees and businesses. The countries that export their workers to America as H1B also offer free or very low cost retraining to their citizens, with no equivalent in America for American workers in America except at high cost and high family hardship.
In fact, most corporations will fire an employee and hire someone else instead of retraining the employee. Why pay for retraining at all when they can go the market and find someone already trained in the new skills? Why pay salary and also retraining expenses? America must step up into a partnership between government, employees, and employers where living expenses for retraining are also available.
Bill Gates and Microsoft should complain that America does not lure students into programs where there are specific shortages of trained skills such as doctors of medicine, nursing, engineering, math and science teaching, and others. If America needs 1,000 seats additionally in medical schools then they should be provided and incentives should also be provided to fill those seats. If America needs 10,000 additional seats for nurses then that should also be provided and incentives should be made to lure students to those programs.
America's students are aware that millions of Americans have lost their high tech jobs to overseas outsourcing and in America to H1b people. The mantra of America's students is to study in a program that is unlikely to be exported to a foreign country or where H1B's are going to be brought in. You cannot have it both ways, Bill Gates and Microsoft, by outsourcing to foreign countries and bringing in H!b aliens you displace potential Americans from these jobs. H1b was created to supplement the American workforce, not replace it. No holds barred job outsourcing to foreign countries is unpopular in America and will be a major political issue in America.
America's corporations should provide incentives to attract students to educational programs for skills they will need in the future. How many scholarships does Microsoft provide across America to high school graduates that are not employees or children of employees?
America grew by 100,000,00 people since 1968 and I doubt that America's schools of higher education have kept up with the educational infrastructure necessary to train all of the additional potential students since then.
Bill Gates and Microsoft are jumping at an immediate solution to their hiring problem rather than addressing the real problems. I hope Bill Gates and Microsoft runs the corporation and foundation with more thought than they have taken on their hiring needs.
posted by God Bless America - Bob @ 12:21 PM
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