Displaced IT workers are being silenced

[wehateporn]

A major problem with the H-1B debate is the absence of displaced IT workers in news media accounts. Much of the reporting is one-sided -- and there's a reason for this.

An IT worker who is fired because he or she has been replaced by a foreign, visa-holding employee of an offshore outsourcing firm will sign a severance agreement. This severance agreement will likely include a non-disparagement clause that will make the fired worker extremely cautious about what they say on Facebook, let alone to the media.

On-the-record interviews with displaced workers are difficult to get. While a restrictive severance package may be one handcuff, some are simply fearful of jeopardizing future job prospects by talking to reporters.

Now silenced, displaced IT workers become invisible and easy to ignore.

This situation has a major impact on how the news media covers the H-1B issue and offshore outsourcing issues generally. To illustrate, The New York Times published a story Nov. 23, "Workers in Silicon Valley Weigh In on Obama's Immigration Action," which looked at the reaction to President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration.

The Times spoke with visa-holding employees at tech firms who were frustrated by U.S. immigration policy. There were photographs of some of the people being interviewed, which means their employers welcomed the newspaper's attention.

Continued Displaced IT workers are being silenced | Computerworld

[hadden]

Corporate people, people Corporate.

[Barry-xlovecam]

Business today is Global. One thing the Internet has done is to give a "leg up" to the developing world. We have facilities in situ in lower cost nations. Importing employees to race to the bottom on wages is wrong and not in ones self interest ...