Big corporation slave labor is a reality here in the United States. Large corporations are taking advantage of people from overseas to work for them on a short term basis. While at the same time laying off or severely cutting back on the hours for its’ United States citizens.
By abusing the visa system of this country they save a lot of money and use these people to do the work that Americans can do, but at a much lower cost. I know this sounds crazy, but it is true. One example is Disney which gave about 250 computer workers layoff notices and replaced them with Indian workers. They came in under the H-1B Visa program for a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as in architecture, engineering, mathematics, science, and medicine. Under the visa a US company can employ a foreign worker for up to six years.
Per an article in the New York Times– “According to federal guidelines, the visas are intended for foreigners with advanced science or computer skills to fill discrete positions when American workers with those skills cannot be found. Their use, the guidelines say, should not “adversely affect the wages and working conditions” of Americans. Because of legal loopholes, however, in practice, companies do not have to recruit American workers first or guarantee that Americans will not be displaced.
Too often, critics say, the visas are being used to bring in immigrants to do the work of Americans for less money, with laid-off American workers having to train their replacements.
“The program has created a highly lucrative business model of bringing in cheaper H-1B workers to substitute for Americans,” said Ronil Hira, a professor of public policy at Howard University who studies visa programs and has testified before Congress about H-1B visas.
A limited number of the visas, 85,000, are granted each year, and they are in high demand. Technology giants like Microsoft, Facebook and Google repeatedly press for increases in the annual quotas, saying there are not enough Americans with the skills they need.”
Why does our Congress even entertain the idea of granting more of these type visas when there are so many people looking for work? Well it comes down to economics; the stock holders of corporations want the maximum return for the minimum amount of cost. This means that we who are American citizens and Green card holders lose job opportunities to work.
To make things even worse is the fact that some of these temporary immigrant workers work long hours at a very low, but legal pay grade. Making them more or less slave type labor and they do not even know in most cases that they are being taken advantage of by these big corporations. And they these same corporations have required those being laid off to train their replacements. Isn’t that something that just makes you think that the people who are in charge are sadists? How mean can you get and still be Human?
Is anyone’s job safe from workers being imported from outside of the United States. The answer is a most definite no with the qualification that there only a limited number of these type visas available. What will happen when the big corporations get their way and the limited becomes the unlimited? Do not let this happen contact your Senator or Representative and tell them to fix this problem!
That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike
