The US Senate closed for the holidays, after a last-minute attempt to push through S386, a bill that would award over 90% of all Green Cards to citizens from India over the next 10 years.
This was the 5th time the champions of this bill tried to pass this legislation – the most sweeping change in US immigration laws ever proposed – without any debate whatsoever. And this was the 5th time it failed to pass!
This marked yet another victory of a small band of US IT workers from all over the country, including yours truly, who have been fighting this legislation all along. We were part of a cellphone “SWAT” team, organized by US Techworkers, that placed calls with our Senators and voiced our opposition every time they tried to get S386 passed. We also had two people on the ground in DC, who visited the Senate offices and forged relationships with Senate staffers.
We in CT owe a huge debt of gratitude to the leaders of this effort (shown in the picture below). Without their efforts, this bill would have been easily approved.
From left: Steve Pushor (aka “Dudeski”), Roger Ross, Kevin Lynn.
These people are nothing less than legends and real-live heroes who are battling for our interests every day. It was my privilege to spend some time with them at a recent holiday party in Lancaster, PA, and I am so glad I did. I got to know these guys even better – and I am more convinced than ever that we have an actual chance at reversing the tide in our struggle.
For 2020, the group is planning to go on the offensive. They’ve worked with IT industry experts to craft legislation that will not only protect the interests of US citizens but will also continue to allow highly skilled workers from all over the world to work in our country. They are working with a large variety of Senators to get this bill introduced in the next session of Congress.
US Techworkers will also be leasing a residence in DC, to house an army of activists to lobby for this new bill. They’ve mapped out a comprehensive plan that to educate federal lawmakers (and their staffs) about the abuses of our current system – and the merits of their new plan.
All faithful readers of this blog should know that taking the fight to our opponents is not an inexpensive task. Getting boots on the ground in DC requires cash! Up until now, its been largely funded by a relatively small group of a few hundred or so. I encourage all of you to join me in donating your time or resources to this cause. Please reach out to me if you have time to help us! This is a great bunch of fun, friendly people that I know you’ll love to meet.
We all know what’s been happening out there. Americans are being forced out of the IT profession at a record rate! Now we’ve got a group that is actually having some success in fighting this. If you’ve ever been the victim of the Indian IT outsourcing firms in the past and wished for a hero that had the power and confidence to stand up to them, you have that in US Techworkers. There is no excuse not to support them.
2019 was a remarkable year for our movement! But I think 2020 should be even better. Hang on! This should be a great ride!
India-based outsourcing giant Infosys is under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission after an internal whistleblower report revealed accounting tricks and “disturbing unethical practices” that helped make the company appear more profitable than it really is.
The complaints were made last week by a group of internal employees, who have extensive documentation and some audio recordings that back up their claims. Wall Street evidently took the charges seriously, as the company’s share price cratered by at least 15% during the course of last week andthree separate investor class-action law suits were filed against the company.
Costs associated with Visa workers in the US not fully reported
One of the major allegations in the complaint is that Infosys management cooked the books in their quarterly financial filings, by failing to report expenses – including those related Visa workers (see paragraph 3 of this story).
Note: While hourly costs associated with Indian workers are less than their American counterparts, the fees associated with Visa applications and the legal representation they require are not insignificant. In fact, these fees can be as high as tens of thousands per employee.
Infosys – and other India-based outsourding firms – rely heavily on Visas to staff their US operations. In their 20F filing with the SEC, the company said the majority of their workers in the United States held either H-1B visas (14,859 persons), which allow the employee to remain in the United States for up to six years … or L-1 visas (1,549 persons), which allow the employee to stay in the United States only temporarily.
In a recent conference call, Nilanjan Roy, the company’s CFO, denied Visa costs had any real impact on the company’s bottom line, saying the company had fewer Visas compared to last year and that more work was getting sent back to India.
Are they creating jobs in the US or are they moving jobs to India?
The CFOs comments were a startling admission, since the company recently claimed they were going to hire more US workers in their American operations and would reverse their earlier business model of moving data operations from the US to India.
The fact that Infosys is using doublespeak and subterfuge on Visas comes as no surprise to Kevin Lynn, the founder of US Techworkers (a national orgainzation that advocates for the rights of US IT workers). He said the recent news sheds new light on an issue that has dire consequences for the American worker – and the nation’s economy as a whole.
“With the majority of their workers (14,859) in the United States being expatriates here on Visas, we can begin to get our heads around just how many Americans each year are being displaced, forced out of good paying jobs. Add to this that the expatriate here on a Visa is just a stepping stone to the offshoring of the job altogether, we can see the long-term harm that is being done to the economy – the kind of harm that may be irreversible, Lynn said.
“Infosys is just one of many outsourcing firms being used by companies to reduce payroll cost and increase profits,” Lynn continued. “This displacement has become systemic and pervasive and must end. Infosys cooking the books regarding the costs associated with its many workers in the US on visas is just another example of the underhanded and nefarious ways they conduct their body shop business.”
Also, in June of 2017, Infosys paid NY state a $1 million fine for “failing to follow US visa requirements for foreign workers and placing them in New York jobs without paying prevailing wages and taxes owned on them.”
There’s been no comment from Governor Lamont, who was one of the architects of the $14 million deal to bring Infosys to Hartford. During his campaign for governor, he touted the deal as proof of his business acumen and his ability to bring companies and jobs to the state. Despite the state having nearly $100 Billion in unfunded pension liabilities, state leaders asked the state bonding commission to borrow another $14M to entice Infosys to set up an office in Hartford in exchange for creating 1,000 jobs. Note: Neither the Governor nor Infosys has stated that Americans should be hired as part of this deal.
The recent news comes as no surprise to Craig Diangelo, , an IT worker who was displaced when Infosys took over IT operations at Northeast Utilities (now Eversource) in 2014. Ever since Lamont announced the deal, he knew that Americans weren’t going to be hired in Hartford – and that the deal with actually result in a net loss of jobs.
“Moving jobs from the US to India … that’s what Infosys does. That’s their business model! How could he have not known that? How could he have not known that this would lead to a loss of jobs”
Diangelo was part of a group of Northeast Utilities workers who were forced to train their Indian replacements (Infosys employees) as a condition of them receiving a severance. On their last day at work, Diangelo and others put American flags on their cubes before being escorted from the building. His story was chronicled, along with other displaced US IT workers, in a 2017 60 minutes story.
The news of this week raises serious questions of the state’s deal with Infosys. Should the state be financing a company that routinely violates US immigration and financial reporting laws? Will the deal with Infosys really result in a net gain of jobs in the state? Is the widespread use of foreign labor in the US good for the state, the country or even Infosys themselves?
“They are driving wages so low in the business (IT servies) that its not profitable any more,” said Hillarie Gamm, a CT resident and author of Billions Lost. “This reveals the truth behind pushing American labor out of IT. No company can remain profitable with margins so slim.”
“US employers need to be hiring, training or re-training American workers for tech jobs, rather than going outside the country for their labor. US tech wages remain stagnant for over 20 years (with the exception of the top 1% of tech workers) due to the constant stream of cheap foreign labor.”
Rumors are circulating that the group has secured their own legal representation and is preparing to file legal briefs requesting the makeup of the company’s Hartford workforce.
Calls seeking comment on the news were not returned by Infosys.
Immigration Voice has been the main force behind every piece of immigration legislation in the last 20 years. Their efforts have led to carnage for Americans working in IT.
But you have to give them credit. They’re not even citizens in our country and they are banding together and collecting money to create change for themselves and their families. They’re playing the game – and creating real opportunity for themselves.
Most American IT workers operate solo. They rarely get out and take part in the community. They rarely contribute to political campaigns. And, they have to be in dire straits before they dare whisper about how they were railroaded out of their jobs.
It’s not too late for us, you know. There is a group in DC that is working to protect the rights of American IT workers. This relatively small group was the main force in stopping S386.
But what is it like for the millions of workers who come to American on an alphabet soup of Visas (e.g., L-1, B-1, H-1B, OPT), to take the jobs from these displaced Americans?
We got a rare window into their plight during a rally this week in Chicago, where a few hundred members of an Indian lobby group gathered to protest against Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. The Chicago Democrat had objected to S386, a bill that would have granted Indian nationals > 90% of the Green Cards awarded by the US for the next 10 years. This had the effect of stopping the bill in its tracks, ending a $70 million effort by Immigration Voice, fwd.us and others.
At this rally, the protesters were holding the following sign …
I’ve drawn arrows to a specific spot of the sign, where they refer the H-1B program as “slavery and abuse” and refer to their work as “indentured servitude.”
Anyone who has ever worked alongside Indians know their bosses have them work a grueling schedule. 60 hours a week is the absolute minimum – but 80 to 100 hours is often common.
I worked alongside one gentleman, who worked a 10 hour day (from 7am to 5 pm) but then had to get up and call into the TCS headquarters in India from 11 pm to 2 am. And this was a good day! He was often made to work to 8 pm, to complete his assigned tasks. And, of course, he could often be seen in the office on weekends banging away on his keyboard.
I was training this person to take my job (a job that I sometimes worked 60 to 70 hours a week without complaint) and I really shouldn’t have sympathized with his situation- but I did. If he didn’t do what he was asked, TCS wouldn’t renew his contract. And worse, they wouldn’t sponsor him for an H-1B visa.
The end goal for many of these workers is to acquire a Green Card, a work status that basically gives them the same workplace protections as Americans. With this status, they could actually tell their boss that they need to leave the office to attend their son or daughter’s school play, for example. But without it, their only choice is to slave away and wait for the light at the end of the tunnel to arrive.
Given all of that, it’s perfectly understandable they don’t normally talk about all of this in public. After all, in many cases, any job in America is better than what they may have had in India.
Still, you have to wonder … Is a slave how eats better off than a free man that is often humgry?
The top 5 Indian outsourcing firms have turned to the L-1 and OPT Visas as a way to bring younger workers from India to the US. There are no caps on these Visas – meaning they can bring over as many workers as they want to the US. And here’s the part that management loves – there is no minimum pay requirement for these workers … That’s right, there are no minimum wage laws! Imagine how unscrupulous managers could take advantage of this?
The people here working on these Visas are running on a treadmill and their bosses have the speed cranked up the max setting. If they complain just once, their dreams of a better life in American can be dashed out, like a spent cigarette.
THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF WORLD WE WANT FOR OUR CHILDREN.
THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF CAPITALISM WE WANT!
Shame on the executives who pay for the lobbyists that perpetuate this each and every day! Shame on the politicians that accept their campaign donations and enable this!
The lobbyists in DC are the masterminds of this system. They’ve created a really convenient problem for themselves. They’ve pushed through legislation that enables a system, where an underclass of people work 80-100 hours a week. They are complicit in dangling a carrot over the heads of these workers, giving hope that legislation would someday be passed that would amount to the most sweeping this country has ever seen (never before has it been proposed that a single country get over 90% of our nation’s Green Cards)!
Some might argue that we should grant Green Cards to the workers who have been gypped by this system. They might argue that this injustice requires that we essentially shut down immigration possibilities to citizens from other countries around the world. But this would only have the effect of clearing up the pipeline and allow millions more from India to take the place of those moving up the Visa ladder – and giving them the opportunity to be indentured servants too.
We were once a country that set workplace standards that put workers – and their families – first. We had the strongest economy in the world as well as strong neighborhoods and families. It’s been our relentless pursuit of profit that has led to our cities been hollowed out, our middle class decimated and our families destroyed.
Let me reiterate something here. We’ve always said that our country needs immigration. It’s a powerful force in creating a strong nation. Besides, our population is aging and we need more young people … And we don’t want to end up like Japan.
But immigration policies and legislation has been skewed by the lobbyists, who have created this slave class. It created a system where people are forced live and whisper in the shadows.
The good news is that there are organizations in our nation’s capital that are fighting against this unjust system. Progressives for Immigration Reform has been a leading force in fighting these lobbyists – and the politicians that endorse their legislation. They are pushing for a sustainable immigration system that will put an end to indentured servitude in this country and ensure our country’s healthy growth for years to come. Please consider helping this organization continue their fight!
Any politician that is not actively fighting to change this system effectively endorses the status quo. They approve of slavery in America.
It’s ironic that the Democratic party, a political machine that portrays themselves as friend of the working man, so often pushes for legislation that brings more and more foreign workers into the country for this indentured servitude – and sends so many Americans into the unemployment lines. Any objection to their votes is dismissed as racism – and any further discussion squashed.
We invite workers from any country that are abused at the workplace to share your stories with us. We have access to legal resources and will fight to protect you and your family. There is hope for a better tomorrow but you need the strength to reach out for help. Only together can we defeat this unjust system.
We hadn’t finished congratulating each other on winning the latest round in the battle of Senate Bill S386 when we started seeing encouraging news about our “loyal opposition” in this fight.
It appears Immigration Voice (IV), the group that spent up to $70 million to get this legislation passed, may be looking to fire their lobbyist Leon Fresco, the guy in DC who had done more for them than any other lobbyist.
It all played out in one Facebook post, where the group grills Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) for objecting to S386, saying that his action was unfair to their members, who have been working at jobs in the US for years.
The lengthy facebook rant continues … “We will find other advocates/lobbyists and we will find another General Counsel, if that is what it comes down to.”
Why am I mentioning this?
For years, American tech workers sat on the sidelines and did a lot of complaining – but they failed to take part in the democratic process. It’s often been said that watching a bill move through Congress is a little bit like watching sausage being made. It’s not pretty – but that’s the system we have.
Our democracy depends on people standing up and speaking their truth. And our relatively small group of people made their voices heard in the last week of September – and we were able to stop this bill.
An added bonus of our decision to stand up and fight – our enemies are fighting with each other!
It was all almost too easy. We just had to decide join together and work in a unified way.
Let’s be clear … We don’t wish the Indians working in the US on Visas bad fortune. Most of the people we’ve met are kind, intelligent and empathetic. Still, they have to realize they are participating in a job market where the IT oligarchs have pit them against US workers and workers from other countries around the world. As long as they can force us all to compete for jobs here in America, wages have nowhere to go but down. You can almost hear people like Jeff Bezos laughing themselves silly while we bicker over this bill.
This country was once known as a place where workers got a fair deal. We had a thriving middle class and there were workplace rules that allowed parents to go home after putting in 8 hours and spend time with their kids, coach a sports team or lead a Cub Scout troop. The rest of the world looked to us on what life could be like for average people.
People like Bezos don’t want it this way. It interferes with their stock price – and their personal fortunes. They’d rather have us at our desks churning out code 12 hours a day.
I invite the people of Immigration Voice to join us in our fight. None of us are opposed to immigration. It’s a healthy part of any thriving nation. Let’s work together to create an immigration system that works for everyone!
Note: the fight is not over on S386, although some are saying that this bill is doomed, others are saying they will try to sneak this into the Department of Homeland Security’s funding bill later this year. US Techworkers will continue to lead this fight – but they need your help! Please consider making a recurring donation to them, so they can continue educating our leaders on how bills like S386 and others negatively impact American workers.
For the second time in as many weeks, a scrappy band of resistance fighters lodged a lobbying campaign in the Halls of the US Senate that ended up blocking an immigration reform bill that had all the backing of the big $ K-Street lobbying firms and Silicon Valley behemoths.
S386 – a bill that would have granted 90% of all Green Cards over the next 10 years to citizens of India – was prevented from getting onto the Senate Floor Thursday after Sen Dick Durbin of Illinois objected to the bill.
The lobbyists and
the Senators that sponsored the bill – Mike Lee (Utah) and Kamala
Harris (California) – were trying to push this bill onto the Senate
floor under Unanimous Consent rules, meaning that no debate would be
allowed on the bill.
But, throughout the week, Americans advocating for the rights of US tech workers made their case to Senators and their staffers that this bill is wrong in so many ways – and such a big change in immigration requires debate.
Steve Pushor, Director of Operations for the DC Area for US Techworkers, once again did a masterful job of leading a group of people who would call in to Senators offices. His multiple sources all over DC were feeding him intel all week, which enabled him to direct his team to call Senators who would likely stand up in the Senate and object to S386.
Note: Any citizen may call Senators from another state. But it is appropriate to identify yourself as such – and not try fake being a citizen of the state. That is what this team was doing. In contrast, Immigration Voice (one off the groups pushing this bill) was encouraging their members to call in to Senators offices and lie about their ZIP code (see image below).
It was a roller coaster ride and mentally exhausting but the news of Sen. Durbin’s objection to S386 had people cheering all over the country.
Roger Ross
The other major player in this effort was Roger Ross, a Silicon Valley tech worker that has molded himself into a lobbying force on Capitol Hill. Just 6 months ago, he traveled to DC with absolutely NO experience in lobbying or dealing with govt officials. He was motivated by the injustices experienced by US tech workers all over the country – and his mission was to tell this story to anyone who would listen.
This week, he
forged alliances with the multitudes of people from all over the
world who are objecting to this bill – and visited Senate offices
in force. Some say it was his visit to Durbin’s office that sealed
the deal.
Also working in the background was US Techworkers founder Kevin Lynn. He advised both Pushor and Ross on the key players in this effort and the nuances of the legislative process. This had the effect of multiplying their abilities and enabled them to accomplish more than they ever dreamed. Kevin is a former Army officer, perhaps this is where he gets his world-class leadership skills from? We are so grateful that he’s fighting for us.
Sen Lee had bragged that this bill would be signed, sealed and delivered by Sept. 27th. But now he has to go back and rewrite this bill before it is re-introduced after the October recess. We can take a few days rest – but then its back to work.
The drama that unfolded in DC this week on S386 was a great lesson to us all. If you stand up and fight – you can win, no matter the odds.
Besides Kevin,
none of the players involved had any real experience in Washington or
lawmaking process. But, with a little common sense, they were able to
mount a successful campaign.
I, myself, was able to get my calls in during my morning and afternoon breaks, lunch and after work. All in all I was able to get in at least 15 calls a day. Each one took no longer than 5 minutes (at most).
Anyone reading
this could do the very same thing – and it would mean a lot.
We are going to
need volunteers in a couple of weeks when this starts up again.
Please reach out to me if you want to join this fight!
A network of volunteers from all across the country led a call-in effort to members of the US Senate this week and prevented Senate Bill S386 from passing in the senate – but the fight is far from over.
The bill was originally submitted under Unanimous Consent rules, meaning that the bill was going to be voted on WITHOUT DEBATE!
Can you imagine that? From the way this bill is written, over 90% of the Green Cards awarded by the US over the next 10 years will be awarded to one country – India. This is the most sweeping immigration legislation proposed to our representatives in DC ever and they were going to sneak it through without debate!
But that’s when a group, led by US Techworkers member Steve Pushor took action. He organized a list of Americans of all colors, races and religions to call into the Senate to voice their displeasure.
Things were looking bleak until Wednesday afternoon when one of our members identified Senator Perdue of Georgia as having the intestinal fortitude to stand up and object to the Unanimous Consent vote. And after we barraged his office with calls and emails, he actually took to the Senate floor and showed how a courageous American gets things done.
It was a huge sigh of relief for all of us – but the fight is not done.
The sponsor of this bill – Sen. Mike Lee of Utah – is planning on pushing this bill through to the Senate floor again next week under Unanimous Consent rules again. (It appears they don’t want to have to debate this one.)
This is going to be an important week – and we need your help! Call up Senator Blumenthal (860) 258-6940 and Senator Murphy (860) 549-8463 and tell them to vote NO on this bill, which awards 90% of all green cards over the NEXT 10 YEARS to India, is an ANTI_DIVERSITY bill.
Tell them they don’t want to be on the wrong side of history. Never before has the US tilted their immigration laws in favor of one country like this!
Because we will be giving almost all of our Green Cards to people from India, we will be missing out on smart people from all of Europe, the entire continent of Africa, Canada, Mexico, all of South America, Australia … the entire rest of the world!!!!
If you ever considered helping, please do it now. This is really important – and it literally only takes a few minutes.
You don’t have to be an MBA from Harvard to figure out what this means. Thousands of production-line workers are losing paychecks. Parts suppliers are having their contracts cancelled.
Boeing is a BIG force in the US economy. And all of this is dragging down the US Gross Domestic Product.
Kevin Lynn, executive director of US Techworkers, interviews veteran IT worker Ellwood Davis, one of the first SAP technical architects in the US. Over the arc of his stellar career, he led IT implementation processes for the federal government and Fortune 500 companies around the globe. His efforts saved literally hundreds of millions of dollars for American businesses.
These days, he struggles to find a job in an IT services industry that almost solely uses workers from India.
You’ll end up shaking your head, wondering how a guy like Mr. Davis is unemployed. Sadly, his story is becoming more and more common.
It’s very likely that S386 (the so-called Fairness to High Skilled Immigrants bill) will be introduced on the floor of the Senate this week. It is imperative that you call your Senators this week to voice your opposition.
But, before calling, you can read a story detailing all the bad consequences of this bill here … https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2019/07/12/hilarie-gamm-green-card-bill-is-anti-diversity-anti-women-anti-minority-and-against-the-middle-class/
This story will give you a lot of great talking points.
Our friend, Kevin Lynn from USTechworkers.com is asking all of us to find out where our Senators stand on this bill report their findings back to him at info@ustechworkers.com.
You can end the call with your Senators by reminding that if they vote in favor of this bill, they will be doing exactly what the Koch brothers want. Both CT Senators have been vocal about their opposition to the Koch brothers money and influence in DC.
Thank you for your support on this! We lost the fight in the House of Representatives but we NEED to have this win in the Senate.
