Re: AS/400 Lobby

Our cash pensions site (http://www.cashpensions.com/uslegislation.htm) is
tracking all of the H1B Visa related legislation, has links to all articles
we've found on the subject, and has sample letters you can send to your
representatives about the issue.  Things I've learned about the issue this year
lead me to believe it is an issue we should all be heavily lobbying about.

For those of you who haven't learned about the issue, H1B Visas are granted to
high technology workers for temporary jobs in the United States.  They are
mostly being used by companies who are concurrently laying off their older US
workers, which is a practice that needs to stop.  Those of us who are lobbying
against raising the ceiling on H1B Visas are NOT against immigration in general;
we just feel that those who we allow to immigrate should be allowed to work
towards full citizenship, should not be treated as slave labor with poor
conditions and low wages, and should not be replacing US workers...

A recent statement from Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas who has sponsored
much of the H1B Visa legislation, is very telling:  "Although there is still no
objective, credible study that documents a shortage of American high-tech
workers, the INS said recently that the demand for highly skilled foreign
workers is running at least 50,000 ahead of last year.  Such a demand can
indicate an actual shortage of American workers, a spot shortage, a preference
for cheap labor or replacement workers, or something else. But because of the
importance of the high-tech industry to our economy, I think we should give the
industry the benefit of the doubt."

How many workers have to lose their jobs before industry is reigned in???

Janet Krueger
Andrews Consulting Group





Eric Kempter <NOERICK.NORCAL@CLEANCITY.COM> on 06/13/2000 06:44:42 PM

Please respond to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com

To:   "'midrange-l@midrange.com'" <midrange-l@midrange.com>
cc:    (bcc: Janet Krueger/dhagroup/US)
Subject:  AS/400 Lobby





The following was recently print by midrange computing in Monday Morning Update
in reference to AS/400 salaries.

Even though growth in AS/400 salaries has slowed for many
job titles and in many regions, the salary growth in the AS/400
community continues to outstrip inflation. Viall says
that his best guess, based on current economic conditions
and the expectation that the economy continues to be
healthy, is a modest salary growth for 2000, probably in the
4 to 6 percent range. There is one big caveat to that growth
estimate, however. If Congress raises or eliminates the
ceiling on H1-B visas, all bets are off, and AS/400
salaries could go flat. Apparently, there is a large talent
pool of AS/400 programmers in India and a few other
countries, and if they are allowed to come en masse to
America, their entrance into the labor pool will definitely
have an effect on the supply/demand curves for AS/400
programmers.


Does anyone know of a website / group that assumes the responsibility for
lobbying on American IT professionals behalf?







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