Round 4: H-1B WAR - IEEE-USA vs. Bill Gates!

Bill Gates draws first-blood while IEEE raises an army of engineers in the pivotal fourth round of the H-1B battle of the Immigration Reform bill war.

In his opening move, the world's richest man strikes hard at American engineering careers by testifying before congress in favor of unlimited H-1B visas.  Bill's prestidigitatory presentation sought to somehow convince lawmakers that the best way to encourage American students to enter engineering is to import more engineers from other countries. 

First, he says, we must "place a major emphasis on encouraging careers in math and science".  Then he suggests opening the flood gates to foreign engineers by eliminating the cap completely, "So even though it may not be realistic, I don't think there should be any limit".  Sadly, there were no challenges to this point by the committee.  Not one Congressman or Senator suggested that increasing the cap might further discourage students from entering the engineering field. 

Despite studies which show there is no shortage of engineers, Bill Gates insists that the tech industry needs the cap raised. 

American engineers "GOTO" Washington

On the other end of the battlefield, IEEE engineers from around the country are converging on the capital for the 2007 "IEEE-USA Career Fly-In" which will pair American engineers with Congressmen and Senators to discuss H-1B visa reform.  Like legions of detached soldiers looking for a few good generals, they will make their appeal to the 110th congress for support.  So far there are very few representatives who have openly taken their side. Even fewer seem remotely concerned about national security concerns.  Perhaps the lure of brobdingnagian campaign contributions has overshadowed the sworn duty of our elected officials. 

The only hope IEEE engineers may have is to convince politicians of a possible voter backlash if they increase the cap without enacting proper reforms.  A large group of web-savvy engineers organizing an internet campaign to ralley voters could prove to be quite a formidable adversary.

The two biggest heavyweights in the industry finally face-off for what may become the most consequential fight for the future of the engineering profession.  As one of the oldest and most prestigious engineering organizations, IEEE represents a large percentage of American engineers.  As their default "Capo di tutti Capi", Bill Gates speaks for the majority of tech company owners who desperately want low cost labor.

The "Immigration Reform" bill battle beginning now will force representatives to choose sides between the mega-rich owners of international corporations and middle-class Americans.  Like the Amnesty bill last year, this may become another extremely emotional issue.  Politicians may face an angry electorate if they once again scuttle their responsibility to their constituents.

The dramatic battle is about to begin when Senator McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Kennedy (D-MA) unveil their secret immigration bill to the public.  It looks very bad for the underrepresented American engineers.  After all, Bill Gates was the only one they called to testify before their committee, the "Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions".   Some sources believe that Bill Gates' lobbyists actually helped McCain and Kennedy write the bill in the first place. 

Bill Gates, king of the world

How can the American "King of Engineering" turn on the very engineers he created?  To be fair, Microsoft has always attempted to get the best and brightest engineers from around the world to work for them.  It is only fair that American corporations should be able to compete for the best and brightest from around the world.  But unfortunately, that is not what the H-1B program has become.  It has simply become a loophole to import cheap labor. 

Most H-1B holders are not geniuses; they are average engineers doing the same job that millions of Americans can do.  If the H-1B program was reformed to only allow in those with a Masters degree and higher, then Bill Gates should be satisfied.  But that is not what he is asking for.  If he were then there would be little need to discuss a cap since it would never be reached.  Instead, he is asking for a huge increase in the cap for B.S. graduates while summarily ignoring H-1B abuses.  The engineers are only asking that proper reform be proposed before any cap increase is considered. 

Why can't Mr. Gates see the negative ramifications of drastically and blindly increasing the cap?  Is it possible that Bill Gates is not aware of the hundreds of thousands of engineers who have endured hardships in the past?  Is it possible that he truly believes what he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed piece where he states that the program has strong wage protections for U.S. workers?  The truth is that there are absolutely NO wage protections for Americans in this law.  Is it possible that he is a liar?   Is it possible that he was behind the whole H-1B expansion in the first place?

Jack and Bill went up Capital Hill

The roots of the H-1B increases go back to Jack Abramoff and his lobbying connections.  Under Bill Gates' employ, Jack Abramoff successfully lobbied for an increase in the cap in 1999 from 85,000 to 195,000 visas.  Shortly thereafter, in 2001, this increase coupled with the the dot-com bust was responsible for massive unemployment in the tech industry which lasted for several years.  Tragic results varied from divorces and foreclosures to psychological trauma and even suicides.

Prior to his hiring of Jack Abramoff, congress was trying to break up Bill Gates' monopoly.   Now, after countless millions have been spent on lobbying efforts, Bill Gates has magically become the darling of Capital Hill.  It is sadly suspicious that not one member of the committee challenged Mr. Gates' assertions that American workers have proper protection.

Deja vu - unemployment again

If another recession occurs in 2008, as it did in 2001, hundreds of thousands of American careers will once again get destroyed.   If history repeats itself, this war may yet turn tragic once again.

In 2001, the H-1B cap was set at 195,000 visas per year.  A recession forced thousands of engineers out of work while H-1B visa holders enjoyed a six-year employment guarantee.  To cut costs, companies mercilessly laid off thousands of American engineers while retaining their H-1B engineers. 

This plunged the entire engineering and IT profession into a depression, where work was nearly impossible to find anywhere in the country.  Areas such as South Florida, where many engineers are still looking for work in their profession, have yet to recover.  This is the crux of the anti-H1B movement.

Please do not feed the wild animals

To win this war, IEEE engineers must convey to members of congress how the H-1B program has affected the quality of life within their profession and how it's shaped the business.

The reason capitalism works so well is because it emulates competition in the wild.  In the past, businesses had to work hard to compete for qualified employees.  When workers are in demand, wages rise and more people enter the field creating a natural balance.

H-1B workers are easy prey for big business, who have now become used to getting hand-fed by the U.S. government.  Now, demand is beginning to increase slightly in the engineering field, and big business is scurrying for more free food.  If politicians do not kowtow to big business and do not increase the cap, wages will rise and scores of American students will flock to engineering.

American international corporations have already shifted millions of engineering jobs overseas.  Not satisfied with those cost savings, they want to enjoy additional welfare here at home.  This imbalance between corporate-influence and voter-influence in Washington is perhaps the biggest threat to American democracy in modern times. 

Whenever government interferes with businesses, some group will be inadvertantly hurt.  Like "Robin Hood" in reverse, this law transfers money from middle-class engineers and into the pockets of tech company owners and CEOs.  It will be best for America and Americans if the government stays out of the engineering business altogether and allows natural supply and demand to dictate the market. 

Corporations need to learn how to hunt once again.  They will have to return to recruiting at universities, recruiting from other states, and competing with each other for the best and the brightest engineers who are already in this country.

America (Americans) compete

Like a Jedi mind-trick, proponents of an increase have been cleverly wording talking points like "America must compete", which are then mindlessly repeated over and over by their supporters.   This misdirection of the English language is dishonest and must stop.

Politicians should stop referring to "American companies" as "America".  It is insulting to every American citizen when politicians say "America" must compete, when referring to "American companies".  In fact, the top 3 companies benefitting most from the H-1B program are Indian outsourcing companies, WIPRO, Infosys and Cognizant.  They use the H-1B program to train their employees here, then send them back to India to facillitate outsourcing contracts.  American companies use H-1B visa holders as long-term low-cost labor while they view American engineers as short-term expendable resources.  In the end, both American and foreign engineers end up receiving lower wages and working conditions.

It seems that, with recent H-1b practices, feeding the wild animals introduced a sort of career virus that is getting out of control.  As with Star Trek's "Prime Directive", an organic system such as American capitalism should not be frivolously tampered with.   

Politicians need to understand that helping large "American (international) corporations" succeed is not necessarily in the best interest of "America" and is often detrimental to "Americans".  It's now time for congress to clean their "House" of these wild animals and to return to legislating "for the people".

Ground zero

A battalion of IEEE engineers will be arriving in the eye of the storm in mid-March just as the immigration bill is released.  They hope to compete with Bill Gates and other lobbyists by doing things the old fashioned way.  They will meet face to face and simply try to explain their point of views to as many members of congress who will listen.   Lacking large campaign contributions, all they have to offer their elected representatives is web-based election campaigns as either carrots or sticks.  Perhaps that along with a just cause will be enough to be heard.

The immigration war has just begun and the H-1B Battle has turned out to be ground zero of the debate.