Pfizer forcing US workers to train replacements before being fired

[Robert Oak]

http://www.economicpopulist.org/?q=content/pfizer-forcing-us-citizens-train-h-1b-guest-worker-replacements-being-fired

Pfizer is forcing workers to train their foreign guest worker H-1B replacements before being fired.

This happens all of the time and is probably one of the most disgusting things I can think off.

Outsourcing firms use these Visas to displace US workers but even worse, the US worker is supposed to train the person taking their job!

[Jackpine Radical]

1. I've heard of that in many industries.

If I were in that position, I would be tempted to train them wrong.

[Robert Oak]

6. What I can't get

Is this has happened so many times and workers should, all together, simply refuse to train them. Period.

Only by not transferring over the knowledge can they protect their jobs plus it's morally disgusting.

I wish at least one class action lawsuit would be filed on this behavior...
and every damn time "workers want to remain anonymous" out of FEAR. They should realize they are screwed and stand up, walk out, organize, protest plus get on TV everywhere.

[cabluedem]

19. If they walk out on the training, they get NO severance package, thats why!

Old news to me.

[Mind_your_head]

2. That's been going on for quite a long time now. It was wrong/stinked THEN

and it still is immoral/wrong/stinks NOW.

How will this 'practice' finally be stopped?

[Idealism]

3. I dare say it won't be stopped

Our country allows to many liberties to corporations, especially the biggest of them. They pay hardly any taxes, and our effective margins for corporations is among the lowest in the world (not the 'starting tax bracket' mind you). If we cut out too many loopholes in our tax system that they benefit from, raise their taxes to what they SHOULD be paying, or to enact heavy penalties for outsourcing american jobs, these companies will get their team of lawyers on the case to lobby for them. In addition to lobbying for their cause, they may incorporate elsewhere (think Bermuda) that has lax restrictions. It is a hard thing to do, nail down these corporatists

[im1013]

4. Well, at least we know who to BOYCOTT!

Is there really no end to the amount of corporate greed chimp-boy has
made possible in this country??

[Robert Oak]

9. in addition

This is Infosys, an Indian company whose entire business model is to labor arbitrage US citizens.

This is now 5.3% of India's GDP, all from undercutting US labor. They have enormous lobbyist teams, inroads to peddle their cheap labor to companies and have the audacity to claim somehow this is all just "part of trade". Bullshit. Undercutting US labor is simply not trade.

[im1013]

10. Nice.

:sarcasm:

[TygrBright]

5. Can you imagine what they "forget" to tell them?

Bet that's some training.

Just what you want among the people who are responsible for producing yer life-saving, life-sustaining medicines.

Brilliant.

:eyes:

disgustedly,
Bright

[Robert Oak]

8. It's IT

But they did massively layoff their researchers too and moved those PhD level research jobs to China as well as India and they do indeed, even more so, use H-1Bs to have at the PhD level U.S. citizens train workers only to be fired.

H-1Bs are well documented to be used for "technology transfer" and what that really means is the American trains this person, often for over one year so they can take their job.

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Isn't that like being made to dig your own grave before being shot??

[ixion]

16. yep, that's exactly what it's like, IMO

:grr:

[barb162]

24. Yep.

[JDPriestly]

11. The problem is that our employment law is based on the

principles of contract law. That would be OK, except that, today, parties to employment contracts do not have equal bargaining power. Thanks to the labor surplus, employees have to take what they can get. They are like sellers in today's housing market.

Employees can change the situation by either forcing politicians to enact laws that protect employees' rights to security in their jobs or join unions. I suspect that laws protecting employees will not be enacted until employees organize and pressure politicians about guaranteeing their rights.

And how can the right to a job be guaranteed? Make it unprofitable to fire employees in order to hire cheaper labor, whether overseas or here. One answer is to require an employer who fires a worker who has committed no wrong to pay extremely high unemployment insurance and to give such employees very generous unemployment compensation.

[Robert Oak]

12. beyond severence

penalties for this type of obvious replacement, another might be no corporation can force a worker to train their replacement for purposes of firing, "layoffs" and just put a huge wrench in this entire thing.

Professional workers are not unionized much at all and they really need to be. Especially those in the tech areas because they are being cremated.

[Chovexani]

15. The irony of it

The IT field is FULL of Libertarian douchebags who eagerly lapped up all the RW lies about unions and "free" trade. They regularly sneered as blue collar union workers were laid off because those workers were "too lazy, stupid and inefficient" to keep their jobs, and had nothing but good things to say about scabs. I know because while I don't work in the IT field, I am a sci-fi fan and these types are all over fandom. I have even dated a few.

And these white collar guys are the first ones to cry bloody murder over the visa program, now that free trade has taken their job and not just the "stupid plebes" in the blue shirts with their names on them. I know this is horrible but this union baby (a child of a union nurse, and grandchild of a union dockworker) can't help but feeling just the tiniest bit of schadenfreude. Especially when they wake up and smell the need to organize.

[Robert Oak]

21. true

I had many Ron Paul fans insist I should support Ron Paul even though Ron Paul was all for more H-1B guest worker Visas and called it "free trade".

They don't seem to get while they try to work on keeping their careers that they support politicians and their "religion" which will end their careers pronto.

On top of it, there is nothing about free trade theory that says we are supposed to trade people as part of trade...
more closer to a slave economy than any free trade theory.

[barb162]

25. I know some of those guys even though they've been fired from a few jobs.

They still believe the libertarian nonsense. As long as they keep hopping to another job they think they're fine until one day there won't be another job as they'll all be shipped offshore.

[silverojo]

13. I'd say fuck off, and walk out the door

What are they gonna do, fire you?

[Robert Oak]

14. they need the income

paycheck to paycheck, that's why they don't.

[Jim__]

17. The Dems should change that.

From wiki:

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for ensuring that foreign workers do not displace or adversely affect wages or working conditions of U.S. workers.

The Department of Labor states that the H-1B law doesn't require employers to seek local talent before recruiting abroad for their US job openings, except in limited circumstances when the employer is considered H-1B dependent:

The DOL's http://www.dol.gov/_sec/stratplan/strat_plan_2006-2011.pdf>, Fiscal Years 2006-2011 (pg. 35) states: "... H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker."

The http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/fedreg/final/2006005740.pdf>, dated June 30, 2006, Section II, paragraph 4, "the statute does not require employers...to demonstrate that there are no available US workers or to test the labor market for US workers as required under the permanent labor certification program."

Employers must attest that wages offered are at least equal to the actual wage paid by the employer to other workers with similar experience and qualifications for the job in question, or alternatively, pay the prevailing wage for the occupation in the area of intended employment, whichever is greater. By signing the LCA, the employer attests that: prevailing wage rate for area of employment will be paid; working conditions of position will not adversely affect conditions of similarly employed American workers; place of employment not experiencing labor dispute involving a strike or lockout.

Why the fuck would we allow an H-1B worker to displace an American worker? That makes no sense.

[Robert Oak]

18. write your reps, please! read this comment

Because the corporate lobbyists forces are all over the Democratic party, same as the Republican party.

Unfortunately Tech, Professional labor is simply not unionized, hence is often first up to be thrown to the wolves on labor issues.

Flooding the US labor market with foreign guest workers is so well documented to enable age discrimination, wage arbitrage as well as offshore outsourcing of technology it's phenomenal how many in Congress claim there is a worker shortage.

Obama, Democratic leadership have all promised Silicon valley corporate executives, NASSCOM, an India trade group to increase H-1B and even worse, turn our entire educational system into an ATM for green cards.

That will decimate US Professional labor and even worse, further deny even access to college when the rejection rates are already through the roof in many of these occupational areas of study.

Write your reps and state the real facts of this situation.

Demand they pass S.1035 intact and nothing else until they get a clear cut handle on Professional labor issues and some worker protections.

People discuss everything but this middle class jobs when they talk about labor yet IT, Technical occupational areas have been labor arbitrage probably worse than manufacturing jobs in the last 8 years.

[cabluedem]

20. No, but its what Big Business wamts and to hell with we Americans.

no wonder this country is a mess.

[barb162]

26. It's about time Congress works for voters instead of business.

[barb162]

22. Kick!

[barb162]

23. And Congress does wha? It's been going on for years in many companies!

Yes, Bob, it's way past disgusting as these same companies keep saying they're short of qualified American workers.