Posted on 05/26/2003 3:51:30 PM PDT by Lessismore
WASHINGTON: On a recent April afternoon in Silicon Valley, moments after he was told he had been laid off from his computer programming job at a Bank of America training centre, Kevin Flanagan stepped into the parking lot and shot himself dead.
Some of America's technology workers, who like Flanagan have also had to collect pink slips over the last several months, think they know why Flanagan took his life: Bank of America not only outsourced his job to India, but forced him to train Indian workers to do the job he had to give up.
In the weeks since his death, the techies have used the incident as fuel to fire a campaign against outsourcing to India, an issue that now seems poised to become a major sticking point between the two countries. Several US states are already considering legislation to ban or limit outsourcing.
Bank of America is one of several major US corporations – General Electric, Microsoft, Intel are among others - under scrutiny for outsourcing jobs to India. The Bank created what is called a "Global Delivery centre" in 2000 to identify projects that could be sent offshore.
Since then it has signed agreements with Infosys and Tata Consulting Services (TCS) to provide solutions and services.
In an e-mail exchange with this correspondent, Kevin's father Tom Flanagan said "a significant reason for which my son took his life was indeed as a result of his job being outsourced."
"Did he blame India for his job loss? No. He blamed the "system." He couldn't understand why Americans are losing jobs. Rather I should say he understood it economically, but not emotionally," Flanagan said.
Bank officials, who did not return calls relating to Flanagan's death, have said in the past that the deal with Indian companies would effect no more than 5 per cent of the bank's 21,000 employees, or about 1,100 jobs, in its technology and operations division.
According to some surveys, the US has lost at least 800,000 jobs in the past year and some 3.3 million jobs will move overseas over the next few years because of outsourcing, mostly to India.
The Bank has also acknowledged that it had asked local workers to train foreigners because such knowledge transfer was essential. According to Tom Flanagan, his son was "totally disgusted" with the fact that he and his fellow-workers had to train foreigners to do his job so they could take over. "That sir is a travesty," he said in one e-mail.
US tech workers are challenging the corporate world's claim that it is outsourcing work to improve bottomlines and efficiency. Some analysts have also pointed out that US corporations were being forced to tighten up by the same people who are moaning about outsourcing, and who, heavily invested in the stock market, demand better performance.
But on one website that discussed the Flanagan case, a tech worker pointed out that data processing consumed only a small per cent of revenues and was hardly a drain on the Bank's profit.
"(It is) a prosperous bank which has let greed trump any sense of patriotism or social responsibility," he fumed.
I wasnt kidding, I think it is now 30 jobs since 1994, and it was 10 in the last 2 years since 2001.
Too many here take plain talk as a sign of people giving up. I aint a quitter, if I was, I would have suicided out many years ago.
But all these people saying that it will all be over with a tax cut blah blah blah free trade works nonsense...
Free Trade and capitalistic competition with a socialist government that props up those business that left and went there, that is so sad it is pathetic! And those people call THEMSELVES the Capitalists here??
Those companies overseas are not engaging in free trade capitalistic market ideas, they are socialists propped up by their governments, and they can undercut us at every step. All they need to do is raise their prices or their taxes, since payroll to a slave is not an issue!
First off, I would like to know why you consider yourself Libertarian. You DO understand that you are calling for GOVERNMENT intervention in stopping FREE Enterprises from hiring who they desire. You think government should be able to tell me that I cannot hire people overseas? Or do you want government to put a stranglehold on the economy by taxing and putting tariffs on imports? Secondly, I believe in the America that adapts. That does what it has to do to get things done. You want to hold back progress in the name of comfort. You can bring out the "Starving kids" argument just as the welfare recipients do. "How can you not support welfare? You want kids to starve?"
I always like to repeat to myself the old survey where non-rich and rich were both asked what the key to wealth was. The non-wealthy mostly said it was all about lucky breaks. The wealthly mostly said it was all about hard work...
You make intresting sounding points, and I'm usually not the one to worry about appearances, but if we get our products so incredibly cheap... what does that say about our society as a whole? We get crap? We get the BEST of the BEST crap? Is that good? 8^/ Do you want incredibly cheap crap? America is great because we get the cheapest crap around? Americans only deserve the finest cheap crap?
LOL! -
I can hear it now..."Why, indeed, we go to greatest extents of the earth to bring you the absolute finest cheap crap available. Heck, you'll pay more in shipping and handling than you will for the product. We guarantee it!" better yet... "We, as Americans, though our pride is still swolen with past glory, would like to say thanks to all the great outsourcerers who made it possible to get the cheap crap. We never could have made it without you guys, as our paycuts and layoffs prohibit it. We appreciate the aid you have given us in our time of need, for we so greatly need a break from the big bills we have been getting from our bankruptcy lawyers. Our children also thank you for providing them with incredibly cheap crap, for if it were'nt for that cheap crap, there would be nothing at all.
If we're lucky, our grandkids will be able to change this trend (doubtfull), but hey, right now they are living the crap dream right now. Here. In America. Home of the incredibly cheap crap. Yea whatever.
Forget philosophy. You sound a little like the kid next door. His dad buys him an $80.00 pair of Nike shoes, and he trashes 'em in a month. "They're crap..." he told me when I noticed them sitting out on the porch in the rain.
(Nah, It's not that bad.)
He's young and does'nt really understand the meaning of a dollar, but he does know his incredibly cheap crap!
You're right. Americans can't compete with crap. We really should look for more products to outsource. Anything made here is WAAYYY too expensive. Why buy something made here when you can get 3 for 1 pricing at WAL-MART? Hey it's the American way... if it breaks, toss it and get a new one, no problemmo. Don't be a shmoe, just get mo. You're right as well when you concede that we make our own realities. Reality says: Americans like, and enjoy, the cheap crap.
Pfhhhh! Indeed... it does say alot. About you. If you want to live the cheap crap lifestyle, by all means, please oblige yourself, but speak only for yourself and don't delude yourself into thinking you speak for all of us.
THINK
Of course. Their is always pain in progress. Horse and buggy whip makers suffered it. Radio makers suffered it. American shoe makers suffered through it. One must take the good with the bad...... In this case, the good will be a much stronger economy with a higher standard of living, in the long run...
m18, if we needed better quality in our crap, consumers would have no problem paying the extra $.
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