Posted on 09/11/2013 11:35:34 AM PDT by markomalley
On Tuesday, the chief human resources officers of more than 100 large corporations sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging quick passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
The officials represent companies with a vast array of business interests: General Electric, The Walt Disney Company, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, McDonald's Corporation, The Wendy's Company, Coca-Cola, The Cheesecake Factory, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon Communications, Hewlett-Packard, General Mills, and many more. All want to see increases in immigration levels for low-skill as well as high-skill workers, in addition to a path to citizenship for the millions of immigrants currently in the U.S. illegally.
A new immigration law, the corporate officers say, "would be a long overdue step toward aligning our nation's immigration policies with its workforce needs at all skill levels to ensure U.S. global competitiveness." The officials cite a publication of their trade group, the HR Policy Association, which calls for immigration reform to "address the reality that there is a global war for talent." The way for the United States to win that war for talent, they say, is more immigration.
Of course, the U.S. unemployment rate is at 7.3 percent, with millions of American workers at all skill levels out of work, and millions more so discouraged that they have left the work force altogether. In addition, at the same time the corporate officers seek higher numbers of immigrants, both low-skill and high-skill, many of their companies are laying off thousands of workers.
For example, Hewlett-Packard, whose Executive Vice President for Human Resources Tracy Keogh signed the letter, laid off 29,000 employees in 2012. In August of this year, Cisco Systems, whose Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Kathleen Weslock signed the letter, announced plans to lay off 4,000 — in addition to 8,000 cut in the last two years. United Technologies, whose Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Organization Elizabeth B. Amato signed the letter, announced layoffs of 3,000 this year. American Express, whose Chief Human Resources Officer L. Kevin Cox signed the letter, cut 5,400 jobs this year. Procter & Gamble, whose Chief Human Resources Officer Mark F. Biegger signed the letter, announced plans to cut 5,700 jobs in 2012.
Those are just a few of the layoffs at companies whose officials signed the letter. A few more: T-Mobile announced 2,250 layoffs in 2012. Archer-Daniels-Midland laid off 1,200. Texas Instruments, nearly 2,000. Cigna, 1,300. Verizon sought to cut 1,700 jobs by buyouts and layoffs. Marriott announced "hundreds" of layoffs this year. International Paper has closed plants and laid off dozens. And General Mills, in what the Minneapolis Star-Tribune called a "rare mass layoff," laid off 850 people last year.
There are more still. In all, it's fair to say a large number of the corporate signers of the letter demanding more labor from abroad have actually laid off workers at home in recent years. Together, their actions have a significant effect on the economy. According to a recent Reuters report, U.S. employers announced 50,462 layoffs in August, up 34 percent from the previous month and up 57 percent from August 2012.
"It is difficult to understand how these companies can feel justified in demanding the importation of cheap labor with a straight face at a time when tens of millions of Americans are unemployed," writes the Center for Immigration Studies, which strongly opposes the Senate Gang of Eight bill and similar measures. "The companies claim the bill is an 'opportunity to level the playing field for U.S. employers' but it is more of an effort to level the wages of American citizens."
“The government’s goal should be the welfare of all”
They misunderstood that as welfare FOR all
Once they're legalized and voting Democrat, then they can be put into the Unions, which is why Unions are SILENT on the loss of jobs to Americans....the FIX IS IN.
Joe Consumer who works for a living and has to pay his own way will suffer the rising prices that inevitably will follow, along with increased demand for "Los Freebies"....it's a never-ending tax increase plan, and the parasites are now out-numbering the hosts.
Who wants cheap mexican labor? Big burger, Big hotel, Big drug, Big hospitality, Big printed circuit stuffer, Big earth mover, Big machine tool, Big credit card, Big temp agency, Big HMO, Big cardboard box, Big internet router, Big satellite dish, Big jet engine, Big cell phone.... well, basically EVERYONE EXCEPT us.
It used to be just Big sugar and Big cotton, and they did enough damage already.
In a way Ayn Rand predicted the unholy alliance between Big Business and Big Government and it’s efforts to re-write the playbook to keep their medium and small businesses from nipping at their heels.
She just didn’t realize that the Clepto-crats from both parties would on one side of their face speak against Big Business and on the other side of their mouth support the big corrupt businesses like G.E. Just look how Obama has dealt with G.E.
Obama speaks out against “Big Business” but then again carves out exemptions for his Big Business buddies and Unions. Of course no one ever speaks for the small and medium businesses and if they speak up he has established cover against “bad business” to use against any uprisings...
Who wants cheap mexican labor? Big burger, Big hotel, Big drug, Big hospitality, Big printed circuit stuffer, Big earth mover, Big machine tool, Big credit card, Big temp agency, Big HMO, Big cardboard box, Big internet router, Big satellite dish, Big jet engine, Big cell phone.... well, basically EVERYONE EXCEPT us.
You forgot who all of the above is in bed with:
“BIG GOVERNMENT”
This does not bode well for capitalism. The overwhelming majority is close to being convinced that it’s all nothing more than a crony capitalist scam at their expense. A backlash accompanied by “new economic models”, and “punishment” for alleged malefactors, is surely in the offing.
I remember, about a year ago, going to Cheesecake Factory and the waitress could barely speak a word of English. I thought all of the waitstaff had called in sick and they'd quickly promoted the bus staff. Now I know...they didn't call in sick...they were fired!
“The government’s goal should be the welfare of all”
They misunderstood that as welfare FOR all
The problem is that Social Welfare kills small and medium sized businesses by seriously screwing up the labor pools avail to them.
The effect if mitigated for big business via “Corporate Welfare” for Washington’s big business buddies who are “too big to fail” like G.E.’s Jeffery “I-Melt down the economy and sell it to China”.
This does not bode well for capitalism. The overwhelming majority is close to being convinced that it’s all nothing more than a crony capitalist scam at their expense. A backlash accompanied by “new economic models”, and “punishment” for alleged malefactors, is surely in the offing.
We haven’t had real capitalism since the dawn of the “Progressive Era” over 100 years ago...
Not sure about that: there's a concerted effort (one could say 'conspiracy') among the industry
to drive down the wages for STEM-jobs by "creating" the need for foreign workers (H-1B) who work the jobs at lower salaries, thereby influencing the average-wage downwards.
There is incentive for both government and big-business to squeeze down on these sorts of jobs.
If you give unemployment after 6 months you should give jobs such as cleaning the highways, and ditch’s, rebuilding bridges with unemployed people working for the Govt.
There's incentive for government not to keep the infrastructure up: if there's problems with things people use, then when they are damaged/deficient there is push for them to be fixed: this allows for a sort of kickback/bribery economy where the politicians are the clear victors. (See road construction jobs.)
Giving checks without work is horse dung.
Oh, quite agreed; but on the other hand the system we have is horse dung: taxes are taken from you [withholdings] to support a government that arms, equips, and [legally] shelters terrorists (see Fast & Furious), embraces corruption, and will use it's power to squash you if you happen to dissent from its political worldviews.
I just had a man tell me the other day he would nbot work for less than the 100,000 dollars he was making when he was laid off, and why should he when he is getting free money from unemployment?
I'm not on unemployment, I never have been… but $100,000? Wow.
“Capitalism” to those on the list means “anything goes for a profit, period”, including importing slave labor. A meme which is hardly new. Virtually everyone in the Caribean is a descendent of someone who cut sugarcane in the hot sun,... or somone who owned them. Now take a good hard look at Detroit. In a hundred years we will be indistinquishable from Mexico in culture, demographics, and form of government.
We need a grass roots effort to identify each of the signers, find out where they live and start making their life pure hell by demonstrating outside their homes 24 hours a day for betraying American workers.
I hope they all go out of business
I walked into a BBQ joint a while back and first smelled the grease, then heard the Spanish-jabbering back in the kitchen, and walked right back out.
If they don’t use Americans they don’t need my business.
Chief People Officer?
what the heck?
The guy is one of those brainy Dork, geek types.
We have over 300 million in this country and these comapnies cannot say they cannot find help. I would bet 99% of them just make it up as they go along in as we need immigrants workers. Americans also attend these same colleges and have the same set of skills. I agree, about $$$ at the same time the corporate officers seek higher numbers of immigrants, both low-skill and high-skill,..the same corporate officers want workers with whom they can pay reduce wages too and fewer benefits.Bill Gates is a prime example of being cheap and wants higher numbers of immigrants,so he can pay them less. But none of his prices reflect reduced costs..
A company’s first goal should be the good of the nation. Anything less leads to the companies becoming the nation’s enemy.
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