U.S. investigating claims Sun layoffs favored foreign workers (H-1B visas )

AP ^ | Monday, June 24, 2002 | AP

[luckystarmom]

I haven't worked as a software engineer in 7 years, but I never heard of anything like that. Most software engineers are just anti-union types.

[luckystarmom]

Very well said!

I am not big on taxes, but I do think that maybe there needs to be a tax on the companies that hire the foreign engineers.

Definitely during layoffs, the US citizens should be the last to go.

[chance33_98]

In an e-mail, Sun spokeswoman Diane Carlini said the layoffs "were driven by business needs going forward, employee skill and performance. Foreign national status was not a factor in the selection."

The company I was working for, until about three weeks ago, went bankrupt last year and we were purchased days before shutdown by another company. The new CEO said with Sept. 11th and all that that he would not be laying off anyone and wanted to keep all the current employees to help rebuild the company. As one can guess, he laid of thousands across the US and closed our facility down within 5 months.

I had never encountered as many lying people at the top as I have at that company. From the first big parties they had until the very end we were fed lies. Some of us knew or suspected, but others were clueless (like the investors and low level employees). One thing that totally angered many of us is when they asked us all to stay on after declaring chapter 11 and they sent us nice letters approved by the judge giving us bonuses to stay - To be paid out over the next year. IF we were purchased, the money was to be paid in total all at once. It never was.

So when slick talking weasels (like the one I quoted above) produce facts, figures, etc I have only one reply - Liar.

[chance33_98]

PS - I found a new job in the computer field making more money then I did there with a more stable company. But I still keep one eye on management ;)

[Map Kernow]

Immigrants do the jobs Americans don't want to do? Like [expletive deleted]!!!!!!

[Mike Darancette]

About 10 years ago I had a friend who worked for EDS tell me that the Federal government has specifically disallowed software programmers from ever striking.

Probably just what Ross Perot wanted his programmers to believe.

[NormsRevenge]

the layoffs "were driven by business needs going forward, employee skill and performance. Foreign national status was not a factor in the selection."

BULL...PUCKIE !!!

Hang in There Folks .. For What, I don't know :-|

Would the Feds really do something? NYAaahhhhh

[Righty1]

Certainly not open borders Bush or Ziggy Ziglar the pornstar cum INS Secretary.

[Righty1]

Well court will at least get Scott off of the fairways.

[captain11]

15 years ago the Sun CEO's were laid off by/gave up on slow moving behemoths like IBM, and went about their business of building a better mousetrap.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Sun was founded in 1982 and McNealy has been their only CEO. None of the the Sun founders were IBM executive refugees, laid off or otherwise.

[sunpimp]

Say what you want about McNealy but he is not a major Democrat. Sheesh this whole Microsoft is frustrating and as a conservative, makes me think it was a total waste of time because of so many simple minded people who spew BS like this. McNealy was a big Bush supporter and if you read his comments he sounds nothing like a democrat. I should probably dig up his quote too. Netscape geek Mark Andreeson (sp?) was definitely a big dem supporter but McNealy is not.


Try this link:
http://www.politicsandelection s.com/usa/2000/endorse/bush/ca .htm

In fact do this: go to Google and type McNealy endorse Bush and then type McNealy endorse Boxer and tell me what you see.

[Jolly Rodgers]

I would hope they favored competence and let the chips fall where they may.

[Jolly Rodgers]

Why not? It's our country, and we pay the taxes. Geeez. Who are these people, and what planet are they from?

H1B's pay the same taxes you do, and they are exempted from receiving benefits. They pay unemployment insurance, but can not file a claim. They pay social security, but can never collect. What planet are you from?

[a_Turk]

That is definitely illegal, not to mention immoral. There are stringent rules that must be followed by a company before it can hire foreign nationals for work to be performed within the US. First and foremost they must prove that an exhaustive nationwide search was performed and no qualified native individuals could be found.

[captain11]

H1B's pay the same taxes you do, and they are exempted from receiving benefits. They pay unemployment insurance, but can not file a claim. They pay social security, but can never collect. What planet are you from?

They should pay unemployment insurance, because they contribute to unemployment. They should not pay social security, since they can't collect it. Whether Americans can collect is TBD longer-term, but we'll assume for now. Regardless, there are too many H1-B's. The companies that rely on them heavily are sellouts.

[philetus]

"The Labor Department, however, says it has no rules about favoring U.S. citizens during layoffs."

"There's nothing that says that when they get to a point where they need to downsize that H-1Bs go first," a labor official, who asked not to be identified, told the San Jose Mercury News."

What does everyone think of this statement?

[SandfleaCSC]

Your friend is right. Not only that, companies make it hard for programmers to unionize with a industry blacklist and handing out meaningless managerial titles to programmers and IT people.

[UnBlinkingEye]

This is precisely the situation that the H-1B program was designed to avoid.

The H-1B program is designed to stab American workers in the back. It is a globalist scheme backed by corporate interests foisted upon the nation by their bought and paid for politicians.

[Satadru]

So, how many of us in this thread had ancestors who came to this country as cheap labor from Ireland, or Eastern Europe, at the turn of the century?