PROGRAMMERS GUILD E-NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2007

MICROSOFT JOBS ISSUE

Newsflash: H-1b Reform Bill introduced in the Senate

Senators Durbin and Grassley have introduced S.1035 "H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007."  Key provisions are:

  • H-1b positions will be advertised on the DOL website for 30 days (unclear whether there will be transparency into the number of qualified Americans that apply during that period. If not this might turn into a sham like the PERM fake job ads.)
  • Resolves the "prevailing wage sham" by requiring at least the median wage for all workers within the classification. (Currently the Level 1 prevailing wage is approximately the 17th percentile of U.S. wages.)

This is a new development which we will follow. But this appears to address the key flaws in the current H-1b program.

Quote of the Week - Department of Labor's Admission

The U.S. Department of Labor Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2006 - 2011, Under Performance Goal 2H, "Address worker shortages through the Foreign Labor Certification Program", 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."

Microsoft hiring manager seeks your resume

This is not an April Fool's joke. Microsoft has several hundred openings, and a hiring manager has provided his personal email address, asking us to submit our resumes directly to him.

I encourage everyone who has at least a BS degree in Computer Science to send your resume. If American programmers don't even apply for these positions, then it is difficult to argue that we are being displaced by the H-1b workers who do apply.

Salary? According to Bill Gates, salaries for these jobs at Microsoft start at about $100,000 a year.

Qualifications? Ideally you will have skills like SQL, C# , .NET or C++, or similar experience and competence in the Microsoft development platform. However, since Microsoft is sponsoring H-1b visas for new graduates - and H-1b workers cannot be hired until October 2007 - a BS or higher degree alone should be sufficient for many of the positions that Microsoft is holding open for the H-1b workers it is sponsoring:

If you are talking to people who are truly skilled software professionals PLEASE do me a favor and send them my email address (allenp@microsoft.com). This is particularly true for American citizens. H1's are a huge hassle and in spite of your assertion I am not aware of any situation where they are paid less than anyone else. It would really help me a lot if I could be connected with these people who are so very talented and yet cannot seem to find work.

Thanks,
Allen Prescott

Please apply only if you would actually be interested in a position if offered, and would be willing to relocate. Also please do not abuse Allen's email address by using it for any other purpose.

Email your resume as an attachment (MS Word or PDF preferably) with a statement of interest and summary of qualifications in the body to allenp@microsoft.com. Please cc us at msjobs@programmersguild.org, and advise of us any response.

Another job tip is that the State of California will be holding an open exam on May 5, 2007 for Associate Programmer Analyst. These positions don't pay well, but many state workers are retiring soon, leaving "legacy" skills in high demand. You need to submit an application well in advance of the exam date.

Alan Greenspan calls for more skilled immigration to drive down U.S. wages

Last month at a conference on maintaining the competitiveness of US capital markets convened by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan stated, "Our skilled wages are higher than anywhere in the world. If we open up a significant window for skilled workers, that would suppress the skilled-wage level and end the concentration of income."

Given the knowledge that increasing the flow of skilled immigrants would negatively impact the American middleclass, one would hope that our Congress would act to keep wages up. The U.S. government has a budget deficit, and the more Americans earn, the more they pay in taxes.

Latest Threat to Software Professionals: The STRIVE Act

Less than two weeks after Greenspan's call for more skilled immigrants, Reps. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ.) introduced the "Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy (STRIVE) Act." In addition to increasing the flow of unskilled workers via a guest worker program, the STRIVE act provides for increasing the annual base H-1b quota from 65,000 to 180,000. STRIVE does not reform H-1b to prohibit the displacement of qualified U.S. workers, and continues to allow foreign predatory consulting firms to hire exclusively below-market foreign workers, and thus underbidding U.S. consulting firms for public and private sector contracts.

Most members of Congress are wealthy, if not outrageously wealthy. Most have huge stock or real estate holdings. Thus, from their perspective, the more they can drive down U.S. wages, the more they personally benefit. Combine this with the huge "corporate campaign contributions," and we don't have "taxation without representation," we have "taxation for representation contrary to our interests."

Programmers Guild (Still) Seeks Plaintiffs

In 2006 the Programmers Guild filed 300 complaints against employers who engaged in discriminatory hiring practices against U.S. workers - favoring H-1b workers.

In 2007 we would like to go after some larger employers - the Hewlett-Packards and TATAs - seeking larger settlements and hopefully effecting some changes in the H-1b program. But we need your help.

If you are willing to apply for positions that you are qualified for and provide us copies of the applications, we need your help. Send your info to justiceone@programmersguild.org.

Additionally, please mail your resume to the PERM job ads cited above, and send us a copy of your application.

Tech Tips

If you are looking for an advanced "To Do List / Calendar" consider www.rememberthemilk.com. It allows lists to be shared as writeable or read-only to others' accounts, and many other features.

If you have not installed Google Earth prepare to be amazed. You can zoom and navigate all parts of the world http://earth.google.com/ - anyone in Iraq is able to navigate our nation's capitol to this degree:

Lighter Side

This comic strip hits close to home regarding age discrimination in our profession. Why are gray-haired doctors and lawyers deemed the most knowledgeable, whereas many software careers wash up around age 40? Will Congress get the "joke"?