Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Networking

    Will Ceiling Fall?

    By
    Lisa Vaas
    -
    April 21, 2003
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      During the year he was out of work due to a dearth of consulting work, Boris Galinsky devoted his time not only to a job search but also to educating and haranguing legislators about the reasons so many tech workers are jobless in the first place.

      “I didnt want to take [the job situation] lying down,” said Galinsky, in Summit, N.J. “Something has to be done about the practice of giving away our jobs to foreign workers.”

      Galinskys campaign didnt end when he got rehired. He is still one of a growing number of irate technology workers—some unemployed, some underemployed, some simply concerned—that has been meeting with U.S. and state lawmakers.

      The purpose of the meetings: Galinsky and others like him are being galvanized not only by technology job loss but also by the possibility of getting legislators to push down the H-1B visa ceiling. That quota is scheduled to drop from its current level of 195,000 to 65,000 by Oct. 1, failing U.S. congressional action to maintain current numbers.

      How likely is that? Early signs show that legislators such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Cass Ballenger, R-N.C., after watching jobs vanish in their areas, may vote to lower the ceiling. In addition, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee—the agency that determines key immigration legislation such as the ceiling number—earlier in the year addressed an Indian business group, telling members that the H-1B visa program will be “tightened,” according to reports in Indian newspapers.

      Participation in pro-labor groups such as the Programmers Guild is also growing, with technology workers “crawling out of the woodwork” to tackle issues involving technology jobs, said John Miano, former chairman of the guild.

      So many people are showing up at Programmers Guild meetings—which are held in Morris Plains, N.J.—that the group is considering splitting in two.

      Meanwhile, groups that have traditionally lobbied for a high visa ceiling—including the Information Technology Association of America and Indias National Association of Software and Service Companies—are keeping a low profile.

      Nasscom did not reply to requests for information. Harris Miller, president of the ITAA, based in Arlington, Va., said ITAAs member companies have not had to press for a high H-1B visa cap because demand for the visas has been declining sharply—only 79,100 were issued in fiscal year 2002, according to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

      The ITAA is “just going to see the way things go,” rather than push to keep the 195,000 level, Miller said.

      Indeed, with the mounting political pressure, many industry watchers expect the ceiling to fall. But some experts say it will be a matter of closing the barn door after the horse has run away, since many jobs have already been shipped overseas.

      “The door may have already closed, as far as H-1B visas go,” said Rep. Ballenger. “More and more of our tech jobs, all the big banks and telecommunications companies, theyre hiring out jobs in India.”

      For Ballenger, the message from his constituents has been loud and clear—the fewer H-1B visas granted, the better. Ballengers district is home to a number of fiber-optic cable companies manufacturing facilities.

      Companies including Alcatel, Corning Inc. and CommScope Inc. used to employ 17,000 people in North Carolina before the economy tanked; the number of jobs in that sector has since shrunk to between 4,000 and 5,000, Ballenger said, as unemployment in his district remains above 9 percent.

      Offshore outsourcing has also contributed to the ITAAs disinterest when it comes to lobbying for a higher ceiling.

      “Offshore is the challenge, not H-1Bs,” Miller said. “Its more of a challenge to [have workers] be paid one-third or one-fourth of what U.S. workers are being paid than have [companies] saying, Bring workers here.”

      Senior Writer Lisa Vaas can be reached at lisa_vaas@ziffdavis.com.

      Lisa Vaas
      Lisa Vaas is News Editor/Operations for eWEEK.com and also serves as editor of the Database topic center. Since 1995, she has also been a Webcast news show anchorperson and a reporter covering the IT industry. She has focused on customer relationship management technology, IT salaries and careers, effects of the H1-B visa on the technology workforce, wireless technology, security, and, most recently, databases and the technologies that touch upon them. Her articles have appeared in eWEEK's print edition, on eWEEK.com, and in the startup IT magazine PC Connection. Prior to becoming a journalist, Vaas experienced an array of eye-opening careers, including driving a cab in Boston, photographing cranky babies in shopping malls, selling cameras, typography and computer training. She stopped a hair short of finishing an M.A. in English at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She earned a B.S. in Communications from Emerson College. She runs two open-mic reading series in Boston and currently keeps bees in her home in Mashpee, Mass.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×