CNN Interview with Donna Conroy, Director
Cook County Urges H1-B Reform
One of the largest county governments in the nation voted on Tuesday to open the H-1B visa-hiring program to US citizens and legal residents – in opposition to 13 governors who earlier this week urged Congress to expand the program, without ever requiring employers to seek local talent for top-dollar, white-collar jobs. more...
::: BFJ In Print :::
NYT:"Court Orders Three H1-B Sites Disabled," Dec. 29, 2009 The routine intimidation of Indian tech workers has now been directed at American tech workers who wouldn't snitch on an Indian tech worker, threatening all Americans' free speech on the Internet.
New Jersey and Free Speech: "The action has labor rights activists, free speech activists, and even some beneficiaries of the H1-B visa program united in voicing opposition to the court decision," according to an editorial in the Oakland Journal, a local New Jersey paper.
Businessweek:"Jobs and Protectionism in the Stimulus Package," February 16, 2009 Critics of the H-1B program hailed the inclusion of the amendment as a victory. "The demand to reform corporate recruiting policies that ignore highly skilled local talent now moves center stage," says Donna Conroy, director of Brightfuturejobs.com, a lobbying group for visa reform.
Businessweek: "H-1b Visa Season is Here", March 31, 2009: On Mar. 31, Bright Future Jobs, a U.S. tech worker lobbying group, posted on its Web site 13 advertisements for jobs in which the employer designated a preference for H-1B visa workers or targeted them specifically for the positions, according to the Web site.
Businessweek:"H-1B Visa Law: Trying Again", April 24.2009: U.S. tech worker advocates praised these and other provisions in the bill. "We're thrilled that Senators Durbin and Grassley are requiring employers to seek local talent first," says Donna Conroy, executive director of Bright Future Jobs, a lobbying group for U.S. tech workers. "They recognize that American IT professionals have the talent, knowhow, and experience to push America's economic recovery into high gear."
Businessweek: "An Academic's Labor Helps Fight H-1B Visas," June 28, 2009
Anti-H-1B activists say they're worried less about academic research and more about shaping policy. "The thing that's missing in Norm Matloff's strategy is fighting for a seat at the table," says Donna Conroy, executive director of Bright Future Jobs, a lobbying group that advocates restricting the H-1B visa program. "We need a political movement that allows us to help craft legislation. All the numbers [Matloff] crunches won't have nearly the impact as American technical professionals standing up for themselves."
CIO MAGAZINE: "H-1b Reform Bill Could Complicate Offshore Outsourcing,"
Many rank-and-file IT professionals laud the legislation. "The Durbin bill will put a stop to the outsourcing of American jobs and the discrimination against American IT professionals," says Donna Conroy, a former IT professional and director of Bright Future Jobs, a grassroots lobbying group for American IT workers. "This bill was written for us."
Not Required to Seek Local Talent
Here's the secret tech lobbyists don't want you to know:
The H-1B law doesn't require employers to seek local talent for their US job openings before recruiting abroad.
The DOL's Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2006-2011 (pg. 35) 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."
The Federal Register, dated June 30, 2006, Section II, paragraph 4, "the statute does not require employers...to demonstrate that there are no available US workers or to test the labor market for US workers as required under the permanent labor certification program."
Q: I didn't know that job advertisements could call for H-1B's only. Is that legal?
A: The Department of Justice doesn't think so. They are prosecuting companies that advertise this way. On the other hand, the Department of Labor says that the H-1B laws are written so that qualfied Americans never need to be considered for these positions.
Q: I didn't know there's a move on Capitol Hill to expand this program. Who's against this expansion?
A: Bright Future - a Chicago-based lobbying organziation that YOU can join and support. And H-1B technical professionals. They are offered lower salaries and have been facing high unemployment, just like American technical professionals. If the program is expanded, it will only result in higher unemployment levels for Americans and H-1Bs.
The Solution: Contact Congress -- ask your Congressman to co-sponsor DADA - the Defend the American Dream Act! Join Bright Future -- together we CAN fight the big companies.
Here's the secret tech lobbyists don't want you to know: