Las Vegas, NV
Allegations of major shortages in information technology (I.T.) skills are greatly exaggerated and largely unsupported by objective economic measures. Alarmist claims that our nation faces an extreme shortage of highly-skilled and professional workers to serve its growing information technology-based industries rest on studies initiated and supported by the very employers who stand to gain the most from an oversupply of I.T. workers.
Without a doubt, the information technology industry is experiencing growing pains -- not unlike those endured by other new, evolving industries. But much of it is self-inflicted, created by short-sighted human resource policies and a lack of effective training and education programs.
But increases in the demand for workers should not be viewed as a crisis but as a challenge to the industry and as an opportunity for American workers to learn new skills and earn more money. Given the tools, American workers will rise to the challenge and meet the demand.
The current situation simply does not warrant a major overhaul of U.S. immigration law. The Clinton Administration must resist pressures to greatly expand the flow of "guest" workers by lifting immigration limits in the so-called H-1(b) visa category. Removing H-1(b) limits which already allow for 65,000 highly-skilled and professional people to enter annually is uncalled for.
The Administration should bring together employers, educators and labor to develop education and training programs to enhance the skills of U.S. workers to meet the industry’s employment needs. Since the industry relies heavily on a contingent workforce of temporaries, part-timers and contractors, it faces unique training and education problems as each firm lacks the necessary incentives to make crucial investments in their workforce. Increasing the availability of foreign guest workers will only exacerbate this situation by allowing the industry to continue to ignore its responsibilities.
The industry must do more to retain and retrain experienced workers. The involvement of women and people of color as engineers, computer system analysts, and in other technological roles has lagged significantly. And it must do more to encourage their participation in the I.T. professions.
So that our nation may take advantage of the opportunities created by a rising demand for I.T. skills, the AFL-CIO recommends:
- Expanded training, apprenticeship, education and retraining programs to improve the high-tech skills of U.S. workers.
- Increased recruitment of women and people of color into I.T. jobs.
- Greater efforts at retraining and hiring older, experienced I.T. workers.
- Improved pay and working conditions and a reduction in contingent employment.
- An in-depth investigation by Congress of long-term I.T. employment needs.
The AFL-CIO further calls for reform of the H-1(b) immigration program to prevent abuses by employers that reduce job opportunities for U.S. workers. Specifically, the AFL-CIO seeks changes that:
- Prevent employers from recruiting guest workers to replace laid-off "or otherwise displaced" U.S. workers.
- Require that prospective employers demonstrate they have made a bona fide attempt to recruit U.S. workers.
- Limit the H-1(b) visa to three years, a period of time which should be sufficient to provide an employer with temporary help until U.S.-based workers are trained and recruited or a short-term project is completed.
We believe that these reforms in the H-1(b) program will assist employers who truly need to supplement their workforce with talented and energetic guest workers to address short-term needs, and will do much to stop abuses by other employers who use these workers to undercut the economic position of workers in the United States. Immigration has, and will continue to be, a source of richness for our economy and our culture; we must not let the shortsighted human resource practices of the information technology industry turn the H1-B program into one in which working people are the losers.