Found this thought-provoking editorial on USVisaNews.com... when can H1Bs get some peace of mind in these times ?
http://www.usvisanews.com/memo1572.html
An Honest Day\'s Work: What is it Really Worth?
As the economy rebounds and struggles, the new year starts with a great deal of uncertainty for many of our immigrant clients and friends, and we are flooded with questions:
Jose, what will I do if I am laid off?
Should I get them to start my labor cert if I am not sure about the company\'s future?
How much should I pressure them for the green card? I\'m afraid to jeopardize my job.
The questions are pouring in and the answers, alas, remain as elusive as ever. Most disturbing is the trend in wages; the minute the economy starts to falter, every anti-immigrant group stands up and starts shouting, "See, we TOLD you they were letting too many people into this country!" Logic and reasoning be damned, falling wages are your fault guys, pack it up and go home. The hell with our technology and the old folks. I\'m sure we\'ll do fine without you.
Right.
"An honest day\'s pay for an honest day\'s work" is a maxim we\'ve all heard forever, and while I\'m not sure of its origin, it is resounding in its reasonableness, isn\'t it? It is the expression of our sentiment when we are down but not out. It is what we think and say when we\'ve decided that, at least for the moment, the days of glory and magnificence must be put on hold and we must hunker down and survive. Whether it\'s swabbing out the toilets at the college bar (my personal career highlight) or something less gross, we just want what\'s fair, right?
So, that\'s the question. What IS fair?
Well, we just don\'t know, so we have no option but to resort to the obligatory concept of "minimum wage" in all of its magnificent absurdity, never believing for a split second that a person can independently support themselves for $5.25 per hour. We know that it isn\'t enough, that it isn\'t "fair," but we also know that many small employers are between a rock and a hard place, and that if you raise the figure too much, you eliminate jobs.
Are internships fair? I\'ll tell you, I\'ve had a HELL of a time with those. I can remember at least two occasions where we have had people come in and convince me to let them "intern for free." Both times, we kind of needed a hand but had NO money. Both times they came in and absolutely kicked butt. Both times, about four weeks into it, consumed with guilt and feeling like a pre-Civil War plantation owner, I put them on the payroll, even though it was dumb and a stretch. I have a friend now who is "interning" for a successful recording studio in Miami. She is consumed with guilt because she may have an upcoming PAID job offer from a competitor of the place she is working. I\'m like HUH? Feel guilty if you are quitting A for B and they are both paid jobs. DON\'T feel guilty if you are quitting an unpaid gig for a paid gig.
Okay, Jose, you endless bag of wind, you say, what in God\'s Green Earth does this have to do with immigration? Almost there, glad you asked. (-;
If WE as Americans are struggling with all of this, what must it be like for immigrants, both legal and illegal? Obviously, for those not in status, the delicacy of finding and keeping employment in a tight economy must be horrible. But even for those of you employed with non-immigrant visas, my heart is with you and I have thought about you a great deal. For example, you and your American bud have been with the company for the same amount of time and you are both ready to ask for the raise you feel you deserve. You go out for a beer after work with your bud and discuss your mutual strategies, trying to figure out how to raise the matter with the boss. He\'s afraid of bringing it up because he doesn\'t want to get fired .... Click for More
brat
http://www.usvisanews.com/memo1572.html
An Honest Day\'s Work: What is it Really Worth?
As the economy rebounds and struggles, the new year starts with a great deal of uncertainty for many of our immigrant clients and friends, and we are flooded with questions:
Jose, what will I do if I am laid off?
Should I get them to start my labor cert if I am not sure about the company\'s future?
How much should I pressure them for the green card? I\'m afraid to jeopardize my job.
The questions are pouring in and the answers, alas, remain as elusive as ever. Most disturbing is the trend in wages; the minute the economy starts to falter, every anti-immigrant group stands up and starts shouting, "See, we TOLD you they were letting too many people into this country!" Logic and reasoning be damned, falling wages are your fault guys, pack it up and go home. The hell with our technology and the old folks. I\'m sure we\'ll do fine without you.
Right.
"An honest day\'s pay for an honest day\'s work" is a maxim we\'ve all heard forever, and while I\'m not sure of its origin, it is resounding in its reasonableness, isn\'t it? It is the expression of our sentiment when we are down but not out. It is what we think and say when we\'ve decided that, at least for the moment, the days of glory and magnificence must be put on hold and we must hunker down and survive. Whether it\'s swabbing out the toilets at the college bar (my personal career highlight) or something less gross, we just want what\'s fair, right?
So, that\'s the question. What IS fair?
Well, we just don\'t know, so we have no option but to resort to the obligatory concept of "minimum wage" in all of its magnificent absurdity, never believing for a split second that a person can independently support themselves for $5.25 per hour. We know that it isn\'t enough, that it isn\'t "fair," but we also know that many small employers are between a rock and a hard place, and that if you raise the figure too much, you eliminate jobs.
Are internships fair? I\'ll tell you, I\'ve had a HELL of a time with those. I can remember at least two occasions where we have had people come in and convince me to let them "intern for free." Both times, we kind of needed a hand but had NO money. Both times they came in and absolutely kicked butt. Both times, about four weeks into it, consumed with guilt and feeling like a pre-Civil War plantation owner, I put them on the payroll, even though it was dumb and a stretch. I have a friend now who is "interning" for a successful recording studio in Miami. She is consumed with guilt because she may have an upcoming PAID job offer from a competitor of the place she is working. I\'m like HUH? Feel guilty if you are quitting A for B and they are both paid jobs. DON\'T feel guilty if you are quitting an unpaid gig for a paid gig.
Okay, Jose, you endless bag of wind, you say, what in God\'s Green Earth does this have to do with immigration? Almost there, glad you asked. (-;
If WE as Americans are struggling with all of this, what must it be like for immigrants, both legal and illegal? Obviously, for those not in status, the delicacy of finding and keeping employment in a tight economy must be horrible. But even for those of you employed with non-immigrant visas, my heart is with you and I have thought about you a great deal. For example, you and your American bud have been with the company for the same amount of time and you are both ready to ask for the raise you feel you deserve. You go out for a beer after work with your bud and discuss your mutual strategies, trying to figure out how to raise the matter with the boss. He\'s afraid of bringing it up because he doesn\'t want to get fired .... Click for More
brat