Opponents of job outsourcing
are making a holiday-season appeal to President Trump: Stop U.S. companies from
forcing American workers to train the very same cheaper foreign laborers who
will soon replace them.
Why it matters: Trump
promised voters he'd end
abuses of worker visa programs and save U.S. jobs — but as he
campaigns for re-election, advocates say he hasn't done enough.
Driving the news: AT&T
is poised to send thousands into the new year hunting for new jobs after
assigning them to train their own foreign replacements, according to
conversations with current and former workers and documents obtained by Axios.
Many have worked for the
company for over a decade. They aren't being offered severance or early
retirement, and may not easily find a comparable job elsewhere with similar
pay.
What they're saying: Sara
Blackwell, a Florida-based lawyer who represents Americans displaced by workers
on visas or overseas, told Axios: "American workers are tired of waiting
for President Trump to do something on this issue."
"They’ve gone from great
hope in President Trump's administration, to great discouragement."
She sent letters to Sen. John
Cornyn (R-Texas.), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, as
AT&T is headquartered in Dallas.
She also met this month to
discuss the problem with White House officials.
The White House did not
respond to a request for comment.
Details: Despite
receiving a $3
billion tax cut last year, AT&T announced new and expanded
alliances with big outsourcing companies to
replace workers with foreign or cheaper domestic talent.
Like many major U.S.
companies, AT&T has been shifting jobs for years now — but 2019 was
especially noteworthy, as workers claimed that
as many as 3,000 finance jobs were being outsourced to Accenture. AT&T
denied the 3,000 figure, but declined to provide Axios with its own number.
AT&T also signed
multi-year deals with IBM, Tech
Mahindra and Amdocs this
year. Accenture, IBM and Tech Mahindra were in the top 10
companies to request H-1B high-skilled worker visas this year.
"We are continuously
working to be more efficient in our operations," AT&T's Jim Kimberly
told Axios. When possible, AT&T is "helping employees find other
positions within the company,” he said.
Current and former Department
of Homeland Security officials who spoke to Axios expressed frustration that
more isn't being done to keep foreign worker visa programs from undercutting
U.S. workers.
Lawmakers have signaled bipartisan
support for reforms to high-skilled immigrant visas that could help.
For years now, the Trump
administration has talked about policy changes such as ending work
authorization for the spouses of certain H-1B visa holders. But the proposal
prompted outrage
from tech giants, and it has yet to be finalized.
By the numbers: There are
few comprehensive studies and little agreement on the scope of the phenomenon,
experts told Axios, because contracts and outsourcing processes are typically
kept quiet.
Blackwell said past contracts
she's seen lead her to believe that as many as nine in 10 of those impacted by
AT&T's outsourcing may end up training foreign replacements.
It's a common business model
that's been used by other U.S. companies, including Disney, Verizon, Bank
of America, Toys
'R' Us and Southern
California Edison.
What they're saying: Axios
spoke with workers who have already transitioned or will switch in January to
working for outsourcing companies.
Three current or
recently-fired AT&T employees broke down in tears during telephone
interviews.
Typically, workers are
guaranteed 12 months at the outsourcing company, after which they will likely
be let go.
Only a handful are offered
severance or early retirement.
"Folks aren't going on
vacation, they're cutting back on their Christmas shopping," one
person said. "If you know that you're going to be losing your job, you
don't want to spend the money."
How it works: Workers may
be assured their job will not change when they are "rebadged" to work
for a contractor. "The sad reality is you’ve just been terminated without
your severance," said one worker Axios interviewed. "You’re at the
mercy of a company that doesn’t really want you."
Workers described shock and
confusion when they were told during a scripted phone call that after a decade
or longer at AT&T, they'd have to work for a contractor or resign. Some
were told they could not apply for other jobs inside AT&T.
Some were told they were
needed for a "knowledge transfer" — then tapped to train people on
work visas or overseas who would replace them.
A presentation obtained by
Axios outlining the knowledge transfer process for AT&T and Accenture
includes a slide on how to interact with Indian workers.
No comments:
Post a Comment