"I See No Problem In Tennessee"

Date: Thursday, August 29, 2002 1:55 PM

*** H-1B NEWSLETTER ***

Get the Facts on H-1B at
www.ZaZona.com

The National Society of Professional Engineers has consistently denied that
H-1B is a problem so it's no surprise that their Tennessee chapter follows
the herd.

Gregory Reed, former president of the Tennessee Society of Professional
Engineers (TPSE) said that “As far as Tennessee is concerned, I am not
really aware of any problem or at least one hasn’t been brought up in any
meeting. Perhaps Mr. Reed should view some of the 8384 LCAs online for
Tennessee.

The Skunks page has been updated to reflect Reed's outdated opinions.
http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Skunks.htm#NSPE

The City Paper of Nashville, Tennessee
8/29/2002

Unemployment rise has engineers worried

By Kendrick Sadler

A rise in the unemployment rate among engineers is again raising concerns

over the use of H1B visas to bring in workers from overseas.

The visas, which allow non-U.S. citizens to work temporarily in professional
occupations in the United States, are typically given when U.S. resident
workers are unavailable to fill those positions.

Nationally, recently reports show the overall unemployment rate is 5.8
percent, down from 6.2 percent in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for engineers has increased over the same
period from 3.8 percent to 4.2 percent, according to the U.S. Department of
Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The IEEE-USA, an national organization for electrical engineers, is busy
lobbying for a substantial reduction of the quota on H1-B visa workers.

On a recent visit to Nashville, IEEE-USA President LeEarl Bryant tried to
entice local engineers to make unemployment a major issue this election
year.

“Get candidates to talk about jobs and see if they support immigration of
technologists,” she urged.

Despite Bryants concerns, The Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers
does not see the necessity of taking up the issue.

“As far as Tennessee is concerned, I am not really aware of any problem or
at least one hasn’t been brought up in any meeting,” said Gregory Reed,
former TSPE President Gregory Reed.

Undeterred, Bryant has been among those asking Congress to look into
unemployment among U.S. engineers.

A bill, stalled for almost a year in a U.S. House of Representative’s
subcommittee, has been introduced to reduce the annual H1B quota from
195,000 to 65,000 with allowances for further reductions if unemployment
continues to increase.

“It is time for Congress … to eliminate government subsidies and incentives
that encourage corporate management to treat U.S. engineers as a disposable
labor commodity,” Bryant said.

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