A GA Reader, Software Engineer Turned Taxi Driver, Explains How Much Employers Save With H1-B Workers

March 7, 2009

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03/06/09 - A WA Reader Proposes A Trade With Mexico: Stop The Illegal Immigration And We'll Stop The Guns

From: Scott McCandliss (email him)

Re: "Dr. Norm Matloff On H1-B And Age" by James Fulford

I am a taxi driver who was a software engineer for 14 years prior to driving a cab. In my role as a taxi driver, I am in constant contact with aliens who need transportation. I drive in the tech sector of Atlanta known as Alpharetta. We have offices here for Hewlett Packard, IBM, Siemens, McKesson, AT&T, and on and on. Even the main E-Trade server farm is here (though that's supposed to be a secret-unmarked building).

In estimating the percentage in savings on labor for H-1B's over Americans, Dr. Matloff, of whom I am a fan, consistently leaves out the Worker/Hour savings.

In my dealings with the H-1B workers as passengers, I have come to know for certain that most of them are required to work upwards of 80 hours per week, some of them more than 100. I also know from talking to them that they believe that the "H" in "H-1B" stands for "hostage". They call it the Hostage Visa because of the grueling hours they are required to put in. Since they can be deported by the employer, that's a huge sword over their heads to quietly comply with anything the employer asks.

Since most H-1B's are paid a flat salary, then a 30-percent savings in salary coupled with a 100-percent increase in the number of hours worked turns into 30 savings times 50 savings which works out to a 65 percent savings. [VDARE.com note: If you have difficulty with this calculation, imagine the difference between a hypothetical $1000 per week salary for a forty hour week, compared to a $700 per week salary for an 80 hour week. The difference is the difference between $25 an hour and $8.75 an hour, a savings of 65 percent.]

This is, needless to say, a huge reward for hiring cheap alien labor.

This is also why the lobbyists are clamoring for more H-1B's much more loudly than for any other type of alien labor visa.