At first blush FWD.us sounded like a nice organization. Maybe I was prejudiced – my initials are FWD (middle name: William), and twitter handle is @fwdpost.
Was I wrong!
FWD.us is just another way to increase profits for the elite and eliminate jobs for the rest of us, especially our STEM grads.
This lobbying cabal was contrived in 2013 by big investors and leaders of the major tech firms, including Microsoft, Facebook and Google. The plan was to import more H-1B workers into the U.S., and replace native, highly paid professionals with often marginal-ability visa-holders, primarily from India and China. (See the list of founders and funders at the end of this blog)
Their efforts worked.
Last year, 60,300 Americans graduated with a computer science degree and 20,000 developers completed coding boot camps, a total of 80,300. Meanwhile 85,000 available H-1B visas were issued to foreigners to compete against those grads for the same tech jobs.
All of the visa holders were accepted to positions even before they arrived in this country.
About 25% of American tech grads had to settle for another, lower-paying field. In addition, thousands of U.S. tech workers were laid off in 2019 and replaced with foreigners.
FWD.us has convinced many politicians that more immigration, not higher pay, is necessary for hiring staff. The result – increasing numbers of H-1B visas for the tech industry..
To the dismay of workers President Donald “The Thumper” Trump, has embraced FWD.us during the past three years, spewing the “best and brightest” were needed from overseas, and ignoring the 330 million “pretty smart folks” who live here.
Trump’s allegiance to global corporations in general, versus his populist 2016 campaign stance, suggests he is spending too much time carousing in the swamp, making friends with the nation’s economic enemies.
The Trump doctrine before he took office: He was asked if he would end H-1B visas.
I will. First of all, I think and I know the H1B very well. And it’s something that I frankly use and I shouldn’t be allowed to use it. We shouldn’t have… Very, very bad for workers.
And second of all, I think it’s very important to say, well, I’m a businessman and I have to do what I have to do. When it’s sitting there waiting for you, but it’s very bad. It’s very bad for business in terms of…and it’s very bad for our workers and it’s unfair for our workers. And we should end it.
Trump’s promise was well said, then soon forgotten.
The stakes for workers and employers are very high.
Google alone employs more than 130,000 contractors and temp workers, plus 123,000 full-time employees.
Meanwhile, FWD.us has formed an alliance with hundreds of colleges and universities to promote fewer American and more international students – the so-called Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.
FWD.us is also urging more foreign students in Optional Practical Training (OPT) for computer degree programs here, and wants the government to offer fast-track citizenship for their many DACA employees.
Investors are also trying to expand OPT by passing GOP. Sen Mike Lee‘s S.386 bill, which lifts country caps on Indian graduates coming here.
There is a disturbing alliance between the right and left wings of politics to crush wages and hike profits. FWD.us immigration and prison “reform” views are shared by both the Koch Bros. network of think tanks and the George Soros organizations.
Just one example is left-wing Democrat Rep. Julian Castro, who has campaigned for more migration, while running in the 2020 Democratic primary. Calling himself a progressive, he was a founder of a billionaires’ lobbying group similar to FWD.us — the New American Economy. That group was created at the same time as FWD.us in 2013 by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Microsoft co-founder Steve Ballmer, and Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch to promote the “Gang of Eight” amnesty.
In an omen of things to come. FWD.us wants to allow many migrants to get occupational licenses for blue-collar jobs. These permits would allow FWD.us investors to hire cheap migrants in place of American electricians, plumbers, natural-gas technicians, and many other jobs.
Founders of FWD.US
Funders of FWD.US
You can fool nearly all the people... 