Submission + - What would Gates say under oath about H1B pay?
gr8scot writes: Bill Gates claims, again, that he can't find good help in the United States labor market and that the H1B 'program has strong wage protections for U.S. workers.' Jon Stokes of Ars Technica has unfortunately (for Bill) done his homework, and caught him in a lie about the salaries of his H1B workers: 'Salaries for these jobs at Microsoft start at about $100,000 a year.' In light of his direct appeal to our elected representatives in the Washington Post article, 'I urge them' to invite William Gates III to a televised chat, preferably under oath, to present a detailed account of exactly how the national problem of high-tech jobs with no skilled American applicants has affected his company. From Gates' Op-Ed in the Washington Post:
Last year, reform on this issue stalled as Congress struggled to address border security and undocumented immigration. As lawmakers grapple with those important issues once again, I urge them to support changes to the H-1B visa program that allow American businesses to hire foreign-born scientists and engineers when they can't find the homegrown talent they need. This program has strong wage protections for U.S. workers: Like other companies, Microsoft pays H-1B and U.S. employees the same high levels — levels that exceed the government's prevailing wage.
He asked for the attention of Congress, and I hope they listen very carefully to what he tells them. I also hope they, and all of Microsoft's customers, will note the 'disconnect' between what he tells them in this context and what his marketing department tries to tell us all about their wonderful conferencing and collaboration software. That he needs foreign workers in this country but his software does what he says it does cannot both be true.